@DrWorm, I have a question about how to deal with Planeswalker with the budget Mono-B Devotion you gave me. Should I just attack right away if my opponent plays a Planeswalker? What is the correct response?
Depends on the walker and the game, but if you don't have Vampire Hexmage (which can tap to destroy a walker) and are just attacking into them then it is usually best to direct your damage at the walker if it is not game winning damage. Walkers are usually a decent mana investment and they are playing it for a reason. You want to disrupt anything that your opponent is doing to swing the game in their direction, so kill the walker first. They are always going to get one activation, but you want that to be the last if you can help it.
That is not a hard and fast rule, there are exceptions, but generally you want to kill the walker first.
I really don't understand why you are choosing sorcery draw spells over Phyrexian Arena. I am generally a fan of non-permanent black draw, but in this case you want as many black mana symbols in play as you can manage and Phyrexian Arena gives you BB.
Oh man...speaking of that, how about running a copy of Arena? It cannot produce mana so you would want it in a spell slot, but it could be utterly brutal with Phyrexian Obliterator. Okay, this just occured to me...gonna have to test it out myself. Might be even better if you splash green for proper Fight cards.
EDIT: So what I did was take out my shoals and one Decay, and added in 1x Arena and 2x Prey Upon. Gotta run some matches now.
Is this archetype primer getting a update soon (IN THE PRIMER)? With the banning of Deathrite Shaman I've been awaiting a new and more secure template to be presented...is this archetype still viable?
Is this archetype primer getting a update soon (IN THE PRIMER)? With the banning of Deathrite Shaman I've been awaiting a new and more secure template to be presented...is this archetype still viable?
Thanks in advance,
S.M.
This archetype is as viable as it always has been. It is a rogue deck (sometimes metagame deck) that can hold it's own in a FNM type Modern setting, and might even win, but does not have quite the reliability to take it further.
On a separate note, I have want to try Mogis, God of Slaughter in my red splash version though I have not quite found the time to play it.
Some of the "why" cards:
I just have always wanted to use the Demigod and this looks like an opportunity. My local scene is not super competitive so I can get away with fun options like this.
Underworld Dreams is just a placeholder for now.
Profane Command is one of those cards no one expects and when you can Nykthos for so much you can do some stupid things.
The 3-3 Thoughtseize and Inquisition mix is something I have become very fond of in black decks.
I use Extirpate over Surgical for two reasons: I do not own any Surgicals atm and I like split second.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
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I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Some of the "why" cards:
I just have always wanted to use the Demigod and this looks like an opportunity. My local scene is not super competitive so I can get away with fun options like this.
Underworld Dreams is just a placeholder for now.
Profane Command is one of those cards no one expects and when you can Nykthos for so much you can do some stupid things.
The 3-3 Thoughtseize and Inquisition mix is something I have become very fond of in black decks.
I use Extirpate over Surgical for two reasons: I do not own any Surgicals atm and I like split second.
A few points-
Not enough lands for a control deck. You will be trying for the late game, and you will want resources for multiple plays. Nykthos might give you that Cabal Coffers like bump now and then, but it should not be relied on. If you really want a late game bump I would almost prefer something like Molten Slagheep.
I too have always wanted to make Demigod work, but even on a lower power scale its really awkward.
Profane Command has it's uses, but I think you will find that four is too many. I would run two at most.
like I said before I hate Gatekeeper.
Extirpate type effects are SB cards at best. They have their uses, but they are not nearly as great as people think, but they can be an emergency card if needed.
Sup guys, i am poor and i'm a beginner deck builder. Here is my budget and probably terrible version of the deck, focused on making your opponent discard while you gather devotion. Any suggestion for cheap improvements?
Sup guys, i am poor and i'm a beginner deck builder. Here is my budget and probably terrible version of the deck, focused on making your opponent discard while you gather devotion. Any suggestion for cheap improvements?
After some testing i found out it works better than i anticipated, but it has probably the problem of being too heavy on the 3 mana cost cards.
Few Questions:
Do you have a budget for improvements to the deck? Perhaps your brother has something in the smuggling compartments of the Millenium Falcon you could hock.
In what setting do you play the deck? Is it on MTGO, at your local shop, with friends, or in some wretched hive of scum and villainy?
How competitive is your metagame (the people you play with)? Is this pretty casual? Are you all newish to the game? Do any of them have a death sentence in twelve systems?
If I send you my un-opened 1977 Kenner Han Solo 3.5" action figure can you ask your brother to sign the front of the packaging?
Do you have a budget for improvements to the deck? Perhaps your brother has something in the smuggling compartments of the Millenium Falcon you could hock.
In what setting do you play the deck? Is it on MTGO, at your local shop, with friends, or in some wretched hive of scum and villainy?
How competitive is your metagame (the people you play with)? Is this pretty casual? Are you all newish to the game? Do any of them have a death sentence in twelve systems?
If I send you my un-opened 1977 Kenner Han Solo 3.5" action figure can you ask your brother to sign the front of the packaging?
I have only tested it on MWS so far, but if i set a good decklist i plan to buy it to play with my friends at the local shop in a pretty casual metagame, but not beginners. I already have the 4 arenas and i guess i could throw 20-30$ more in it. I am interested in a budget version of the deck but i am also interested to know if the discard creatures can be a decent option or if these are not the droids i am looking for.
Do you have a budget for improvements to the deck? Perhaps your brother has something in the smuggling compartments of the Millenium Falcon you could hock.
In what setting do you play the deck? Is it on MTGO, at your local shop, with friends, or in some wretched hive of scum and villainy?
How competitive is your metagame (the people you play with)? Is this pretty casual? Are you all newish to the game? Do any of them have a death sentence in twelve systems?
If I send you my un-opened 1977 Kenner Han Solo 3.5" action figure can you ask your brother to sign the front of the packaging?
I have only tested it on MWS so far, but if i set a good decklist i plan to buy it to play with my friends at the local shop in a pretty casual metagame, but not beginners. I already have the 4 arenas and i guess i could throw 20-30$ more in it. I am interested in a budget version of the deck but i am also interested to know if the discard creatures can be a decent option or if these are not the droids i am looking for.
The short answer is no, they really are not decent. The problem lies in the fact that you are giving your opponent too much control over what is being discarded, and that will bite you in the rear. The best I can do for budget is:
Duress is really poor in Modern and IoK hits almost all the most important spells in the format. Raven's Crime gives you a way to make use of extra land draws as a discard engine. The problem is that the money cards added to this list come to about $46 because IoK are $7.50 a pop.
Some of these 1 offs are me testing cards out, some are just me using what I have instead of acquiring similar function cards.
First of thoughts. Thoughtseize - After playtesting I feel that Inquisition would be a better card and will be testing it next time I run this. The life loss for Thoughtseize hurts and often times I pick something 3 CMC or below anyway. Drown in Sorrow - Good against certain decks. Anything that swarms, this card is a blow out against. However it also can kill a bunch of my own stuff and misses some dangerous things. I'm considering a green splash and this being replaced by Abrupt Decay. Doom Blade - I like it over Go For the Throat because of the prevalence of Affinity in my local meta. ymmv Crypt of Agadeem - This has yet to be useful. Probably leaving soon. Cavern of Souls - Have yet to run into a control match up since I dropped this in. Seems it could be useful so I can guarantee Geralf's or Gray Merchant resolve by naming "zombie". Fume Spitter - Surprisingly useful little bugger. Blocker, removal, can negate the undying counter from Messenger so he can undie again.
Hi Devotees, I fell in love with Devo as a mechanic when Theros came out, and I decided to build a Mono black Devo deck to use in a Friday Modern tournament in my local area. A big push for me to do this was being told by a semi-pro friend that Mono-B Devo wasn't viable with so much combo running the meta in modern at the moment. I considered what he said, and told him I would prove him wrong. Black is the best color out there, and believe me it can hold its own.
This is my second build so far, my first was more explosive, but had a shaky mana base, and less control. I realize this build is a hybrid of Devo and control, but it works wonders and interacts well with my local meta.
we did 3 rounds for pack in the tourney, which was a first for me every other tourney I've ever done was like 4 rounds swiss, and cut top8/top4. Personally I like top8/top4 tourneys, but thats another conversation.
Match 1 was against GW Auras. Crushed him game one by sticking a early lily and abrupt decaying all his auras. Sealed the deal with a PO on board, and a Gary for 12. Game 2 he never hit any white mana sources and I just thrashed him.
2-0/1-0 overall
Match 2: UR Storm. G1 Picked him apart with discard, extracted his win conditions and came in for the kill afterwards. G2 same but with pre game leyline, which he told me makes him not even want to play the game. 2-0/2-0 overall.
Match 3: BW Tokens/Soul Sisters/Death and Taxes hybrid. Well my deck pooped on me twice this round. I got stuck at 2 lands, and lost both games around turn 6 with only 2 swamps in play. 0-2/2-1 overall.
So it was fun, and I really enjoyed the deck, don't know if I will continue playing it though.
Seems OK but I don't like bloodghast in your build, he is only good in aggresive poxish decks from my experience. I would also cut the desecration demon, he is much better in legacy and standard than in modern (at least in my meta there are lots of tokens)
I see a few tokens here and there, but have not seen a devoted token deck in a while when I test on MTGO. Besides, I find that the deck can outlast a lot of decks so they will run out of resources and in the mean time you are destroying their board.
Also vampire nighthawk is not that good in modern as he dies to bolt. I considered using him but geralf's messenger seemed better as he is a win con on himself, gives more devotion and is very sturdy.
I like Geralf's Messenger okay, but hate that he comes into play tapped. "Dies to Bolt" does not mean that a creature is not good, and Vampire Nighthawk is about as goodie packed as you will see. Bloodghast works in this deck because it is bloody relentless and can pump devotion after eating removal like a champ. It whittles down the life of your opponent forcing them to have to worry about life total while the try to dismantle your board.
I do agree that Extraction cards are SB and are useful in very specific situations.
I feel like Nykthos is a gimmick more than anything, but there are the odd games where you can pull off something cool. I run one, and maybe I could see running two, but more than that is not really worth it.
Maga is too cute and too mana intensive. Korlash, Heir to Blackblade on the other hand is probably worth testing (would be insane if it was a Knight).
I would really appreciate help in this deck i am making. The deck is a devotion mono black with creatures with recursion like Gravecrawler, Nether Traitor and Geralf's Messenger.
Geralf's Messenger and Fume Spitter allows the former card to have undying constantly
Abyssal Persecutor helps with beating down
Desecration Demon and almost all the cards in the deck help drop creatures into the graveyard and start Blood Artist
Do you think this deck is fast/good enough for semi competitive Modern? If not, what could i do to make it so
I would really appreciate help in this deck i am making. The deck is a devotion mono black with creatures with recursion like Gravecrawler, Nether Traitor and Geralf's Messenger.
Geralf's Messenger and Fume Spitter allows the former card to have undying constantly
Abyssal Persecutor helps with beating down
Desecration Demon and almost all the cards in the deck help drop creatures into the graveyard and start Blood Artist
Do you think this deck is fast/good enough for semi competitive Modern? If not, what could i do to make it so
That is not a hard and fast rule, there are exceptions, but generally you want to kill the walker first.
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3x nykthos, shrine to nyx
19x swamp
Creatures =
4x phyrexian obliterator
4x gray merchant of asphodel
3x vampire Nighthawk
2x gatekeeper of Malakir
Other =
4x inquisition of kozilek
4x nights whisper
3x Liliana of the veil
3x disfigure
3x surgical extraction
2x bitterblossom
2x bile blight
2x whip of erebos
2x thoughtseize
3x ratchet bomb
2x mutilate
2x hero's downfall
2x thoughtseize
2x geth's verdict
1x tribute to hunger
1x disfigure
1x surgical extraction
1x sadistic sacrament
N/A
Modern
Dredge vine
4 color gifts
Junk midrange
Daga control
Rb burn
Soul sisters
Legacy
The gate
Zombie bombardment
Burn
I really don't understand why you are choosing sorcery draw spells over Phyrexian Arena. I am generally a fan of non-permanent black draw, but in this case you want as many black mana symbols in play as you can manage and Phyrexian Arena gives you BB.
Oh man...speaking of that, how about running a copy of Arena? It cannot produce mana so you would want it in a spell slot, but it could be utterly brutal with Phyrexian Obliterator. Okay, this just occured to me...gonna have to test it out myself. Might be even better if you splash green for proper Fight cards.
EDIT: So what I did was take out my shoals and one Decay, and added in 1x Arena and 2x Prey Upon. Gotta run some matches now.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
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Reprint Opt for Modern!!
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PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
Thanks in advance,
S.M.
On a separate note, I have want to try Mogis, God of Slaughter in my red splash version though I have not quite found the time to play it.
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4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2 Underworld Dreams
4 Profane Command
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Extirpate
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Some of the "why" cards:
I just have always wanted to use the Demigod and this looks like an opportunity. My local scene is not super competitive so I can get away with fun options like this.
Underworld Dreams is just a placeholder for now.
Profane Command is one of those cards no one expects and when you can Nykthos for so much you can do some stupid things.
The 3-3 Thoughtseize and Inquisition mix is something I have become very fond of in black decks.
I use Extirpate over Surgical for two reasons: I do not own any Surgicals atm and I like split second.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
A few points-
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24 Swamp
Creatures
4 Ravenous Rats
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
2 Liliana's Specter
4 Chittering Rats
4 Disciple of Phenax
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2 Whip of Erebos
3 Painful Quandary
Other Spells
4 Duress
1 Go For The Throat
2 Geth's Verdict
After some testing i found out it works better than i anticipated, but it has probably the problem of being too heavy on the 3 mana cost cards.
Few Questions:
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I have only tested it on MWS so far, but if i set a good decklist i plan to buy it to play with my friends at the local shop in a pretty casual metagame, but not beginners. I already have the 4 arenas and i guess i could throw 20-30$ more in it. I am interested in a budget version of the deck but i am also interested to know if the discard creatures can be a decent option or if these are not the droids i am looking for.
21 Swamp
2 Bojuka Bog
Creatures 20
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Nether Traitor
4 Disciple of Phenax
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Phyrexian Arena
2 Whip of Erebos
Other Spells 11
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Raven's Crime
3 Go For The Throat
2 Geth's Verdict
Duress is really poor in Modern and IoK hits almost all the most important spells in the format. Raven's Crime gives you a way to make use of extra land draws as a discard engine. The problem is that the money cards added to this list come to about $46 because IoK are $7.50 a pop.
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4 Nykthos
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Crypt of Agadeem
1 Cavern of Souls
15 Swamp
Creatures: 19
2 Fume Spitter
4 Bloodghast
4 Geralf's Messenger
2 Phyrexian Obliterator
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Drown in Sorrow
1 Whip of Erebos
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Profane Command
3 Thoughtseize
2 Doom Blade
3 Geth's Verdict
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Underworld Connections
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Extirpate
3 Sudden Spoiling
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Spellskite
1 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Mutilate
1 Black Sun's Zenith
Some of these 1 offs are me testing cards out, some are just me using what I have instead of acquiring similar function cards.
First of thoughts.
Thoughtseize - After playtesting I feel that Inquisition would be a better card and will be testing it next time I run this. The life loss for Thoughtseize hurts and often times I pick something 3 CMC or below anyway.
Drown in Sorrow - Good against certain decks. Anything that swarms, this card is a blow out against. However it also can kill a bunch of my own stuff and misses some dangerous things. I'm considering a green splash and this being replaced by Abrupt Decay.
Doom Blade - I like it over Go For the Throat because of the prevalence of Affinity in my local meta. ymmv
Crypt of Agadeem - This has yet to be useful. Probably leaving soon.
Cavern of Souls - Have yet to run into a control match up since I dropped this in. Seems it could be useful so I can guarantee Geralf's or Gray Merchant resolve by naming "zombie".
Fume Spitter - Surprisingly useful little bugger. Blocker, removal, can negate the undying counter from Messenger so he can undie again.
Most of my decks: http://tappedout.net/users/thraashman/
4x Bloodghast
2x Damnation
2x Desecration Demon
1x Forest
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Liliana of the Veil
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Marsh Flats
4x Overgrown Tomb
3x Phyrexian Arena
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
3x Surgical Extraction
10x Swamp
4x Thoughtseize
3x Vampire Nighthawk
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Victim of Night
1x Woodland Cemetery
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Batterskull
3x Bile Blight
3x Golgari Charm
1x Krosan Grip
3x Leyline of the Void
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Shadow of Doubt
This is my second build so far, my first was more explosive, but had a shaky mana base, and less control. I realize this build is a hybrid of Devo and control, but it works wonders and interacts well with my local meta.
we did 3 rounds for pack in the tourney, which was a first for me every other tourney I've ever done was like 4 rounds swiss, and cut top8/top4. Personally I like top8/top4 tourneys, but thats another conversation.
Match 1 was against GW Auras. Crushed him game one by sticking a early lily and abrupt decaying all his auras. Sealed the deal with a PO on board, and a Gary for 12. Game 2 he never hit any white mana sources and I just thrashed him.
2-0/1-0 overall
Match 2: UR Storm. G1 Picked him apart with discard, extracted his win conditions and came in for the kill afterwards. G2 same but with pre game leyline, which he told me makes him not even want to play the game. 2-0/2-0 overall.
Match 3: BW Tokens/Soul Sisters/Death and Taxes hybrid. Well my deck pooped on me twice this round. I got stuck at 2 lands, and lost both games around turn 6 with only 2 swamps in play. 0-2/2-1 overall.
So it was fun, and I really enjoyed the deck, don't know if I will continue playing it though.
So what do you guys think of the deck?
I like Geralf's Messenger okay, but hate that he comes into play tapped. "Dies to Bolt" does not mean that a creature is not good, and Vampire Nighthawk is about as goodie packed as you will see. Bloodghast works in this deck because it is bloody relentless and can pump devotion after eating removal like a champ. It whittles down the life of your opponent forcing them to have to worry about life total while the try to dismantle your board.
I do agree that Extraction cards are SB and are useful in very specific situations.
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Maga is too cute and too mana intensive. Korlash, Heir to Blackblade on the other hand is probably worth testing (would be insane if it was a Knight).
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Geralf's Messenger and Fume Spitter allows the former card to have undying constantly
Abyssal Persecutor helps with beating down
Desecration Demon and almost all the cards in the deck help drop creatures into the graveyard and start Blood Artist
Do you think this deck is fast/good enough for semi competitive Modern? If not, what could i do to make it so
2x Smallpox
2x Thoughtseize
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
21x Swamp
2x Abyssal Persecutor
4x Blood Artist
1x Demon of Death's Gate
2x Desecration Demon
2x Fume Spitter
3x Geralf's Messenger
4x Gravecrawler
1x Griselbrand
4x Nether Traitor
3x Nantuko Husk
I want to try a deck with 4x Obliterators, 4x Specters, Wrench Mind and a bunch of other discard.
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