That is the primary reason I looked at putting voidmage into the deck. I had tested for a little bit without Sage of Epityr, and I wasn't liking how it was going, so I decided to find some ways of making my scry cards do more work. Voidmage Prodigy seems like the perfect card since my combo matchup seems bad, while my midrange matchup seems favorable. The only thing is that my LGS seems to favor midrange at the moment, so he hasn't been able to put in much work yet.
That is a good point. Ideally I could put either of those creatures into play with Aether Vial, though I know that people are likely to blow up Aether Vial if possible. I generally don't like playing Kami without Vial, since it is a 2-for-1 if they remove it before I draw off of it. But I do see what you are saying, so I may go to just two Nykthos.
I think I'm going to give the deck a shot at a Modern GPT tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.
Cool, I'll be looking forward to the feedback. The main thing is remaining in control of the games tempo. Against combo decks, sit on your creature counterspells; against midrange, go heavy on getting a board established. The deck doesn't have a lot of catchup, so make sure not to get behind. That's all the advice I have. Good Luck.
On the subjec of Nykthos, the main reason I have it in the deck in the first place is to make sure that I can use the decks artifacts in the situation where I can't draw Grand Architect. When I have Grand Architect, it is a nice bonus; when I don't have GA, it helps put me in a position where I don't fall behind.
Cool, I'll be looking forward to the feedback. The main thing is remaining in control of the games tempo. Against combo decks, sit on your creature counterspells; against midrange, go heavy on getting a board established. The deck doesn't have a lot of catchup, so make sure not to get behind. That's all the advice I have. Good Luck.
On the subjec of Nykthos, the main reason I have it in the deck in the first place is to make sure that I can use the decks artifacts in the situation where I can't draw Grand Architect. When I have Grand Architect, it is a nice bonus; when I don't have GA, it helps put me in a position where I don't fall behind.
I lost in top4 to affinity. Won game 1 fairly easily. Game 2 he drew a Ravager for exactly game on the turn before I had lethal. Game 3 I mulled to 6 with Familiar, Omenspeaker, Wurmcoil, Recall, Island, and Nykthos. And proceeded to only draw lands and until he was able to kill me.
I beat Auras pretty easily, same with Blue Tron (I didn't get paired vs the red/green one). Also beat Merfolk with ease.
The deck Is really powerful. I really like the performance of it.
I lost in top4 to affinity. Won game 1 fairly easily. Game 2 he drew a Ravager for exactly game on the turn before I had lethal. Game 3 I mulled to 6 with Familiar, Omenspeaker, Wurmcoil, Recall, Island, and Nykthos. And proceeded to only draw lands and until he was able to kill me.
I beat Auras pretty easily, same with Blue Tron (I didn't get paired vs the red/green one). Also beat Merfolk with ease.
The deck Is really powerful. I really like the performance of it.
Unfortunate that you lost in Top4, but great job doing so well. That last hand it sounds like you just got extremely unlucky. I haven't had much of a chance to play against affinity yet, so I would be curious what you chose to sideboard in in that matchup (I noticed Hurkyl's Recall and Wurmcoil Engine, but I don't know if something else in the board was also worth boarding in).
I would also be interested in the sideboard for the other matchups as well. Also, were there cards that didn't feel like they pulled their weight in any of the matchups.
Unfortunate that you lost in Top4, but great job doing so well. That last hand it sounds like you just got extremely unlucky. I haven't had much of a chance to play against affinity yet, so I would be curious what you chose to sideboard in in that matchup (I noticed Hurkyl's Recall and Wurmcoil Engine, but I don't know if something else in the board was also worth boarding in).
I would also be interested in the sideboard for the other matchups as well. Also, were there cards that didn't feel like they pulled their weight in any of the matchups.
I tried the sideboard you had.
Affinity I did: -2 Voidmage, -2 Kami, -1 Slate, for 3 Recall, and 2 Wurmcoil.
Tron: -2 Kami, -1 Akroma's Memorial, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Mindslaver (wasnt sure about Recall in that matchup)
Merfolk: I couldn't find anything that I wanted to side besides Wurmcoil so -2 Voidmage + 2 Wurmcoil
Monored: -2 Voidmage, -2 Kami(wasn't sure on this because its a 1/3) +2 Spellskite +2Wurmcoil, probably could have sided some combination of Swan Song and Spell Pierce too.
I did test games though vs Storm and American Control and the Voidmages were amazing. Also I find Kami a very good filler before sidedecking, even though it gets removed many game 2/3s.
I was slightly unimpressed by the Wurmcoil against Affinity though.
So, I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I haven't had much new to report. However, I have been play testing the deck. I made a couple of changes to the mainboard, mainly taking out Akroma's Memorial and Eldrazi Monument for a 4th Thassa and a 3rd Slate of Ancestry.
Most of the deck's matchups are surprisingly good, though it does seem to struggle vs aggro decks. Midrange is probably my best matchup, since it is nearly impossible for them to kill all of my threats, I run enough cards to stall their threats, and I can build up my board faster than they can. Control is my second best matchup, since I have dudes who are counterspells, so if I can Aether Vial one of them in, it makes it really awkward for them to use their mana efficiently. In addition, two of my main threats, Molten-tail Masticore and Thassa, don't die to Supreme Verdict. Combo ranks 3rd in my matchup list, only because my creature counters can often slow them down long enough for me to develop my board and win. But if I don't draw those creatures, or it takes too long for me to develop my board, I lose. Finally, aggro matchups in general are bad for me. Death & Taxes is probably my best aggro matchup; my worst aggro matchup is a tie between Mono-red Burn and Merfolk. If on the play, I can win if I curve perfectly; otherwise, I probably lose. Affinity is awkward, but outside of their best hands, I can possibly race them, and post-board I get Hurkyl's Recall.
So, I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I haven't had much new to report. However, I have been play testing the deck. I made a couple of changes to the mainboard, mainly taking out Akroma's Memorial and Eldrazi Monument for a 4th Thassa and a 3rd Slate of Ancestry.
Most of the deck's matchups are surprisingly good, though it does seem to struggle vs aggro decks. Midrange is probably my best matchup, since it is nearly impossible for them to kill all of my threats, I run enough cards to stall their threats, and I can build up my board faster than they can. Control is my second best matchup, since I have dudes who are counterspells, so if I can Aether Vial one of them in, it makes it really awkward for them to use their mana efficiently. In addition, two of my main threats, Molten-tail Masticore and Thassa, don't die to Supreme Verdict. Combo ranks 3rd in my matchup list, only because my creature counters can often slow them down long enough for me to develop my board and win. But if I don't draw those creatures, or it takes too long for me to develop my board, I lose. Finally, aggro matchups in general are bad for me. Death & Taxes is probably my best aggro matchup; my worst aggro matchup is a tie between Mono-red Burn and Merfolk. If on the play, I can win if I curve perfectly; otherwise, I probably lose. Affinity is awkward, but outside of their best hands, I can possibly race them, and post-board I get Hurkyl's Recall.
I agree with Akroma for Slate, but you really think we need the 4th Thassa? Also the Eldrazi Monument can be very useful, but I understand removing it.
edit: what about a 4th Metamorph instead of Thassa?
I agree with Akroma for Slate, but you really think we need the 4th Thassa? Also the Eldrazi Monument can be very useful, but I understand removing it.
edit: what about a 4th Metamorph instead of Thassa?
To be fair, I could easily be wrong on that decision, it is just something I'm testing. The two main reasons for that switch is that Path to Exile is a relevant card in modern, whereas Standard doesn't have to contend with it, and games in which I curved Sage Epityr->Omenspeaker->Thassa were the games I was most likely to win, simply because that curve is great for sustaining momentum and finding Master of Waves/Grand Architect.
The three options I was considering for that slot were a 4th Matyr of Sands, a 4th Phyrexian Metamorph, and a 4th Aether Vial. I didn't like the 4th Metamorph mainly because the reason I wanted to switch the artifacts out in the first place is because they can be extremely unweildy without GA. I already have a problem with hands with 2x Master of Waves, 1x Phyrexian Metamorph, 1x Slate of Ancestry, and 3 other cards. If the mana gets there, these hands can work, but I really feel like we will win if our setup is strong. I don't use Matyr of Sands to make it worth it and drawing multiple Aether Vials is almost as bad as drawing multiple Thassas, imo.
If you don't want the 4th Thassa, I would probably lean either to keeping Eldrazi Monument, mainboarding Kira or a single Wurmcoil Engine, or playing one of the aforementioned 3 cards. It is also possible that there are some cards I haven't yet considered that would work well in that spot.
EDIT: thistledown liege added, inspired from ree's lists.
Wind zendikon has been an all-star for me. I've won games were i had master of waves and his tokens as blockers and 4/4 indestructible zendikons on darksteel citadel fly their way to victory.
Some time ago, I brewed up a VERY different take on blue devotion, right about when Master of Waves was becoming popular. I knew the card's power from playing him in merfolk for some time and wanted to come up with another shell for him.
Note that the decks I'm posting here are 100% theoretical and that I've played exactly 0 games with any of them.
What I came up with was a hybrid combo-midrange deck.
This last deck is something which was brewed up by some grinder on my twitter feed but for the life of me I can't remember who it was (jsiri perhaps?). It was the first non-merfolk devotion shell I saw and had some interesting choices which influenced the above two decks.
@Ree: You present some interesting lists. I'm not sure if red provides a good splash color, even for the Splintertwin Combo, since there is no real reason for us to run any of the combo pieces naturally. Forcing the combo into the deck just makes for a deck that is split badly in two different directions.
As for the other two lists, I like them. The illusions list is one pf the two real good ways to be aggressive with Master of Waves, with the other way being in a merfolk shell. Illusions can be a very strong deck, so that has a lot of promise, though I would try to fit in a Thassa or two.
In terms of colors I have considered splashing, White has been the main option, mainly for Azorius Guildmage and Meddling Mage. Since modern has a lot of known entities, being able to shut a deck down with a turn 2 creature or being able to counter planeswalkers' abilities seem amazing. Path to Exile would be another nice treat, but there isn't really a spot for removal right now. I may consider taking out Matyr of Frost for Vapor Snag or Snapback...
@Ace1: I know that we've been running slightly different versions, but I'm delighted to hear that you have been having success. Have you had any trouble with colorless sources? I went down to 2x Nykthos and 1x Academy Ruins because I was drawing too many UU cards and only one Island. Also, with your curve, Aether Vial might be worth considering.
@Ace1: I know that we've been running slightly different versions, but I'm delighted to hear that you have been having success. Have you had any trouble with colorless sources? I went down to 2x Nykthos and 1x Academy Ruins because I was drawing too many UU cards and only one Island. Also, with your curve, Aether Vial might be worth considering.
Well i've had success mainly in casual modern with my friends, i'm not sure how it would do in competitive. I think my version would have a slightly better game against combo because of the taxing effects, but maybe worse against other decks.
I've encountered some mana problem in only one game, in which i drew 3 tec edges, one darksteel citadel and only one island I think i would have won the game if i had correct mana. I might go down to 3 citadels and/or 3 tec edges but on the other hand they are very good so i'm not sure.
Aether vial would be amazing, i'll likely add them if i can get some.
So, I played at my LGS's Modern Tournament yesterday. I went 2-2-1, so I did not make Top 8, but I feel like the deck did real well. My two losses were to Kiki-pod and Infect, and my draw was against Mono white Knights.
The first loss against Kiki-pod I was winning on board, drew 14 cards with Slate of Ancestry, but 9 of those cards were lands and the other 5 didn't matter; the next turn he comboed out and won. Game 2, I drew terribly.
The second loss against Infect, I just didn't draw enough speed or ways to interact.
The daw against Mono-White Knights, I had trouble killing him (because of Lifelink, Indestructible creatures). When I finally played Master of Waves, he topdecked Wrath of God, which sent us into time.
I did beat Affinity and R/G Tron, though I think that was an anomally. Game 3, I topdeck a Pithing Needle against his Karn and then topdeck a second one against his Oblivion Stone. And against Affinity I drew all three Hurkyl's Recall Games 2 and 3.
I did make one change to the deck. I took out Martyr of Frost and one Thassa for 4x Snapback, and it worked really nicely. The card disadvantage was annoying, but it usually bought me a turn or two to set up Master of Waves/Slate of Ancestry. I will be trying Vapor Snag next, but the fact that I can play Snapback even when I tap out was very relevant since my version has a pretty specific curve ha it prefers.
So, I played at my LGS's Modern Tournament yesterday. I went 2-2-1, so I did not make Top 8, but I feel like the deck did real well. My two losses were to Kiki-pod and Infect, and my draw was against Mono white Knights.
The first loss against Kiki-pod I was winning on board, drew 14 cards with Slate of Ancestry, but 9 of those cards were lands and the other 5 didn't matter; the next turn he comboed out and won. Game 2, I drew terribly.
The second loss against Infect, I just didn't draw enough speed or ways to interact.
I was the Kiki Pod player yesterday evening. It was nice to see a deck such as this one that goes above and beyond with a card like Slate of Ancestry. I'd been away from the format for 6 months or more, so seeing the board positions that Devotion can generate was pretty cool.
In all honesty, I think you should have had the match (or at least that first game). That draw-14 was following a draw-6, and to see you whiff on interaction in 20 cards, with well over lethal on board, was fairly unfortunate.
I can speak for the Infect player as well, whom I carpooled to the event with, he was surprised how rapidly your deck assembled a board position and the ability it had to race with your abundance of lords.
I was the Kiki Pod player yesterday evening. It was nice to see a deck such as this one that goes above and beyond with a card like Slate of Ancestry. I'd been away from the format for 6 months or more, so seeing the board positions that Devotion can generate was pretty cool.
In all honesty, I think you should have had the match (or at least that first game). That draw-14 was following a draw-6, and to see you whiff on interaction in 20 cards, with well over lethal on board, was fairly unfortunate.
I can speak for the Infect player as well, whom I carpooled to the event with, he was surprised how rapidly your deck assembled a board position and the ability it had to race with your abundance of lords.
I appreciate you posting. It was a great match regardless. It is awesome when this deck works; even though I didn't draw what I needed to, I still feel like the deck worked since it was able to put me into the position to draw all those cards. Sometimes the luck of the draw is just not there, but at least it looked cool.
While i know what the Nykthos are there for, I think this deck would want mutavault instand of them.
Is an untapped man land better then boatload of mana when you combo out?
This deck is surprisingly mana hungry. It also has a great deal of inevitability. While Mutavault is great for the standard deck so that it can get additional attackers, this deck doesn't really need it. Nykthos is here to act as a backup to Grand Architect; Nykthos helps with Slate of Ancestry and casting multiple Master of Waves in one turn.
I appreciate you posting. It was a great match regardless. It is awesome when this deck works; even though I didn't draw what I needed to, I still feel like the deck worked since it was able to put me into the position to draw all those cards. Sometimes the luck of the draw is just not there, but at least it looked cool.
Absolutely, you were in fantastic position and deck operated very well. Variance is cruel.
I actually came to the modern forum today hoping to find a deck list just like this one. To the OP, thanks for creating this and taking time to test and update everything. I'm a VERY casual player, and don't really go to events but play with friends whenever I can. When Master of Waves came out, I was hooked and have been hoping to build a fun deck around it. I have a limited card pool and came up with a hodge podge of blue, like high tide (not even modern legal) ramping into stuff like arcanis the omnipotent. It actually performed well in my play group, but in my quest to improve the deck and make it modern legal I came here. Absolutely loving some of the options presented. Just a couple quick questions though: Is a card like negate not worth playing? Seems like it could come in handy keeping MoW on the board... or does something like Spellskite or kira, great glass-spinner just make that redundant? Or does this deck just not care what the opponent is doing? What about using unsummon to both protect and recast MoW (especially once the tokens are bolstered by grand architect)? Seems like things could get pretty wild from blinking it. Anyway, thanks for this thread, I'll be making some adjustments to my deck based on all your hard work!
Absolutely loving some of the options presented. Just a couple quick questions though: Is a card like negate not worth playing? Seems like it could come in handy keeping MoW on the board... or does something like Spellskite or kira, great glass-spinner just make that redundant? Or does this deck just not care what the opponent is doing? What about using unsummon to both protect and recast MoW (especially once the tokens are bolstered by grand architect)? Seems like things could get pretty wild from blinking it. Anyway, thanks for this thread, I'll be making some adjustments to my deck based on all your hard work!
I'm delighted that this thread was able to assist you. I was also extremely happy when MoW was spoiled. I didn't think that it would have the impact in Standard like it has had, but I definitely thought it would be great in this deck... and it has been. Grand Architect + Master of Waes has been an extremely fun combination, and you et a ton of style points when you get them out.
Now, your questions bring up a couple of points that I haven't added to the OP. With the addition of Voidmage Prodigy, a lot of the other options for counterspells (such as Mana Leak or Remand) are redundant. Even though not every creature is a wizard, a lot of the setup creatures are wizards, so there is plenty of Voidmage fodder. It is also worth remembering that MoW is a wizard, so if you Phyrexian Metamorph it, it can be a reasonable play to sac the Phyrexian Metamorh especially if you have an Academy Ruins out.
On the question of unsummon effects, that is one of the problems that I have been running into, and recently decided to work on solving. So far, Snapback has worked really well, since it can be played while you are tapped out. This has been great for that turn in between where I go off and when I win, because I will usually have had to discard down to seven, so I can set it up with one land, 1-2 Snapback, and 4-5 other blue cards. I will also be testing Vapor Snag (Most aggressive unsummon), Aether Spellbomb (option of unsummon or a cantrip), and Cyclonic Rift (can bounce any nonland permanent an opponent controls, and overloaded with Nykthos should be game).
Is Deadeye Navigator too slow and/or expensive to use as a finisher? You could really get crazy multiplying your tokens with it. I'm going to try it in my group of casual players, if nothing else for the fun factor!
Is Deadeye Navigator too slow and/or expensive to use as a finisher? You could really get crazy multiplying your tokens with it. I'm going to try it in my group of casual players, if nothing else for the fun factor!
That would be nasty... here, I shrine for 16... flicker my master of waves out 8 times, get something like 40 tokens, drown you to death...
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Be a lemming hunter. Don't be a lemming. Really, all you had to do was explain to him the popularity metric, not give him the lemming hunter manifesto...
Is Deadeye Navigator too slow and/or expensive to use as a finisher? You could really get crazy multiplying your tokens with it. I'm going to try it in my group of casual players, if nothing else for the fun factor!
Do I think it's too slow? Yes. Do I think it's too expensive? Yes. Do I think it's unnecessary? Yes. Do I think it would be fun? Definitely.
For a competitive tournament, I would definitely recommend against it. But if you want to casually play with it against friends, have a blast. It seems amazingly cool to just make swarms and swarms of elementals for those times where 15 5/4 elementals just weren't enough :D. I would probably recommend cutting Kami of the Crescent Moon for it just because the longer the game goes, the worse Kami gets; the longer the game goes, the better Deadeye Navigator gets.
Do I think it's too slow? Yes. Do I think it's too expensive? Yes. Do I think it's unnecessary? Yes. Do I think it would be fun? Definitely.
For a competitive tournament, I would definitely recommend against it. But if you want to casually play with it against friends, have a blast. It seems amazingly cool to just make swarms and swarms of elementals for those times where 15 5/4 elementals just weren't enough :D. I would probably recommend cutting Kami of the Crescent Moon for it just because the longer the game goes, the worse Kami gets; the longer the game goes, the better Deadeye Navigator gets.
Thanks for the advice, ill take out Kami. Our matches tend to be slower, and take more turns to reach win conditions.
I think I'm going to give the deck a shot at a Modern GPT tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.
On the subjec of Nykthos, the main reason I have it in the deck in the first place is to make sure that I can use the decks artifacts in the situation where I can't draw Grand Architect. When I have Grand Architect, it is a nice bonus; when I don't have GA, it helps put me in a position where I don't fall behind.
I lost in top4 to affinity. Won game 1 fairly easily. Game 2 he drew a Ravager for exactly game on the turn before I had lethal. Game 3 I mulled to 6 with Familiar, Omenspeaker, Wurmcoil, Recall, Island, and Nykthos. And proceeded to only draw lands and until he was able to kill me.
I beat Auras pretty easily, same with Blue Tron (I didn't get paired vs the red/green one). Also beat Merfolk with ease.
The deck Is really powerful. I really like the performance of it.
Unfortunate that you lost in Top4, but great job doing so well. That last hand it sounds like you just got extremely unlucky. I haven't had much of a chance to play against affinity yet, so I would be curious what you chose to sideboard in in that matchup (I noticed Hurkyl's Recall and Wurmcoil Engine, but I don't know if something else in the board was also worth boarding in).
I would also be interested in the sideboard for the other matchups as well. Also, were there cards that didn't feel like they pulled their weight in any of the matchups.
I tried the sideboard you had.
Affinity I did: -2 Voidmage, -2 Kami, -1 Slate, for 3 Recall, and 2 Wurmcoil.
Tron: -2 Kami, -1 Akroma's Memorial, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Mindslaver (wasnt sure about Recall in that matchup)
Merfolk: I couldn't find anything that I wanted to side besides Wurmcoil so -2 Voidmage + 2 Wurmcoil
Auras: -2 Voidmage, -2 Kami, +2 Spell Pierce +2 Spellskite(they played Path's)
Monored: -2 Voidmage, -2 Kami(wasn't sure on this because its a 1/3) +2 Spellskite +2Wurmcoil, probably could have sided some combination of Swan Song and Spell Pierce too.
I did test games though vs Storm and American Control and the Voidmages were amazing. Also I find Kami a very good filler before sidedecking, even though it gets removed many game 2/3s.
I was slightly unimpressed by the Wurmcoil against Affinity though.
Most of the deck's matchups are surprisingly good, though it does seem to struggle vs aggro decks. Midrange is probably my best matchup, since it is nearly impossible for them to kill all of my threats, I run enough cards to stall their threats, and I can build up my board faster than they can. Control is my second best matchup, since I have dudes who are counterspells, so if I can Aether Vial one of them in, it makes it really awkward for them to use their mana efficiently. In addition, two of my main threats, Molten-tail Masticore and Thassa, don't die to Supreme Verdict. Combo ranks 3rd in my matchup list, only because my creature counters can often slow them down long enough for me to develop my board and win. But if I don't draw those creatures, or it takes too long for me to develop my board, I lose. Finally, aggro matchups in general are bad for me. Death & Taxes is probably my best aggro matchup; my worst aggro matchup is a tie between Mono-red Burn and Merfolk. If on the play, I can win if I curve perfectly; otherwise, I probably lose. Affinity is awkward, but outside of their best hands, I can possibly race them, and post-board I get Hurkyl's Recall.
I agree with Akroma for Slate, but you really think we need the 4th Thassa? Also the Eldrazi Monument can be very useful, but I understand removing it.
edit: what about a 4th Metamorph instead of Thassa?
To be fair, I could easily be wrong on that decision, it is just something I'm testing. The two main reasons for that switch is that Path to Exile is a relevant card in modern, whereas Standard doesn't have to contend with it, and games in which I curved Sage Epityr->Omenspeaker->Thassa were the games I was most likely to win, simply because that curve is great for sustaining momentum and finding Master of Waves/Grand Architect.
The three options I was considering for that slot were a 4th Matyr of Sands, a 4th Phyrexian Metamorph, and a 4th Aether Vial. I didn't like the 4th Metamorph mainly because the reason I wanted to switch the artifacts out in the first place is because they can be extremely unweildy without GA. I already have a problem with hands with 2x Master of Waves, 1x Phyrexian Metamorph, 1x Slate of Ancestry, and 3 other cards. If the mana gets there, these hands can work, but I really feel like we will win if our setup is strong. I don't use Matyr of Sands to make it worth it and drawing multiple Aether Vials is almost as bad as drawing multiple Thassas, imo.
If you don't want the 4th Thassa, I would probably lean either to keeping Eldrazi Monument, mainboarding Kira or a single Wurmcoil Engine, or playing one of the aforementioned 3 cards. It is also possible that there are some cards I haven't yet considered that would work well in that spot.
4 vedalken certarch
4 judge's familiar
4 etherium sculptor
4 grand architect
2 kira, great glass-spinner
2 phyrexian metamorph
4 master of waves
4 lodestone golem
1 thistledown liege
4 aether spellbomb
2 thorn of amethyst
enchantments: 3
2 wind zendikon
1 bident of thassa
lands: 22
4 darksteel citadel
4 tectonic edge
4 faerie conclave
10 island
EDIT: thistledown liege added, inspired from ree's lists.
Wind zendikon has been an all-star for me. I've won games were i had master of waves and his tokens as blockers and 4/4 indestructible zendikons on darksteel citadel fly their way to victory.
Note that the decks I'm posting here are 100% theoretical and that I've played exactly 0 games with any of them.
What I came up with was a hybrid combo-midrange deck.
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Voidmage Prodigy
2 Deceiver Exarch
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Pestermite
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Master of Waves
Spells:
4 Aether Vial
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Blood Moon
4 Splinter Twin
2 Cascade Bluffs
8 Island
2 misty Rainforest
2 Mutavault
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
Another thought was to go with a more aggressive and very different approach using illusions and Lord of the Unreal.
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Phantasmal Bear
2 Gossamer Phantasm
4 Lord of the Unreal
4 Phantasmal Image
1 Illusionary Servant
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Master of Waves
2 Thistledown Liege
4 Aether Vial
3 Vapor Snag
Lands:
17 Island
4 Mutavault
1 Tectonic Edge
This last deck is something which was brewed up by some grinder on my twitter feed but for the life of me I can't remember who it was (jsiri perhaps?). It was the first non-merfolk devotion shell I saw and had some interesting choices which influenced the above two decks.
4 Judge's Familiar
2 Azorius Guildmage
3 Meddling Mage
3 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Tidebinder Mage
3 Voidmage Prodigy
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Master of Waves
2 Thistledown liege
2 Gitaxian Probe
3 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
Lands:
2 Celestial Colonnade
3 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
7 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Scalding Tarn
As for the other two lists, I like them. The illusions list is one pf the two real good ways to be aggressive with Master of Waves, with the other way being in a merfolk shell. Illusions can be a very strong deck, so that has a lot of promise, though I would try to fit in a Thassa or two.
In terms of colors I have considered splashing, White has been the main option, mainly for Azorius Guildmage and Meddling Mage. Since modern has a lot of known entities, being able to shut a deck down with a turn 2 creature or being able to counter planeswalkers' abilities seem amazing. Path to Exile would be another nice treat, but there isn't really a spot for removal right now. I may consider taking out Matyr of Frost for Vapor Snag or Snapback...
@Ace1: I know that we've been running slightly different versions, but I'm delighted to hear that you have been having success. Have you had any trouble with colorless sources? I went down to 2x Nykthos and 1x Academy Ruins because I was drawing too many UU cards and only one Island. Also, with your curve, Aether Vial might be worth considering.
Well i've had success mainly in casual modern with my friends, i'm not sure how it would do in competitive. I think my version would have a slightly better game against combo because of the taxing effects, but maybe worse against other decks.
I've encountered some mana problem in only one game, in which i drew 3 tec edges, one darksteel citadel and only one island I think i would have won the game if i had correct mana. I might go down to 3 citadels and/or 3 tec edges but on the other hand they are very good so i'm not sure.
Aether vial would be amazing, i'll likely add them if i can get some.
2 faerie impostor
4 judge's familiar
4 spellstutter sprite
1 phantasmal image
4 grand architect
2 mistblade shinobi
2 pestermite
1 thassa, god of the sea
1 phyrexian metamorph
2 master of waves
2 lodestone golem
1 venser, shaper savant
2 ninja of the deep hours
4 aether vial
3 thorn of amethyst
3 crystal shard
lands: 22
4 mutavault
4 tectonic edge
4 faerie conclave
10 island
EDIT: Thassa seems good with ninjas, added one.
I really like the added disruption. I'll be testing this list when i get the occasion.
The first loss against Kiki-pod I was winning on board, drew 14 cards with Slate of Ancestry, but 9 of those cards were lands and the other 5 didn't matter; the next turn he comboed out and won. Game 2, I drew terribly.
The second loss against Infect, I just didn't draw enough speed or ways to interact.
The daw against Mono-White Knights, I had trouble killing him (because of Lifelink, Indestructible creatures). When I finally played Master of Waves, he topdecked Wrath of God, which sent us into time.
I did beat Affinity and R/G Tron, though I think that was an anomally. Game 3, I topdeck a Pithing Needle against his Karn and then topdeck a second one against his Oblivion Stone. And against Affinity I drew all three Hurkyl's Recall Games 2 and 3.
I did make one change to the deck. I took out Martyr of Frost and one Thassa for 4x Snapback, and it worked really nicely. The card disadvantage was annoying, but it usually bought me a turn or two to set up Master of Waves/Slate of Ancestry. I will be trying Vapor Snag next, but the fact that I can play Snapback even when I tap out was very relevant since my version has a pretty specific curve ha it prefers.
Is an untapped man land better then boatload of mana when you combo out?
I was the Kiki Pod player yesterday evening. It was nice to see a deck such as this one that goes above and beyond with a card like Slate of Ancestry. I'd been away from the format for 6 months or more, so seeing the board positions that Devotion can generate was pretty cool.
In all honesty, I think you should have had the match (or at least that first game). That draw-14 was following a draw-6, and to see you whiff on interaction in 20 cards, with well over lethal on board, was fairly unfortunate.
I can speak for the Infect player as well, whom I carpooled to the event with, he was surprised how rapidly your deck assembled a board position and the ability it had to race with your abundance of lords.
[Developing] 430+ Peasant Cube Thread --- [and on Cube Cobra]
I appreciate you posting. It was a great match regardless. It is awesome when this deck works; even though I didn't draw what I needed to, I still feel like the deck worked since it was able to put me into the position to draw all those cards. Sometimes the luck of the draw is just not there, but at least it looked cool.
This deck is surprisingly mana hungry. It also has a great deal of inevitability. While Mutavault is great for the standard deck so that it can get additional attackers, this deck doesn't really need it. Nykthos is here to act as a backup to Grand Architect; Nykthos helps with Slate of Ancestry and casting multiple Master of Waves in one turn.
Absolutely, you were in fantastic position and deck operated very well. Variance is cruel.
[Developing] 430+ Peasant Cube Thread --- [and on Cube Cobra]
I'm delighted that this thread was able to assist you. I was also extremely happy when MoW was spoiled. I didn't think that it would have the impact in Standard like it has had, but I definitely thought it would be great in this deck... and it has been. Grand Architect + Master of Waes has been an extremely fun combination, and you et a ton of style points when you get them out.
Now, your questions bring up a couple of points that I haven't added to the OP. With the addition of Voidmage Prodigy, a lot of the other options for counterspells (such as Mana Leak or Remand) are redundant. Even though not every creature is a wizard, a lot of the setup creatures are wizards, so there is plenty of Voidmage fodder. It is also worth remembering that MoW is a wizard, so if you Phyrexian Metamorph it, it can be a reasonable play to sac the Phyrexian Metamorh especially if you have an Academy Ruins out.
On the question of unsummon effects, that is one of the problems that I have been running into, and recently decided to work on solving. So far, Snapback has worked really well, since it can be played while you are tapped out. This has been great for that turn in between where I go off and when I win, because I will usually have had to discard down to seven, so I can set it up with one land, 1-2 Snapback, and 4-5 other blue cards. I will also be testing Vapor Snag (Most aggressive unsummon), Aether Spellbomb (option of unsummon or a cantrip), and Cyclonic Rift (can bounce any nonland permanent an opponent controls, and overloaded with Nykthos should be game).
That would be nasty... here, I shrine for 16... flicker my master of waves out 8 times, get something like 40 tokens, drown you to death...
Be a lemming hunter. Don't be a lemming.
Really, all you had to do was explain to him the popularity metric, not give him the lemming hunter manifesto...
Originally posted by MemoryLapse and DotMatrix
Do I think it's too slow? Yes. Do I think it's too expensive? Yes. Do I think it's unnecessary? Yes. Do I think it would be fun? Definitely.
For a competitive tournament, I would definitely recommend against it. But if you want to casually play with it against friends, have a blast. It seems amazingly cool to just make swarms and swarms of elementals for those times where 15 5/4 elementals just weren't enough :D. I would probably recommend cutting Kami of the Crescent Moon for it just because the longer the game goes, the worse Kami gets; the longer the game goes, the better Deadeye Navigator gets.
Thanks for the advice, ill take out Kami. Our matches tend to be slower, and take more turns to reach win conditions.
4 Master of Waves
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Grand Architect
4 Phantasmal Bear
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Treasure Mage
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Mana Leak
3 Vapor Snag
18 Island
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Dismember
2 Rapid Hybridization
2 Into the Roil
2 Spellskite
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Spell Pierce
So this is my take on this archetype. Similar in aggression to the Standard variant but with some more value for Grand Architect.