Vivian is such an interesting card. Loving all the green-heavy costs in this set. I know it’s a little slow (more of kinda a control card); but it fills some holes:
Creature removal without losing a creature (not a fight...just straight "deal damage"...)
Planeswalker removal
Gives fatties trample that don't have it.
Pumps smaller guys (turns a Llanowar tribe into 5/5 with trample).
Can get ANY creature from the board (can play a Hornet Queen, Ouphe, Spellskite even a Craterhoof in board if you wanted etc.).
Fun with some of my favorite pet card (Genesis Hydra and Reverent Hunter)...but more importantly strong with a lot of non-trample fatties. This is the type of card I love (even if it is a little slow for Modern). Funnily enough, it’s good with Cavalier (can turn it into a 7/8 trampler) great curve for standard. So much fun to brew with...and 3 Devotion:). 4-cmc is a good number as well. Of course I’ll try it out...but if I'm being completely honest I will be surprised if it makes the cut.
Now..the draw backs...
Does stone cold nothing on an open board. She needs creatures to do anything.
Not as aggressive/fast as the deck tends to be (neither of the abilities are guaranteed backbreaking)
Can’t immediately get a creature from the board (without proliferate, etc.) like Karn can
Those are some big hurdles that push it out of “staple” territory and more into “cool in specific meta/situations” card. This is what I call a “going in the Devotion box” card. The power level is enough to see play; but you gotta make the most of the abilities. Granted; we tend to have creatures to use the +1 on (so this is not a huge worry)..,and we can get it on the board by turn two. Even with this, however, it is sill not a "plan A" card. I would like to hear from those that play Pact lists, however. Does this fit well in your deck?
I do think a Stompy build would love this. A pump that also gives trample while ticking up (with removal in a pinch) while also adding 3-Devotion...seems like a great card for a Stompy build. Who knows...there could be a strong build that curves Nissa, Voice of Zendikar into Vivien Arkbow Ranger, into Walking Ballista and is great
Could also just be a great 1-of in a creature heavy meta (or a potential sideboard option).
Cavalier of Thorns may actually end up being better for the deck...We discussed it a littleabove; but thus far It has been quite strong in my limited testing. It's kind of a smaller, cheaper, faster Primeval Titan.
I'm loving all of the mono-color heavy cards in the set. It almost feels like there are too many mon-color heavy cards to be going to Theros again! Haha. Like there’s too much Devotion! I hope this means we are back to Theros or a new plane that utilizes the Devotion mechanic (which would be unreal for us Devotion players of course).
1. Vivien didn’t feel “fast” enough. It was great to deal with Narset, Teferi’s, Liliana’s, etc. (and I killed some creatures too)...but I found my self ticking her up a lot more and while it made some tiny creatures into threats; it was never truly backbreaking to the opponent.
Seems like it may just be a 1-of and/or sideboard option unless the deck is built around her specifically (like a Stompy build).I think I just didn’t have the build she would flourish in as well.
2. Cavalier of Thorns has been very powerful. There are so many wild lines he creates:
- I’ve had a couple games he got a Nykthos off his trigger, that I could then trigger to go nuts. The fact that the land comes into play untapped is huge.
- His draw off Kiora BB has been very useful. Many turns he came down, got a Land and drew a card.
- I built a deck very similar to the one I had been playing just to see how the card fairs. Here is the list and a few thoughts/findings:
1. I have tried the deck without Llanowar Tribe for a few reasons:
Because the deck tops out at 5-6 CMC (outside of the Karn + Lattice Combo of course) I didn't really need to go higher than that by turn 3 (unless God Hands just won the game)
I was also running into a LOT of decks that played bolt or path and Llanowar Tribe was not surviving (or they would "bolt the bird" and I couldn't cast it profitably on turn two.
This deck in particular makes use of non-green lands quite a bit (Blast Zone and Nykthos) so you don't always have three green mana on turn 2.
Because I play Kiora, Arbor Elf, and Garruk; land enchantments are huge.
Even with all of the above; it may still be better to play Llanowar Tribe It is that powerful. This is just a slightly different deck in terms of its play patterns than the Wave deck; so its ramp package also is different.
2. The deck obviously has a heavy lands focus (using the two main creatures to tutor up lands for their utility).
3. It’s possible a deck like this doesn’t want the Karns (like your win-con focus should be on the creatures). Obviously it will take a lot of time to know what the best way to play the card would be (if we play it). I just ported it in due to its power with Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner in particular.
I haven’t tested nearly enough for any definitive claims...I can with confidence say that both Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner and Karn, the Great Creator are amazing :)...But beyond that I have a lot more to test..
Went to a little Wednesday Night Modern at my LGS, not a big tournament but it's the only thing I've been able to get to since Horizons dropped. Playing that Naya Eladamri's Call Tooth and Nail list from upthread.
R1: Infect 1-2
G1: This one was close, and came down to me drawing land. I didn't.
G2: A quick tooth and Nail wins this one.
G3: This was a learning experience. I died with call in hand and my only ballista in my graveyard. I need more than one tutorable removal effect in the 75 I think.
R2 WU Control 2-1
G1: I lost in typical 'they stick a Teferi' fashion.
G2: His first two lands are Colonnades, so end of his second turn I call Magus of the Moon. He finds an Island later but it doesn't save him.
G3: I win with fast beats backed up by Scavenging Ooze locking down the graveyard.
R3 Spirits 2-1
G1: I flooded out and died.
G2 and G3 I win with prime time beats and a 7/7 ballista in there somewhere. I don't remember which game though. Playing an early titan and threatening to Wolf Run their face is a good way to win this matchup.
2-1 overall
Takeaway: Eladamri's Call is very good. I have been super impressed with the flexibility it gives the deck, especially in post-board games. I still don't think I have the exact right mix of tutor targets, and which go main vs side. I think I want more creatures in the sideboard in general, though. I'll test more and work it out as I go.
EDIT: Has anyone seen Veil of Summer? I'm not sure what to make of it yet, but that card looks crazy to me. In the right matchup, it's a 2-for-1 for 1 mana. And it's super versatile too. It protects me, and all of my permanents, and makes my spells uncounterable. It does so much for 1 mana.
One of my concerns with Veil of Summer is that, because my deck is so proactive and reliably uses all of its mana the first two turns of the game, Veil of Summer might lose a lot of its effectiveness since, if I'm always tapping out, I won't have any mana up to stop any errant Thoughtseize or Fatal Push. Anywho, I think it's worth seriously considering as a sideboard card. It still has so much going for it.
I'm pretty hyped about this one. I've looked at Autumn's Veil before as a way to deal with some bad matchups, but that card just doesn't do enough. Veil of Summer is so much stronger.
2-1 is great! Well done. Infect sometimes just gets its nut draws and is one of those Modern decks that unless you have the answer by turn 2 you are screwed...if you see it enough, so you could even use Call to tutor up Melira, Sylvok Outcast! That said, you can board for it if it becomes a bigger part of the meta.
I agree that Eladamri's Call seems like a strong addition to Modern (and to multiple Devotion decks). Being instant speed is a big deal; but for big mana decks even casting it at sorcery speed is often fine.
Hey all, long time reader. With the release of Modern Horizons I've been so excited with all the new cards that Mono-green have been getting. I've been trying to brew a lot of the different versions of mono-green with anything new, from Unbound Flourishing to Ayula's Influence. After lots of testing, I took an Unbound Flourishing deck to FNM this past week and have been extremely impressed with the results.
Few things to note:
1) I do not like the second half of Unbound Flourishing. It does not scale the same way as the first half when you have 2+ of the enchantment on the battlefield. So I did not consider any spells with X.
2) I made the sideboard very quickly before going to FNM, so it was basically created based on previous memory of bad mono-green match ups, not necessarily bad match ups for this deck specifically.
3) Things like Noble Hierarch and Misty Rainforest can easily be changes for cheaper alternatives like Birds of Paradise or Wooded Foothills
Somehow, luck or otherwise, I did go 4-0 with this list. All the games felt really close, and I lost every game 1, and won games 2-3. I felt that a lot of it was on my opponents not knowing what I was doing and being unable to sideboard properly for the post-board games. The games were against Humans, Burn, UR control, and Jund.
Highlights:
All the planeswalkers were put in because they can untap lands, which ended up being either Nykthos, or a land with 1+ enchantments on it, making getting to 7+ mana fairly consistent even if the opponent killed a mana dork.
Hydroid Krasis is amazing in Modern, but also has a "fatal" flaw. Getting a Hydroid to X=4 or higher makes it not only the biggest creature on the field most of the time, but refuels for the next turn, and helps you survive to it. Unfortunately, the CMC of this card on the battlefield is 2, so it dies to Fatal Push and Abrupt Decay
I won a lot of games chaining Hydroid Krasis into planeswalker into Walking Ballista. Sometimes this was even setup with an Eladamri's Call, which basically always found either of those 2 creatures.
I still don't know about Genesis Hydra. On one hand, you can cast it for 4+, and just get a mana dork and a 4/4, which isn't good for 6+ mana. On the other, you can find a planeswalker, like Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner which draws you a card since it is on the battlefield before the Hydra resolves, and then untap a land and continue the chain. It is also real good in any grindy matchup and very good against counter spells.
I had a lot of fun with this deck. Casting Hydroid Krasis for X=5, and then doubling it twice is basically game over (same with Walking Ballista for obvious reasons). There is definitely room for improvement, especially with the early turn cards. Fertile Ground is a contention that all planeswalkers untap lands to increase their value by just that much more. I considered Oath of Nissa instead, which could potentially see a place in the deck since the only cards it doesn't find are Unbound Flourishing and Utopia Sprawl, and it adds 1 to devotion. I also can see a variant of the deck that goes red instead of white to play some number of Banefire. I also think the sideboard is close, but certain cards liks Raking Canopy(personal favorite) and Thragtusk are unnecessary. I think they could be replaced by more creatures that cost 3 or less to they can be found with Eladamri's Call and used to hose certain matchups, like Melira, Sylvok Outcast or Gaddock Teeg
- I could see how Genesis Hydra isn’t at its best here. A lot of your payoff’s are X-spells (which he doesn’t hit). Hitting a walker is amazing (especially when you can reset a Nykthos and keep a chain going) but I can see why it’s not at its best here (as you really want it to hit a 5+ drop to get crazy value).
- I’ve been going back and forth between Ferile Ground and Llanowar Tribe too. Tribe is SOOOO powerful. The only problem is that when bolt is popular it is bad. If they bolt the bird you can’t cast it turn two...then you’re casting it turn 3; but can’t use it until turn 4 (assuming they don’t remove it)...ugh.
The issue is that if it is so powerful that the deck gets nerfed game one without it; you can’t build worrying too much about the opponent. I could just side it out against heavy removal decks.
It’s a matter of seeing how many games would be drastically effected by Tribe being either Fertile Ground or Overgrowth. I do play a lot of walkers that untap lands; so that is also something that factors into my decision.
Why only Kiora's and not even one Garruk? Because the Kiora can untap creature's. The biggest benefit of this is Llanowar Tribe and Rosheen Meanderer. This Deck is full of X creatures. This Deck ramp very hard even without Nykthos.
Card Draws can you get about the 2 Kiora's and Hydroid Krasis. The Behemoth is maybe unnecessary.
And a hint about Polukranos, World Eater. You can't double the X effect with Polukranos, because Monstrosity works only once.
These Unbound Flourishing lists are awesome. I wanted that card when it was spoiled; but stopped myself from pre-ordering it (as they started them at like $49 each!). Now it is reasonable though; so I may brew a list up as well just to try it out
Sup dudes, Voracious Hydra was THE PRINT I was looking for. I'm so excited to test that marvelous beast to double with Domri, Anarch of Bolas. Llanowar Tribe is also very interesting, I was going to play 4 maindeck, but I couldn't let go of my 1-of stronghold Overgrowth, it's so beautiful.
Cool list. Voracious Wurm seems perfect as potential creature removal for Green.
Midrange works when you’ve got interaction; and you do (Primal Command, Scavenging Ooze, Domri, Voracious Wurm, Thrashing Brontodon, Ruric Thar, etc.)...and that’s all in your main deck!
Devotion can be built up fast or slow; all that matters is you build the deck to give you time to do it the way you prefer.
_________
So during my testing with Cavalier I found that I really liked playing a creature with power 4 or Greater with Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner on the battlefield...so I made a list of creatures I wanted to test with. Voracious wurm is definitely one of them
The first one I really wanted to test; however, would pull double duty in the deck. It is Chancellor of the Tangle.
I have wanted to play this card for over a year (as the extra mana can be extremely busted and leads to more 4-mana on turn-2 lines.). Its not crazy powerful after it’s opening hand value; however drawing a card helps boost its potential (as well as trample via Garruk).
You’ll notice a very similar “core” (the Walker deck stays the same with about 10 cards changing ) but Chancellor speeds it up a bit.
I have been extremely impressed with Chancellor of the Tangle. Especially with the London Mulligan it is busted. It leads to silly turn-1's (which in this deck just snowball)
Turn Two
- Play Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- Tap Enchanted Forest
- Untap and re-Tap with Arbor Elf
- Cast Garruk Wildspeaker
- Tap Nykthos for 1-colorless mana
- Untap both lands
- Trigger Nykthos for X= 5 (6-total)
- Cast Acidic Slime Killing their land
The combination of Chancellor and Sprawl is bonkers with enough 1- and 2-drops...I can't say that my build is perfected/tuned yet; but the "Core" of the ramp package and Chancellor of the Tangle feels right (as does playing Kiora and Garruk with it).
I'll test more tomorrow and let you know the pros and cons I run into.
I can't count the number of times I'd love to have had an elvish mystic to exile for a green turn one.
You get to KEEP THIS ONE. Seems awesome.
Yeah. This one is staying for the long haul. It just puts the deck's speed on par with the faster combo decks (and is a huge aid on the draw). Granted I will need to tune it to get the most out of it...but that is just a matter of a few cards (the core stays the same...just the level of payoffs change).
I'll still try to test as many cards as possible that people are interested in to discuss lines, interactions, possibilities, etc....and will test as much as I can outside of my deck (I feel like that is part of my job as the OP); but in terms of "my deck" (and my outlining results, etc.) this will be this deck.
** P.S. there are a ton of other ways to take advantage of Chancellor. You could cast one or more Burning-Tree Emissary on turn 1. I think it may go well with Fauna Shaman (if you don’t wish to cast it for value you can discard it for something else, etc). I don’t want to make it seem like my way is the only way...I think it is a powerful tool for many different Devotion decks. **
1. The deck has felt smooth.
2. The deck has been surprisingly resilient.
The speed is there; and the disruption feels like just enough to deal with some of the faster decks.
I do think there is something to the deck. Leyline is crazy with all of the dorks; and makes the Devoted Druid + Elder of Laurel Combo much stronger. It’s nice to be able to get both sides via Pact. Most games were won going infinite*; but a few were Pact for Hoof and a few were just good old Beatdown.
Obviously I can’t say with any certainty how good the card/deck is yet; but I’ll test it as much as I can and let everyone know. Of course, if anyone has better ideas for how to exploit Leyline we should brew it!
*the infinite combo with Devoted Druid and Elder of Laurels is performed when Elders ability increases Devoted Druids power by more than the total “untaps”. To gain infinite mana (and infinitely large Devoted Druid):
- With Leyline in play;
1. Devoted Druid
2. Elder of Laurels
3. One other creature in play
- Without Leyline in play:
1. Devoted Druid
2. Elder of Laurels
3. Three other creatures in play*
I just realized you may have thought I meant a deck needed to be different than your deck...that was not at all what I meant...I think you have a vast majority the same way I would build with Leyline.
I was talking about the “Leyline Devotion” archetype when compared to the current Devotion core. I just meant that Leyline deck in general would be far different from current Devotion builds (mainly due to the lack of land enchantments, Arbor Elf, and Garruk...as all take advantage of the land enchanting.).
I tried my hand at it and will test it a bit. It will be interesting to see how the London Mulligan effects us (and if that helps Leyline decks more or not) as well as the meta.
Modern is changing from a Turn 4 Format to an a 3-3.5 Format. To Speed up our builds it is necessary to be competiv. I'm really not fan about Chancellor of the Tangle but i think we need this guy to go faster like never before. The big downside is, that the risk to fizzle increased.
-----
The Leyline build is very unique way to do this. My advise is to build it more explosive. Elvish Reclaimer tp search Nykthos (great with one or more Leyline on board) and Burning-Tree Emissary . Or you build it as a part to a combo like the build above this posting.
@CurdBro
Nice Combo with Elder of Laurels by the way .
Modern is changing from a Turn 4 Format to an a 3-3.5 Format. To Speed up our builds it is necessary to be competiv. I'm really not fan about Chancellor of the Tangle but i think we need this guy to go faster like never before. The big downside is, that the risk to fizzle increased.
-----
The Leyline build is very unique way to do this. My advise is to build it more explosive. Elvish Reclaimer tp search Nykthos (great with one or more Leyline on board) and Burning-Tree Emissary . Or you build it as a part to a combo like the build above this posting.
@CurdBro
Nice Combo with Elder of Laurels by the way .
This is a good point. It is gonna be a crazy format. It forces us to be faster and potentially more interactive as well.
Thanks for the kind words! I like Elder of Laurels because it allows us to Pact for both halves of the combo and can be useful if you don’t have the combo but have mana (pumping a bird, a Voracious Hydra, etc.)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Enthusiasts
Current Decks/Archetypes
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Vivian is such an interesting card. Loving all the green-heavy costs in this set. I know it’s a little slow (more of kinda a control card); but it fills some holes:
Fun with some of my favorite pet card (Genesis Hydra and Reverent Hunter)...but more importantly strong with a lot of non-trample fatties. This is the type of card I love (even if it is a little slow for Modern). Funnily enough, it’s good with Cavalier (can turn it into a 7/8 trampler) great curve for standard. So much fun to brew with...and 3 Devotion:). 4-cmc is a good number as well. Of course I’ll try it out...but if I'm being completely honest I will be surprised if it makes the cut.
Now..the draw backs...
Those are some big hurdles that push it out of “staple” territory and more into “cool in specific meta/situations” card. This is what I call a “going in the Devotion box” card. The power level is enough to see play; but you gotta make the most of the abilities. Granted; we tend to have creatures to use the +1 on (so this is not a huge worry)..,and we can get it on the board by turn two. Even with this, however, it is sill not a "plan A" card. I would like to hear from those that play Pact lists, however. Does this fit well in your deck?
I do think a Stompy build would love this. A pump that also gives trample while ticking up (with removal in a pinch) while also adding 3-Devotion...seems like a great card for a Stompy build. Who knows...there could be a strong build that curves Nissa, Voice of Zendikar into Vivien Arkbow Ranger, into Walking Ballista and is great
Could also just be a great 1-of in a creature heavy meta (or a potential sideboard option).
Cavalier of Thorns may actually end up being better for the deck...We discussed it a littleabove; but thus far It has been quite strong in my limited testing. It's kind of a smaller, cheaper, faster Primeval Titan.
I'm loving all of the mono-color heavy cards in the set. It almost feels like there are too many mon-color heavy cards to be going to Theros again! Haha. Like there’s too much Devotion! I hope this means we are back to Theros or a new plane that utilizes the Devotion mechanic (which would be unreal for us Devotion players of course).
1. Vivien didn’t feel “fast” enough. It was great to deal with Narset, Teferi’s, Liliana’s, etc. (and I killed some creatures too)...but I found my self ticking her up a lot more and while it made some tiny creatures into threats; it was never truly backbreaking to the opponent.
Seems like it may just be a 1-of and/or sideboard option unless the deck is built around her specifically (like a Stompy build).I think I just didn’t have the build she would flourish in as well.
2. Cavalier of Thorns has been very powerful. There are so many wild lines he creates:
- I’ve had a couple games he got a Nykthos off his trigger, that I could then trigger to go nuts. The fact that the land comes into play untapped is huge.
- His draw off Kiora BB has been very useful. Many turns he came down, got a Land and drew a card.
- I built a deck very similar to the one I had been playing just to see how the card fairs. Here is the list and a few thoughts/findings:
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Wall of Blossoms
1x Eternal Witness
3x Cavalier of Thorns
2x Primeval Titan
Spells (10)
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Fertile Ground
3x Oath of Nissa
1x Cloudstone Curio
4x Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Karn, the Great Creator
Land (22)
6x Green Fetch
8x Forest
2x Waterlogged Grove
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Blast Zone
2x Force of Vigor
2x Primal Command
1x Eternal Witness
1x Pithing Needle
1x Grafdiggers Cage
1x Spellskite
1x Trinisphere
1x Tormod’s Crypt
1x Mycosynth Lattice
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Walking Ballista
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Dampening Sphere
A few random things:
1. I have tried the deck without Llanowar Tribe for a few reasons:
Even with all of the above; it may still be better to play Llanowar Tribe
2. The deck obviously has a heavy lands focus (using the two main creatures to tutor up lands for their utility).
3. It’s possible a deck like this doesn’t want the Karns (like your win-con focus should be on the creatures). Obviously it will take a lot of time to know what the best way to play the card would be (if we play it). I just ported it in due to its power with Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner in particular.
I haven’t tested nearly enough for any definitive claims...I can with confidence say that both Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner and Karn, the Great Creator are amazing :)...But beyond that I have a lot more to test..
2-1 is great! Well done. Infect sometimes just gets its nut draws and is one of those Modern decks that unless you have the answer by turn 2 you are screwed...if you see it enough, so you could even use Call to tutor up Melira, Sylvok Outcast! That said, you can board for it if it becomes a bigger part of the meta.
I agree that Eladamri's Call seems like a strong addition to Modern (and to multiple Devotion decks). Being instant speed is a big deal; but for big mana decks even casting it at sorcery speed is often fine.
7 Forest
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
4 Windswept Heath
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Core
4 Unbound Flourishing
4 Arbor Elf
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Noble Hierarch
3 Fertile Ground
3 Eladamri's Call
4 Walking Ballista
4 Hydroid Krasis
2 Genesis Hydra
Planeswalkers
3 Kiora, Master of the Depths
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
1 Thragtusk
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Spellskite
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Collector Ouphe
2 Force of Vigor
2 Dismember
1 Raking Canopy
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Grafdigger's Cage
Few things to note:
1) I do not like the second half of Unbound Flourishing. It does not scale the same way as the first half when you have 2+ of the enchantment on the battlefield. So I did not consider any spells with X.
2) I made the sideboard very quickly before going to FNM, so it was basically created based on previous memory of bad mono-green match ups, not necessarily bad match ups for this deck specifically.
3) Things like Noble Hierarch and Misty Rainforest can easily be changes for cheaper alternatives like Birds of Paradise or Wooded Foothills
Somehow, luck or otherwise, I did go 4-0 with this list. All the games felt really close, and I lost every game 1, and won games 2-3. I felt that a lot of it was on my opponents not knowing what I was doing and being unable to sideboard properly for the post-board games. The games were against Humans, Burn, UR control, and Jund.
Highlights:
I had a lot of fun with this deck. Casting Hydroid Krasis for X=5, and then doubling it twice is basically game over (same with Walking Ballista for obvious reasons). There is definitely room for improvement, especially with the early turn cards. Fertile Ground is a contention that all planeswalkers untap lands to increase their value by just that much more. I considered Oath of Nissa instead, which could potentially see a place in the deck since the only cards it doesn't find are Unbound Flourishing and Utopia Sprawl, and it adds 1 to devotion. I also can see a variant of the deck that goes red instead of white to play some number of Banefire. I also think the sideboard is close, but certain cards liks Raking Canopy(personal favorite) and Thragtusk are unnecessary. I think they could be replaced by more creatures that cost 3 or less to they can be found with Eladamri's Call and used to hose certain matchups, like Melira, Sylvok Outcast or Gaddock Teeg
- I could see how Genesis Hydra isn’t at its best here. A lot of your payoff’s are X-spells (which he doesn’t hit). Hitting a walker is amazing (especially when you can reset a Nykthos and keep a chain going) but I can see why it’s not at its best here (as you really want it to hit a 5+ drop to get crazy value).
- I’ve been going back and forth between Ferile Ground and Llanowar Tribe too. Tribe is SOOOO powerful. The only problem is that when bolt is popular it is bad. If they bolt the bird you can’t cast it turn two...then you’re casting it turn 3; but can’t use it until turn 4 (assuming they don’t remove it)...ugh.
The issue is that if it is so powerful that the deck gets nerfed game one without it; you can’t build worrying too much about the opponent. I could just side it out against heavy removal decks.
It’s a matter of seeing how many games would be drastically effected by Tribe being either Fertile Ground or Overgrowth. I do play a lot of walkers that untap lands; so that is also something that factors into my decision.
4 Arbor Elf
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
4 Hydroid Krasis
3 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
4 Kiora, Master of the Depths
3 Llanowar Tribe
2 Nissa, Steward of Elements
4 Rosheen Meanderer
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Unbound Flourishing
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Walking Ballista
3 Breeding Pool
5 Forest
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Waterlogged Grove
3 Wooded Foothills
Why only Kiora's and not even one Garruk? Because the Kiora can untap creature's. The biggest benefit of this is Llanowar Tribe and Rosheen Meanderer. This Deck is full of X creatures. This Deck ramp very hard even without Nykthos.
Card Draws can you get about the 2 Kiora's and Hydroid Krasis. The Behemoth is maybe unnecessary.
And a hint about Polukranos, World Eater. You can't double the X effect with Polukranos, because Monstrosity works only once.
Some other cards in my Mind
1 Altered Ego
1 Biomass Mutation
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Finale of Devastation
1 Finale of Revelation
1 Gelatinous Genesis
1 Kiora's Follower
Keep us up-to-date on how they play.
The list i'll test as soon as M20 comes around:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Arbor Elf
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Steel Leaf Champion
3 Llanowar Tribe
2 Eternal Witness
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Thrashing Brontodon
2 Primeval Titan
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Hornet Queen
2 Voracious Hydra
4 Utopia Sprawl
1 Overgrowth
1 Rhythm of the Wild
Land [21]
7 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Stomping Ground
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Planeswalker [4]
2 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
Sorcery [2]
2 Primal Command
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Rhythm of the Wild
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Dismember
2 Force of Vigor
2 Firespout
2 Crumble to Dust
It's more midrangy than other big mana lists. Steel Leaf Champion is still a boss and can win games even if your Nykthos plan doesn't work.
Only i change Eladamri's Call with Oath of Nissa.
Genesis Hydra musst be change.
Maybe with the new Hydra from M20? Voracious Hydra
Cool list. Voracious Wurm seems perfect as potential creature removal for Green.
Midrange works when you’ve got interaction; and you do (Primal Command, Scavenging Ooze, Domri, Voracious Wurm, Thrashing Brontodon, Ruric Thar, etc.)...and that’s all in your main deck!
Devotion can be built up fast or slow; all that matters is you build the deck to give you time to do it the way you prefer.
_________
So during my testing with Cavalier I found that I really liked playing a creature with power 4 or Greater with Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner on the battlefield...so I made a list of creatures I wanted to test with. Voracious wurm is definitely one of them
The first one I really wanted to test; however, would pull double duty in the deck. It is Chancellor of the Tangle.
I have wanted to play this card for over a year (as the extra mana can be extremely busted and leads to more 4-mana on turn-2 lines.). Its not crazy powerful after it’s opening hand value; however drawing a card helps boost its potential (as well as trample via Garruk).
You’ll notice a very similar “core” (the Walker deck stays the same with about 10 cards changing
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
1x Acidic Slime
4x Chancellor of the Tangle
1x Voracious Hydra
Spells (15)
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Fertile Ground
4x Oath of Nissa
1x Cloudstone Curio
4x Genesis Wave
3x Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Karn, the Great Creator
Land (21)
6x Green Fetch
8x Forest
2x Watterlogged Grove
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Blast Zone
2x Force of Vigor
1x Acidic Slime
2x Flex
1x Pithing Needle
1x Grafdiggers Cage
1x Spellskite
1x Trinisphere
1x Tormod’s Crypt
1x Mycosynth Lattice
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Walking Ballista
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Dampening Sphere
EDIT - TESTING THUS FAR
I have been extremely impressed with Chancellor of the Tangle. Especially with the London Mulligan it is busted. It leads to silly turn-1's (which in this deck just snowball)
The last game I played, I went:
Turn One
- Reveal Chancellor of the Tangle for G
- Play Forest
- Cast Utopia Sprawl off of Chancellor mana
- Tap Forest for GG
- Cast Arbor Elf
- Cast Oath of Nissa (drawing Garruk)
Turn Two
- Play Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- Tap Enchanted Forest
- Untap and re-Tap with Arbor Elf
- Cast Garruk Wildspeaker
- Tap Nykthos for 1-colorless mana
- Untap both lands
- Trigger Nykthos for X= 5 (6-total)
- Cast Acidic Slime Killing their land
The combination of Chancellor and Sprawl is bonkers with enough 1- and 2-drops...I can't say that my build is perfected/tuned yet; but the "Core" of the ramp package and Chancellor of the Tangle feels right (as does playing Kiora and Garruk with it).
I'll test more tomorrow and let you know the pros and cons I run into.
You get to KEEP THIS ONE. Seems awesome.
Yeah. This one is staying for the long haul. It just puts the deck's speed on par with the faster combo decks (and is a huge aid on the draw). Granted I will need to tune it to get the most out of it...but that is just a matter of a few cards (the core stays the same...just the level of payoffs change).
I'll still try to test as many cards as possible that people are interested in to discuss lines, interactions, possibilities, etc....and will test as much as I can outside of my deck (I feel like that is part of my job as the OP); but in terms of "my deck" (and my outlining results, etc.) this will be this deck.
** P.S. there are a ton of other ways to take advantage of Chancellor. You could cast one or more Burning-Tree Emissary on turn 1. I think it may go well with Fauna Shaman (if you don’t wish to cast it for value you can discard it for something else, etc). I don’t want to make it seem like my way is the only way...I think it is a powerful tool for many different Devotion decks. **
Can you imagine your poor opponent in the matches where you just Combo off on turn 2 both games
P.S. for those of you interested in Leyline of Abundance; I did try a Leyline deck in testing tonight as I promised.
Here was the list I tried.
4x Noble Hierarch
4x Birds of Paradise
2x Llanowar Elves
4x Devoted Druid
4x Wall of Blossoms
1x Elder of Laurels
3x Eternal Witness
1x Acidic Slime
2x Woodland Bellower
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Voracious Hydra
1x Walking Ballista
4x Leyline of Abundance
3x Summoner’s Pact
4x Primal Command
Lands (21)
6x Green Fetch
7x Forest
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4x Waterlogged Grove
It’s the first draft but thus far:
1. The deck has felt smooth.
2. The deck has been surprisingly resilient.
The speed is there; and the disruption feels like just enough to deal with some of the faster decks.
I do think there is something to the deck. Leyline is crazy with all of the dorks; and makes the Devoted Druid + Elder of Laurel Combo much stronger. It’s nice to be able to get both sides via Pact. Most games were won going infinite*; but a few were Pact for Hoof and a few were just good old Beatdown.
Obviously I can’t say with any certainty how good the card/deck is yet; but I’ll test it as much as I can and let everyone know. Of course, if anyone has better ideas for how to exploit Leyline we should brew it!
*the infinite combo with Devoted Druid and Elder of Laurels is performed when Elders ability increases Devoted Druids power by more than the total “untaps”. To gain infinite mana (and infinitely large Devoted Druid):
- With Leyline in play;
1. Devoted Druid
2. Elder of Laurels
3. One other creature in play
- Without Leyline in play:
1. Devoted Druid
2. Elder of Laurels
3. Three other creatures in play*
I just realized you may have thought I meant a deck needed to be different than your deck...that was not at all what I meant...I think you have a vast majority the same way I would build with Leyline.
I was talking about the “Leyline Devotion” archetype when compared to the current Devotion core. I just meant that Leyline deck in general would be far different from current Devotion builds (mainly due to the lack of land enchantments, Arbor Elf, and Garruk...as all take advantage of the land enchanting.).
I tried my hand at it and will test it a bit. It will be interesting to see how the London Mulligan effects us (and if that helps Leyline decks more or not) as well as the meta.
-----
The Leyline build is very unique way to do this. My advise is to build it more explosive. Elvish Reclaimer tp search Nykthos (great with one or more Leyline on board) and Burning-Tree Emissary . Or you build it as a part to a combo like the build above this posting.
@CurdBro
Nice Combo with Elder of Laurels by the way .
This is a good point. It is gonna be a crazy format. It forces us to be faster and potentially more interactive as well.
Thanks for the kind words! I like Elder of Laurels because it allows us to Pact for both halves of the combo and can be useful if you don’t have the combo but have mana (pumping a bird, a Voracious Hydra, etc.)