I think an Arbor Elf/Utopia Sprawl is probably the best mana acceleration for Dino modern like Devotion. I think RG or Naya is the way to go with RG leaning due to being able to play Blood Moon.
Would this be a good place to discuss modern dinos in an arbor elf/utopia sprawl shell?
Feel free to post! Devotion is a great shell for Dinosaurs (given the best are larger, green ones). We talked about it briefly; but no one actually tested it significantly enough to truly say if the idea was a viable one. I have no doubt there would be plenty here happy to help with your Dino Devotion list. With options like Chameleon Colossus also playing well in Dinos; I think you could develop a Dino Devotion deck that takes advantage of the Dinosaur- specific cards.
@Curdbros
This is something I can chime in on! I recently got into MTGO so I could play my Vernal Bloom Tooth & Nail deck in my spare time, and I tried Nissa out for probably ~20 matches. What I found was that she was really great in attrition match ups... Stuff like 8 rack, Jund, Esper control, etc. She is a great value engine.
That being said, I don't think she's a good fit for Devotion. She's pretty slow, and consider that we only run ~21 lands, she is quite unlikely to flip. In order to make use of her, I would expect deck changes such as more Prime Times and Coursers, as well ad playing in a more interactive, attrition based meta.
@Curdbros
This is something I can chime in on! I recently got into MTGO so I could play my Vernal Bloom Tooth & Nail deck in my spare time, and I tried Nissa out for probably ~20 matches. What I found was that she was really great in attrition match ups... Stuff like 8 rack, Jund, Esper control, etc. She is a great value engine.
That being said, I don't think she's a good fit for Devotion. She's pretty slow, and consider that we only run ~21 lands, she is quite unlikely to flip. In order to make use of her, I would expect deck changes such as more Prime Times and Coursers, as well ad playing in a more interactive, attrition based meta.
I don't think it's her time. But someday!
That's a good point. Decandio's list does in fact play a few Primeval Titan and 4x Courser (and Genesis Wave can obviously put a ton of lands in at once); so it may be a good choice in his list...but you are right taht it isn't great for every list.
I am thinking a Naya Version might want more ramp with fertile ground to hit cards like Gishath Sun's Avatar, Verdant Sun's Avatar, and Wakening Sun's Avatar. It might also Fiery Justice as its main kill spell outside a couple of paths so it can ping Ranging Raptors and Ripjaw Raptors. Obviously no Blood Moon in the Naya list. Maybe Fertile Ground though to help ramp up to those cards.
To be clear, I wasn't comparing Eidolon to Ruric. I wasn't considering getting rid of Red, I was considering cutting the Overgrown Tomb and Slaughter Games for a Temple Garden and Eidolon. Rubric That is too slow much of the time against storm without cards to stall a turn or two. Eidolon and Slaughter Games can be cast quick so that's why I'm making the comparison and I'm definitely not cutting Red or Ruric.
Yeah, no worries. Was just wondering about Ruric myself.
I agree with you, while Ruric can be god in the right situation, I don't think he does enough to justify the 6 mana cmc. Combo can often go under him, and goyf/shadow can easily outmuscle him.
Combo can go under Thar, if you don't cast him on turn 3.
Tarmogoyfs usually don't outmuscle Thar. They usually hit 4/5 pretty easily (land, creature, instant, sorcery), but past there growth tends to be slower, and you have whatever anti-graveyard tech you prefer. Thar also outfights Angler, Delver, Clique, and all other sorts of things.
You're right that he doesn't outfight Shadow once they're at low life. Sounds like a perfect time to alpha-strike.
Too bad his build looks over a year out of date. Still probably will win a lot of games and be a blast to play. It is the style that hooked most of us.
Nissa VS didn't seem to add enough, and you can't even fetch it with Bellower. There's a bunch of more awesome Nissa's to play, if you really want to.
I think the matchups that give me the most trouble are Scapeshift and B/x and Green Tron decks and I'd like to change my sideboard to help those matchups a bit. Cutting Primal Command and adding Scooze will help with the B/x decks (and any gv strats), but I want another card to help vs. Scapeshift. I could cut the second Ruric Thar in the sideboard for a 3rd Blood Moon which is great vs. all Tron decks and also Scapeshift.
These are interesting choices. I've found Command quite good against the black decks by killing Death Shadows, deleting Gurmag fuel, and disabling their complementary 1G or 1U creature. No denying that Sc.Ooze is awesome against these guys. Ruric Thar is one of those cards I almost wish I could find a second copy of in the MD, and seems strong in a lot of the same matches. Blood Moon is, of course, broken-good.
It sounds like you may want to consider making other cuts though. Swapping one card for another that's slightly better in the same matchup tends not to move the needle much. On the other hand, swapping out a card used in a matchup that is already heavily-favored or -unfavored for one that helps a mediocre matchup will do you more good.
I am thinking a Naya Version might want more ramp with fertile ground to hit cards like Gishath Sun's Avatar, Verdant Sun's Avatar, and Wakening Sun's Avatar. It might also Fiery Justice as its main kill spell outside a couple of paths so it can ping Ranging Raptors and Ripjaw Raptors. Obviously no Blood Moon in the Naya list. Maybe Fertile Ground though to help ramp up to those cards.
There's not enough Nykthos and Garruk WS in here! Also, Ballista and Ripjaw does have that great synergy everyone talked to death several pages ago.
So tonight was interesting, I managed to get to my LGS early due to finishing work earlier, and play a bunch of games against another person playing Green Devotion. Here’s the interesting thing he ran almost a RUG type variant that included Surrak dragon claw, I was pretty surprised to see that. ( also Kiora and Selkies )
What’s everyone’s thoughts on a dragonclaw being run in the deck? The guy swore by it, and it played well for him as an interesting combat trick + trample enabler
The big issue with Surrak Dragonclaw is that he's basically a slightly-undercosted heavy. You have other options in that category, and very few of them are potent enough to get people to play them. I use Polukranos, but I wouldn't if not for the removal component. Likewise for Titan. I'm rarely in desperate need of trample. Flash is a cool trick, but if we want those, we could also play Restoration Angel or the like (which has synergies with Titan, Queen, or Behemoth).
I really like that there's synergy between Raptor and Whisperwood. With only 11 Dinos, I don't think Gishath is good enough, and I think it's impossible to make Gishath good in Modern. This deck is pretty bad I'm sure, but it's the best I could do. It doesn't have much Dinosaur tribal synergy. It's possible that Drover of the Mighty could be in there.
LEGACY: Soldier Stompy WW // Blue Stompy UU // Fit Variants BGRW // Sol Land Brews BGRUWC MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
I've tested Leyline of Vitality with Boartusk Liege and my hated Burning Tree Emissary and surptise surprise, the three cards have so much synergy that they can enable a more robust Gruul devotion package with Strangleroot Geist. By turn 4 you have 9 or so hybrid green devotion plus a fertile ground or arbor elf and you can actually play like a regular non devotion stompy deck if a Nykthos lands.
Leyline of vitality scales too if you have 2 or more in play. The beauty of Leyline is that they cannot boardwipe with Wrath or spot removal unless they have permanent bounce and chances are you get to play a Lords effect on all your attacking creatures while providing GG for each Leyline. Having GGGG from just 2 Leyline without any Lord creature (+1/+1 to all creatures you control) in play that is very difficult to remove puts even your 2/2 devotion dorks out of burn range and gives a Garruk Overrun win con or any spell that needs GGGG plus any more from your devotion dorks that much more viablity. You can explode for 11 plus green devotion or at least 6 if you have Garruk and your opponent tries to cut that over the next turns by spot removal for creatures. It goes well with both go wide and go big aggro strategies and if like me you play Walls, Primalcruxen and Mirrorweave, each Primalcrux gets plus 3 power and toughness aside from other devotion sources. Just food for thought from playtesting.
It seems that Fertile Ground is the more resilient land enchantment over Utopia Vow and a Burning Tree Emissary into a Fertile Ground into a Strangleroot Geist then a Boartusk Liege next turn is enough to bring too much pressure on your opponents next turn. This with a Leyline of Vitality opening the game on your part. Try to playtest the idea guys. I play with 3 Leyline of Vitality main decked.
Green's leylines tend to be pretty bad (which, considering the concept of what a leyline is, means Wizards really missed the mark). BTE serves the same role as leylines in providing free Devotion to make Nykthos powerful as fast as turn 3. However, while BTE can still attack, leylines don't do much.
If we really are concerned about countermagic and removal, Thrun, the Last Troll is a decent creature in general.
I played 10 matches and kept track with a final record of 8-2
I beat GRixis Shadow, Mono White D&T, G/W Boggles, 8-rack, U/W Control and that's all I remember. My only two losses were to burn, so I want to make that matchup more comfortable.
-1 Relic
+1 Scooze
This let's me keep up gv hate while also giving me blockers and lifegain for burn. It's possible I should add another Obstinate Baloth or Thrag and cut an Abrade but I like having two early game removal spells in the sideboard.
I'm also testing a white splash for Eidolon and Aven Mindcensor now, instead of a second Ruric Thar and Slaughter Games.
Gaddock Teeg is s consideration as well, since against the decks I would want it for, I'd be siding out big Garruk anyways, and at that point it only prevents me from casting Wildspeaker. The card is great vs. Green Tron and Storm and Ad Nauseum, and I can tutor for it with Pact. It's also decent enough vs. Scapeshift, especially the version with many copies of its namesake card. I think I'll add Teeg instead of Mindcensor.
SAMPLE DAY 1 TOURNEY MATCHES Last Updated: 9/24 11:00 PM
I've won a bunch of matches against non-tier decks or bad players and I don't want to include those in the results
VS. Jeskai control WIN 2-1
- Game 1: can't remember but I win Game 2: outvalued and controlled and I lose Game 3: Long and eventually I just barely get enough dmg through with Kessig
VS. PIF Combo (w/Opt) WIN 2-0
- Game 1 a quick Ruric and they scoop, Game 2 SD hate cards to stall then Ruric and scoop
VS. Abzan Good stuff LOSS 0-2
- he plays goyfs and discard and Rhinos and Souls Wilt-Leaf Lieges and the pressure it just too much both games
(I did not have Baloth in this list for the match, Baloth is the last card I added, and it's actually perfect since it helps vs Burn and the deck needed either Thrag or Baloth while also helping vs. B/x decks. Baloth was the pick because it's great vs. Lili and also amazing with Pact)
VS. U/W control WIN 2-0
- Games 1 and 2: lots of mana very fast and just dumping cards which they won't be able to deal with way to fast for them, quick match
VS. 8-Rack WIN 2-0
- Game 1: Courser gains me life and nets me cards and I drop a Whisperwood and they scoop Games 2: turn 2 Inquisition sees two Courser, Visionary and Wildspeaker and they scoop (maybe not the best version, they running Liliana's Caress which seems bad
VS. U/B Faeries WIN 2-1
- I forget the games, but the games I won were not very close and the game he won was quite close
VS. Jund Loss 0-2
- Game 1: I was so close to winning but I made a risky block putting my at 3 life dead to Bolt and he drew it in two turns. Game 2: an anger hurt and then I didn't find some to stall the game and he was beating down with a big scooze while we were both hellbent. I feel like this match was very close, I could have won it.
VS. Eldrazi Tron WIN 2-0 Game 1: I come out fast and land a Whisper with a Hoof in hand to win easily next turn, he even had turn 3 Tron. Game 2: I land whisper and I suppose he realized his All is Dust isn't great anymore and I will overwhelm him and he scoops, albiet immaturely so I'm a bit disappointed he did it so early
VS. Grixis Death's Shadow WIN 2-0 Game 1: I'm on the draw and just do better stuff than my opponent Game 2: he gets stuck on 1 land for two turns and scoops
LEGACY: Soldier Stompy WW // Blue Stompy UU // Fit Variants BGRW // Sol Land Brews BGRUWC MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
Taking out Commands weakens the burn matchup somewhat, though Sc.Ooze improves it. Personally, I find RiP to be the best option if you have a white splash, though I keep in Sc.Ooze because it's good versus Burn decks and I can tutor it up with Command.
Another way to shore up that matchup might be to decrease the number of Visionaries and replace some with Coursers. These tend to fit well on the curve, provide some card advantage over longer games, gain life (more than balancing out fetches), add more devotion, and are more serious blockers.
On a different topic, I also just lost a match to Infect Stompy. This is the first match I've lost since putting in the combo. In retrospect, better SB choices might have saved me, but they didn't. My luck was also a bit sour (though game 1 was likely a loss, regardless). I hadn't seen Infect in a while, and had forgotten about it. It's not as bad as Storm, but it's pretty bad.
LEGACY: Soldier Stompy WW // Blue Stompy UU // Fit Variants BGRW // Sol Land Brews BGRUWC MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
I don't know how I missed that. Well, with that many Coursers, the match should be good. I don't know that a 4th Courser is all that good. There is a great synergy with Vizier of the Menagerie, but that won't do much to help your Burn match. This is one that might be helped by a Pelakka Wurm or Elderscale Wurm to tutor up though. Dramatic and pretty much only for one type of opponent, but very good in those cases. Alternatively, another Obstinate Baloth?
I've probably played about 15 or 20 matches. This was the first I've lost since I added in the combo. However, I also have been lucky, since I haven't run into Storm or Breach yet. I know how those matches would go.
Edit: Addendum: And just lost again to Eldrazi. They got some crazy luck, but still. I blame you, Rendroc. This is all your fault.
Edit: Addendum: Won 3 more matches. Faith restored. No perfect record lasts forever.
Edit: Addendum: I was considering my recent matches, and realized something: my sideboard stinks! I mean, I knew that, but it's really bad. I never pull in Temur Sabertooth. Thragtusk is something I also rarely want, and would likely be better as a second Obstinate Baloth. But most importantly, Beast Within is terrible! If half the Beast Withins I drew were Bonfire of the Damned instead, I might well have won both those lost matches. I guess it took those experiences to brush off my skepticism of the card. I don't know that four copies is right, but at least two seems sound.
Polukranos may have also changed those matchups, but I never found him. He is probably the 2nd worst card in the deck, but is still always okay.
Another observation is that Oath of Nissa feels more questionable each time I use it. Yes, sometimes it gets me a good threat or important land drop. More often, it gets me a sub-par threat. Occasionally, it gets me nothing: I've hit some mix of Oath/Sprawl/Command more times than seems likely. This is likely not worth it for the occasional efficiency and Devotion boost. These are also always the first thing I SB out, since generally my Creature-density drops when SBing. Given that, I'm actually thinking of going back to an Oath-less build, using Summoner's Pacts in their place. This has the bonus of making Craterhoof Behemoth much more threatening.
I've always thought Oath was best as a 2-of,mostly to smooth out missing land drops. Since playing with Visionaries, I haven't needed to play it and it feels totally fine.
I’m in the same boat... Oath is amazing in my Walker and Curio builds; but in other builds I either don’t play it, or play only 2 (sometimes 3 if there are very few instant/Sorcery/enchantments).
It’s true that Elvish Visionary is more useful in a Chord/Overrun build...They are different...you are trading away deeper digging and a cheaper cost for a 1/1 body and drawing any type of card it hits (no whiffs).
I run have only 2 Pacts in my Garruk Green deck, but Oath hits everything else. Oath is fantastic. Adds mana with Nykthos, finds a key land, or or spell, reveals a new top card for Courser, and it's effect is strictly better than Sleight of Hand in the deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Always wear protection kids, sleeve up your deck.
LEGACY: Soldier Stompy WW // Blue Stompy UU // Fit Variants BGRW // Sol Land Brews BGRUWC MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
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Feel free to post! Devotion is a great shell for Dinosaurs (given the best are larger, green ones). We talked about it briefly; but no one actually tested it significantly enough to truly say if the idea was a viable one. I have no doubt there would be plenty here happy to help with your Dino Devotion list. With options like Chameleon Colossus also playing well in Dinos; I think you could develop a Dino Devotion deck that takes advantage of the Dinosaur- specific cards.
This is something I can chime in on! I recently got into MTGO so I could play my Vernal Bloom Tooth & Nail deck in my spare time, and I tried Nissa out for probably ~20 matches. What I found was that she was really great in attrition match ups... Stuff like 8 rack, Jund, Esper control, etc. She is a great value engine.
That being said, I don't think she's a good fit for Devotion. She's pretty slow, and consider that we only run ~21 lands, she is quite unlikely to flip. In order to make use of her, I would expect deck changes such as more Prime Times and Coursers, as well ad playing in a more interactive, attrition based meta.
I don't think it's her time. But someday!
That's a good point. Decandio's list does in fact play a few Primeval Titan and 4x Courser (and Genesis Wave can obviously put a ton of lands in at once); so it may be a good choice in his list...but you are right taht it isn't great for every list.
4 Windswept heath
1 Kessig Wolf-Run
8 Forest
1 Mountain
3 Stomping Ground
4 Arbor Elf
4 Deathgorge Scavenger
3 Ranging Raptor
4 Ripjaw Raptor
4 Regisaur Alpha
2 Burning Sun's Avatar
2 Carnage Tyrant
4 Commune with Dinosaurs
2 Pyroclasm
4 Blood Moon
4 Utopia Sprawl
2 Abrade
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Shatterstorm
1 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Trinisphere
2 Raging Swordtooth
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Arlinn Kord
This is what I was thinking of.
I am thinking a Naya Version might want more ramp with fertile ground to hit cards like Gishath Sun's Avatar, Verdant Sun's Avatar, and Wakening Sun's Avatar. It might also Fiery Justice as its main kill spell outside a couple of paths so it can ping Ranging Raptors and Ripjaw Raptors. Obviously no Blood Moon in the Naya list. Maybe Fertile Ground though to help ramp up to those cards.
Tarmogoyfs usually don't outmuscle Thar. They usually hit 4/5 pretty easily (land, creature, instant, sorcery), but past there growth tends to be slower, and you have whatever anti-graveyard tech you prefer. Thar also outfights Angler, Delver, Clique, and all other sorts of things.
You're right that he doesn't outfight Shadow once they're at low life. Sounds like a perfect time to alpha-strike.
Nissa VS didn't seem to add enough, and you can't even fetch it with Bellower. There's a bunch of more awesome Nissa's to play, if you really want to.
It sounds like you may want to consider making other cuts though. Swapping one card for another that's slightly better in the same matchup tends not to move the needle much. On the other hand, swapping out a card used in a matchup that is already heavily-favored or -unfavored for one that helps a mediocre matchup will do you more good.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
What’s everyone’s thoughts on a dragonclaw being run in the deck? The guy swore by it, and it played well for him as an interesting combat trick + trample enabler
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
it was interesting to see, and the flash in / combat removal seemed fun. the mana cost seemed a bit restrictive though
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
// 24 Creature
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Walking Ballista
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Ripjaw Raptor
2 Chameleon Colossus
1 Gishath, Sun's Avatar
1 Carnage Tyrant
1 Whisperwood Elemental
1 Acidic Slime
1 Regisaur Alpha
// 7 Enchantment
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Oath of Nissa
2 Summoner's Pact
// 21 Land
6 Forest
2 Stomping Ground
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Windswept Heath
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Temple Garden
// 6 Planeswalker
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Whisperwood Elemental
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Blood Moon
2 Abrade
2 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Creeping Corrosion
I really like that there's synergy between Raptor and Whisperwood. With only 11 Dinos, I don't think Gishath is good enough, and I think it's impossible to make Gishath good in Modern. This deck is pretty bad I'm sure, but it's the best I could do. It doesn't have much Dinosaur tribal synergy. It's possible that Drover of the Mighty could be in there.
MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
Leyline of vitality scales too if you have 2 or more in play. The beauty of Leyline is that they cannot boardwipe with Wrath or spot removal unless they have permanent bounce and chances are you get to play a Lords effect on all your attacking creatures while providing GG for each Leyline. Having GGGG from just 2 Leyline without any Lord creature (+1/+1 to all creatures you control) in play that is very difficult to remove puts even your 2/2 devotion dorks out of burn range and gives a Garruk Overrun win con or any spell that needs GGGG plus any more from your devotion dorks that much more viablity. You can explode for 11 plus green devotion or at least 6 if you have Garruk and your opponent tries to cut that over the next turns by spot removal for creatures. It goes well with both go wide and go big aggro strategies and if like me you play Walls, Primalcruxen and Mirrorweave, each Primalcrux gets plus 3 power and toughness aside from other devotion sources. Just food for thought from playtesting.
It seems that Fertile Ground is the more resilient land enchantment over Utopia Vow and a Burning Tree Emissary into a Fertile Ground into a Strangleroot Geist then a Boartusk Liege next turn is enough to bring too much pressure on your opponents next turn. This with a Leyline of Vitality opening the game on your part. Try to playtest the idea guys. I play with 3 Leyline of Vitality main decked.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
If we really are concerned about countermagic and removal, Thrun, the Last Troll is a decent creature in general.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
I played 10 matches and kept track with a final record of 8-2
I beat GRixis Shadow, Mono White D&T, G/W Boggles, 8-rack, U/W Control and that's all I remember. My only two losses were to burn, so I want to make that matchup more comfortable.
-1 Relic
+1 Scooze
This let's me keep up gv hate while also giving me blockers and lifegain for burn. It's possible I should add another Obstinate Baloth or Thrag and cut an Abrade but I like having two early game removal spells in the sideboard.
I'm also testing a white splash for Eidolon and Aven Mindcensor now, instead of a second Ruric Thar and Slaughter Games.
Gaddock Teeg is s consideration as well, since against the decks I would want it for, I'd be siding out big Garruk anyways, and at that point it only prevents me from casting Wildspeaker. The card is great vs. Green Tron and Storm and Ad Nauseum, and I can tutor for it with Pact. It's also decent enough vs. Scapeshift, especially the version with many copies of its namesake card. I think I'll add Teeg instead of Mindcensor.
CURRENT DECKLIST
// 24 Creature
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Walking Ballista
3 Courser of Kruphix
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Acidic Slime
1 Hornet Queen
1 Whisperwood Elemental
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Wolfbriar Elemental
// 7 Enchantment
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Oath of Nissa
2 Summoner's Pact
// 21 Land
6 Forest
2 Stomping Ground
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Windswept Heath
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Temple Garden
1 Misty Rainforest
// 6 Planeswalker
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
// 2 Artifact
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Whisperwood Elemental
2 Abrade
2 Blood Moon
1 Obstinate Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
-1 Relic in SD
-1 Primal Command SD
-2 Relic SD
+1 Obstinate Baloth SD
+2 Grafdigger's Cage SD
-
+1 Whisperwood MD
-1 Wolfbriar MD
I've won a bunch of matches against non-tier decks or bad players and I don't want to include those in the results
VS. Jeskai control WIN 2-1
- Game 1: can't remember but I win Game 2: outvalued and controlled and I lose Game 3: Long and eventually I just barely get enough dmg through with Kessig
VS. PIF Combo (w/Opt) WIN 2-0
- Game 1 a quick Ruric and they scoop, Game 2 SD hate cards to stall then Ruric and scoop
VS. Abzan Good stuff LOSS 0-2
- he plays goyfs and discard and Rhinos and Souls Wilt-Leaf Lieges and the pressure it just too much both games
(I did not have Baloth in this list for the match, Baloth is the last card I added, and it's actually perfect since it helps vs Burn and the deck needed either Thrag or Baloth while also helping vs. B/x decks. Baloth was the pick because it's great vs. Lili and also amazing with Pact)
VS. U/W control WIN 2-0
- Games 1 and 2: lots of mana very fast and just dumping cards which they won't be able to deal with way to fast for them, quick match
VS. 8-Rack WIN 2-0
- Game 1: Courser gains me life and nets me cards and I drop a Whisperwood and they scoop Games 2: turn 2 Inquisition sees two Courser, Visionary and Wildspeaker and they scoop
VS. U/B Faeries WIN 2-1
- I forget the games, but the games I won were not very close and the game he won was quite close
VS. Jund Loss 0-2
- Game 1: I was so close to winning but I made a risky block putting my at 3 life dead to Bolt and he drew it in two turns. Game 2: an anger hurt and then I didn't find some to stall the game and he was beating down with a big scooze while we were both hellbent. I feel like this match was very close, I could have won it.
VS. Eldrazi Tron WIN 2-0 Game 1: I come out fast and land a Whisper with a Hoof in hand to win easily next turn, he even had turn 3 Tron. Game 2: I land whisper and I suppose he realized his All is Dust isn't great anymore and I will overwhelm him and he scoops, albiet immaturely so I'm a bit disappointed he did it so early
VS. Grixis Death's Shadow WIN 2-0 Game 1: I'm on the draw and just do better stuff than my opponent Game 2: he gets stuck on 1 land for two turns and scoops
TOTAL RESULTS:
7-2
MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
Another way to shore up that matchup might be to decrease the number of Visionaries and replace some with Coursers. These tend to fit well on the curve, provide some card advantage over longer games, gain life (more than balancing out fetches), add more devotion, and are more serious blockers.
On a different topic, I also just lost a match to Infect Stompy. This is the first match I've lost since putting in the combo. In retrospect, better SB choices might have saved me, but they didn't. My luck was also a bit sour (though game 1 was likely a loss, regardless). I hadn't seen Infect in a while, and had forgotten about it. It's not as bad as Storm, but it's pretty bad.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
And yes, I could put in RIP instead of Relic.
MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
I don't know how I missed that. Well, with that many Coursers, the match should be good. I don't know that a 4th Courser is all that good. There is a great synergy with Vizier of the Menagerie, but that won't do much to help your Burn match. This is one that might be helped by a Pelakka Wurm or Elderscale Wurm to tutor up though. Dramatic and pretty much only for one type of opponent, but very good in those cases. Alternatively, another Obstinate Baloth?
I've probably played about 15 or 20 matches. This was the first I've lost since I added in the combo. However, I also have been lucky, since I haven't run into Storm or Breach yet. I know how those matches would go.
Edit: Addendum: And just lost again to Eldrazi. They got some crazy luck, but still. I blame you, Rendroc. This is all your fault.
Edit: Addendum: Won 3 more matches. Faith restored. No perfect record lasts forever.
Edit: Addendum: I was considering my recent matches, and realized something: my sideboard stinks! I mean, I knew that, but it's really bad. I never pull in Temur Sabertooth. Thragtusk is something I also rarely want, and would likely be better as a second Obstinate Baloth. But most importantly, Beast Within is terrible! If half the Beast Withins I drew were Bonfire of the Damned instead, I might well have won both those lost matches. I guess it took those experiences to brush off my skepticism of the card. I don't know that four copies is right, but at least two seems sound.
Polukranos may have also changed those matchups, but I never found him. He is probably the 2nd worst card in the deck, but is still always okay.
Another observation is that Oath of Nissa feels more questionable each time I use it. Yes, sometimes it gets me a good threat or important land drop. More often, it gets me a sub-par threat. Occasionally, it gets me nothing: I've hit some mix of Oath/Sprawl/Command more times than seems likely. This is likely not worth it for the occasional efficiency and Devotion boost. These are also always the first thing I SB out, since generally my Creature-density drops when SBing. Given that, I'm actually thinking of going back to an Oath-less build, using Summoner's Pacts in their place. This has the bonus of making Craterhoof Behemoth much more threatening.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
It’s true that Elvish Visionary is more useful in a Chord/Overrun build...They are different...you are trading away deeper digging and a cheaper cost for a 1/1 body and drawing any type of card it hits (no whiffs).
MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC