Everyone knows that good luck and good game are such insincere terms that any man who does not connect his right hook with the offender's jaw on the very utterance of such a phrase is no man I would consider as such.
Hey there
I like the beat down list you have running here lots of cards I've loved but haven't used in years! ( Looking at you War Elemental and Ignorant Bliss)
Are one drops important in attaining higher devotion? I think Goblin Guide needs a home here maybe instead of Thunderblust?
I would also have to disagree with BTE here as the green mana is almost always gonna leave you wanting a R.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
there's definitely definitely definitely no logic to human behavior
I like Figure of Destiny more than the Slith Firewalker. If Kargan Dragonlord is good, Figure should be as well. I have it in my R/w Devotion list, and the fact that it is a one-drop seems pretty important.
So if you're playing devotion you need a lot of permanents to create a high devotion. You could take the aggressive route and play a lot of creatures and use the mana to dump into pumping up your creatures or use the devotion for a huge burn spell. Here's a list of cards I came up with to consider (depending on how you want to build the deck):
I don't have a sideboard yet, but I put together a similar list just the other night without even looking at this one. I think it's a good idea, but needs some revision.
Figure of Destiny is a great one drop, and it can get out of control rather quickly if you have the devotion for it on turn 3. Dragonlord is another card that gives you a great mana sink for all the extra mana you're going to be making, and I think Burning Tree Emissary is absolutely necessary in creating critical mass for this deck. If you play Figure, Dragonlord, then Nykthos BTE on turn 3, you'll have at least a 4/4 attacking, and if you have multiples of BTE in your hand it could be even bigger.
I also like reckoner, if only as a good way to set up defense against a 5/6 Goyf or to add devotion. Fanatic of Mogis is also a fun card to play, cause this deck is going to have a lot of red symbols. He can win the game by himself, even if your board state is dire. Demigod gives you +5 to devotion, brings back any of him you have in the graveyard, as well as playable on turn 3 with BTE + Nykthos.
As for the spells, Banefire is a great card to play in devotion, because you can burn your opponent for A LOT and they won't be able to counter it or prevent the damage if X > 5. My other choice was Bonfire, and I'm not sure of it, but I think with the Scry lands, you can save yourself from drawing it too early. After you have creatures and Nykthos on the board though, it can be pretty devastating to draw, maybe even clearing your opponent's board. You can count Koth as Nykthos #5 and #6, since he can add tons more mana to your mana pool with his minus ability. I like Chandra for her 0 ability, which gives this deck some extra card advantage. Also, since we'd be playing white, I thought Path to Exile would be good for extra removal.
I think it could be a lot of fun to play, but I don't have all the cards for it yet. If anybody wants to try it out, it would be great to get some feedback on it. Also, which sideboard cards would you recommend?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
I would like to point out a mono-red devotion list that made day two at the GP in Prague last weekend (at the bottom of the link, created & played by Michael Steinecke).
I think it is quiet interesting because it uses the tribal sub-theme of goblins, but still does not play Goblin Guide as a one drop but Aether Vial and Seal of Fire. It only uses one Figure of Destiny and 3 Chandra, Pyromaster as mana sink (and Chandra of course only if she sticks around for the next turn).
The list clearly manages to maximize the red permanents with only Aether Vial not being one. But I'm still not really sure if it is good in a deck like this or if you would want goblin guides and possibly other one drops.
The mana curve is imo also kind of awkward with 11 4-drops and only 8 3-drops/10 2-drops.
What do you think, is this list good enough for modern? Is Aether Vial necessary? Is Seal of Fire being a permanent worth it over cards like Lightning Bolt/Goblin Grenade? Should other Cards be considered?
That actually looks like a good deck to me. I wouldn't mind sleeving it up and trying out. I was trying to think of a way to get more creatures on the field to activate Nykthos more efficiently, and Aether Vial is a great idea. If anybody tries it out I'd like to hear about how it did.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
I have 2 versions of this deck I'd like to pass by you guys to get some feedback. I'd like to get your opinion as to which one is better. I've only been playing Modern for about 3 weeks, but it looks like the metagame where I live in Nagoya is full of Pod, UWR tempo, Splinter Twin, UWR control, and Affinity. The first build is R/g devotion.
The deck lacks any mainboard removal like Lightning Bolt, which could be a draw back. However, in the games I've played so far, Lightning Bolt really hasn't done too much for me and usually just sits in my hand. I'm looking to be a bit more aggressive so I added in 4 Ash Zealot to counteract all the Snapcaster Mage shenanigans I've seen in Nagoya, as well as adding in Domri Rade and Xenagos to give me both card and creature advantage (while also giving me the option to make lots of mana with Xenagos). The sideboard is geared towards control (Shusher, Banefire, Relic) and Pod (Grudge, Revelry, Grafdiggers Cage, Relic). I'm thinking it might be better to put in 4 Revelry instead of the Grudge so I can deal with Twin decks easier while also having the ability to deal with Birthing Pod.
R/w has a few more spells at it's disposable, namely Path to Exile. Instead of Xenagos I have Koth to speed up my mana production, but the creature set it is basically same as the other build. I had Lightning Bolt in this deck before, but as I said it was rather underwhelming. I found myself wanting to play creatures every turn, and going up to 28 creatures really helps me achieve that more often.
In the sideboard, I again have various cards for Pod, Twin, and UWR control/tempo, but with Wear/Tear instead of Revelry, and Boros Charm to prevent board wipes (I think this could probably be changed to something else since board wipes aren't as prevalent as they are in standard). Could you guys help me to strengthen it a little bit more? Again, this is just something I'd like to try out for fun, but it would be great if it could also be competitive.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
You aren't worried about putting too much into Kargan? I love the card, but it seems risky. How does this stack up against sweepers like Anger of the Gods or Pyroclasm?
I finally took the deck out for a spin last weekend at a 20 person Modern tournament and the deck actually surprised me a number of times as I went 2-1. I beat a mono black devotion deck 2-0, lost to Affinity 1-2, and beat UWR control 2-0. I found myself drawing a lot of gas most of the time, almost doubling my attack each turn if I had a Nykthos in play. Quite a few games I found myself with a turn 1 Figure, Turn 2 Ash Zealot or Dragonlord, and then on turn 3 I played Nykthos + Burning Tree for 5 mana. Sometimes I played a Fanatic of Mogis and leveled up my Kithkin, but other times I was able to play a Demigod of Revenge on turn 3 and attack for at least 5 in the air. The great thing about playing Nykthos is that it doesn't need you to worry too much about pumping up a creature. On turn 4, I could use Nykthos for 4-5 and pump up a dragonlord of Figure of Destiny while still leaving a mana open for Path to Exile if I wanted to. The deck was crazy aggressive, and thanks to Demigod and Fanatic it also had a good long game if my board got shut down.
I found myself wanting some land destruction though, so I'm trying out this newest build with Ghost Quarters (or Tectonic Edges if you have them). Hopefully it will help me with my man land match ups, as well as Affinity and Tron. I also decided to drop a Vexing Shusher from the sideboard for a Shatterstorm. 4 mana is nothing for the deck (turn 3 with a good hand), and making Welding Jar useless is also a good reason to play it. Not sure if it will be better than Shattering Spree, but I'd like to at least try it out. I also tested the deck out against GR Tron and it did pretty well against it too. The deck can be both aggro or midrange depending on your situation, and changing Bonfire for Blasphemous Act gives you another win condition if you have a Boros Reckoner in play.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
Just an update, but I won my first modern tournament with my build today. Went 3-0 at a small event in Nagoya. Beat a mono black devotion deck, a GR Warped World Tokens rogue deck, and a UR Tempo deck. Not a lot of top tier decks there today other than some Birthing Pod decks, but it's still promising to say the least. I went 6-0 with zero losses. With GP Nagoya coming up in 2 more weeks, I don't think I'll be able to test it out again until April 20th or so. If you have any comments or questions about it's match ups, I'll do my best to answer them.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
Just thought I'd update my progress with the deck again. I used mono red devotion at the Super Sunday Series at GP Nagoya the other week and went 4-5, but the games I lost were very close which gives me hope. It was also the first time I played against a lot of different decks with it. I've changed the Vexing Shushers to Banefires since they were always getting bolted against control decks.
Round 1: BW Tokens (lost 1-2) - Mulligans to 4 in game 1 and 5 in game 3 really hurt me this game, but I won game 2 convincingly. Definitely winnable
Round 2: RUG Twin (lost 0-2) - His Tarmogoyf got me in game 1, but my sideboard actually did really well in game 2, stopping him from combo-ing out. Would have won if Snapcaster didn't double bolt me for my last 6 life.
Round 3: GW Hatebears (won 2-0) - had a double Boros Reckoner + Blasphemous Act hand. Hit him for 26 life around turn 4. Curved out really quick in game 2 and went over his head with a 8/8 Dragonlord to win.
Round 4: UR Twin (lost 0-2) - Sideboard did really well against this deck again, but I made a misplay with Wear and Tear, not casting it on his Spellskite before my Path to Exile on his Exarch. D'oh.
Round 5: Scapeshift (lost 1-2) - first time playing against the deck. Kept a slow hand in game 1, beat him easily game 2, and in game 3 I sided out all my removal for Blood Moons and what not and got taken out by an Inferno Titan. I should definitely be able to prey on this deck in the future.
Round 6: UW Ghostly Prison (lost 0-2) - Kept bad hands, couldn't put pressure on my opponent and allowed him to shut me down. Also had a triple mulligan in game 2.
Round 7: RW Burn (won 2-1) - I managed to curve out well and outrace my opponent in both game 1 and game 3. Nykthos really helped to power out Demigods and level up creatures.
Round 8: UW Blink (won 2-1) - God hand (turn 3 Demigod into a turn 4 Demigod 2 and 4/4 dragonlord) won game 1 for me, and his double mulligan in game 3 helped as well.
Round 9: UWR control (won 2-0) - fast play doomed him game 1, and Blood Moon on turn 3 in game 2 shut him down.
The deck continues to be a blast to play, and the sideboard options in red and white are really good against this current metagame. It does take some skill in order to mulligan correctly for the fastest hand, but once you get the hang of it I think this deck can hang with even the big boys of modern. I'll be testing it out again during the Big Magic Open in Yokohama I think.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
I could use more help with the sideboard, but I think Eidolon does a good job of putting your UWR, Burn, GB, and Affinity players in a bad position if they can't get rid of it. Any ideas or thoughts? Any new M15 cards or Nyx cards you'd add?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Interested in Magic the Gathering in Japan? Check out my blog www.thejapanhobbyist.com for metagame information, locations of MTG stores in Japan, English to Japanese vocabulary, and much more!
Played against a guy runningLeyline of Lightning and Leyline of Punishment in order to generate tons of devotion by turn 3. Punishment might have been out of the board. He was then running Sylvan Scrying, which can be cast off of BTE, to fetch up Nykthos more easily. For the most part, though, he was curving into Reckoner, Demigod, and Dragonlord like other lists. I think he was running Obsidian Fireheart as his four drop over Fanatic perhaps. I did see a Mizzium Mortars post-board, which blew me out.
While I like the look of it, I feel like it's currently bad timing to make a graveyard subtheme stronger. People are already prepped for delve creatures, and you'll get hated on incidentally because of it.
While it can lead to some nut-draws it's very unreliable and leads to bad draws at awkward moments.
I like the idea of the deck so I decided to try an build it without Leylines using on-curve hasty aggressive creatures instead backed up by: L.Bolt, Skred and Koth.
The sideboard plan is to become a more controlling deck.
I have a pretty similar deck. I've toyed around with a few configurations. My first list looked very similar to yours, but without the snow-land package and Skred.
In looking at my most recent lists, I've cut Kargan Dragonlord for a couple Spellskites and some Boros Charms. Without devotion, the deck just falls flat (which is why the Leyline lists are actually intriguing to me). The Spellskites do their thing in protecting your devotion critters, and Boros Charm is just a very versatile spell in this particular deck, but the protecting aspect is why I wanted it. It's like a double whammy when our guys die, because it obviously screws up our early game, but it actually sabotages our late game as well, leaving us with a bunch of average creatures to top-deck.
I cut Lightning Bolt as well. I know, this is sacrilege, but I found the deck to be okay against creature decks, and if you can survive long enough to get some Nykthos mana online, you don't usually need the reach of Bolt as your Fanatic of Mogis and Demigod of Revenge should wrap things up pretty quickly.
Other departures from your list include the following cards, which you may or may not like. Rise of the Hobgoblins + Purphoros, God of the Forge - Both provide some hard to remove devotion, and as a late game combo, it can be a game winner even if you don't have a great board presence filled with red mana symbols. Balefire Liege - With so many hybrid mana symbols and R/W spells (at least in my list), I like this guy as a curve topper.
If I was going to play a red walker, it would probably be Chandra, Pyromaster. The one thing this deck lacks is some card draw, and I think her +0 ability would be quite helpful.
I would like to see your list, it seems rather interesting from your description.
I see how Spellskite can be good here but on the other hand in some match-ups it would do very little an actually slow-down the devotion plan, it can probably be better from the SB (as well as Boros Charm, though I don't plan to splash White so far).
Lightning Bolt is neccessary for removal and option to burn-out the opponent is also good, I wouldn't cut it.
I think I like Scab-Clan Berserker a little better than Boggart Ram-Gang, but neither really blow my skirt up.
In comparison to Secure the Wastes, I like that Rise of the Hobgoblins hangs around on the battlefield after resolving, granting me 2 devotion that nobody would want to waste removal on. The first strike thing can also tip combat in your favor. Compared to Pia and Siege Gang, I like that it continues to scale up if you have your Nykthos mana online. I will admit that both Pia and Siege Gang are more impactful on curve, though.
4 Ash Zealot
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Figure of Destiny
2 Stigma Lasher
4 War Elemental
3 Obsidian Fireheart
4 Inferno Titan
2 Cyclops Gladiator
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Ignorant Bliss
2 Devil's Play
Lands
20 Mountain
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Crimson Wisps
3 Blood Knight
2 Ignorant Bliss
4 Cyclops Gladiator
2 Mordant Dragon
2 Ancient Hellkite
Just a first draft of a list, really like the idea and the dragonlord is epic when activated.
- To my youngest sister when she was 6.
Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
4 Dark Confidant
3 Siege Rhino
1 Thrun, The Last Troll
Spells - 20
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 abrupt decay
2 maelstrom pulse
1 slaughter pact
1 path to exile
1 Disfigure
1 damnation
3 lingering souls
NCP - 4
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bow of Nylea
4 verdant Catacombs
2 marsh flats
2 windswept heath
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 overgrown tomb
1 godless shrine
1 temple garden
1 Treetop Village
2 stirring wildwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Thrun, the last troll
2 Duress
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Stony Silence
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Back to nature
1 Utter End
1 Golgari Charm
I like the beat down list you have running here lots of cards I've loved but haven't used in years! ( Looking at you War Elemental and Ignorant Bliss)
Are one drops important in attaining higher devotion? I think Goblin Guide needs a home here maybe instead of Thunderblust?
I would also have to disagree with BTE here as the green mana is almost always gonna leave you wanting a R.
Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
4 Dark Confidant
3 Siege Rhino
1 Thrun, The Last Troll
Spells - 20
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 abrupt decay
2 maelstrom pulse
1 slaughter pact
1 path to exile
1 Disfigure
1 damnation
3 lingering souls
NCP - 4
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bow of Nylea
4 verdant Catacombs
2 marsh flats
2 windswept heath
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 overgrown tomb
1 godless shrine
1 temple garden
1 Treetop Village
2 stirring wildwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Thrun, the last troll
2 Duress
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Stony Silence
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Back to nature
1 Utter End
1 Golgari Charm
Modern Red Devotion
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
8 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Banefire
4 Path to Exile
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
Figure of Destiny is a great one drop, and it can get out of control rather quickly if you have the devotion for it on turn 3. Dragonlord is another card that gives you a great mana sink for all the extra mana you're going to be making, and I think Burning Tree Emissary is absolutely necessary in creating critical mass for this deck. If you play Figure, Dragonlord, then Nykthos BTE on turn 3, you'll have at least a 4/4 attacking, and if you have multiples of BTE in your hand it could be even bigger.
I also like reckoner, if only as a good way to set up defense against a 5/6 Goyf or to add devotion. Fanatic of Mogis is also a fun card to play, cause this deck is going to have a lot of red symbols. He can win the game by himself, even if your board state is dire. Demigod gives you +5 to devotion, brings back any of him you have in the graveyard, as well as playable on turn 3 with BTE + Nykthos.
As for the spells, Banefire is a great card to play in devotion, because you can burn your opponent for A LOT and they won't be able to counter it or prevent the damage if X > 5. My other choice was Bonfire, and I'm not sure of it, but I think with the Scry lands, you can save yourself from drawing it too early. After you have creatures and Nykthos on the board though, it can be pretty devastating to draw, maybe even clearing your opponent's board. You can count Koth as Nykthos #5 and #6, since he can add tons more mana to your mana pool with his minus ability. I like Chandra for her 0 ability, which gives this deck some extra card advantage. Also, since we'd be playing white, I thought Path to Exile would be good for extra removal.
I think it could be a lot of fun to play, but I don't have all the cards for it yet. If anybody wants to try it out, it would be great to get some feedback on it. Also, which sideboard cards would you recommend?
That actually looks like a good deck to me. I wouldn't mind sleeving it up and trying out. I was trying to think of a way to get more creatures on the field to activate Nykthos more efficiently, and Aether Vial is a great idea. If anybody tries it out I'd like to hear about how it did.
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Arid Mesa
1 Forest
7 Mountain
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Creatures
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Kargan Dragonlord
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
3 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Domri Rade
2 Destructive Revelry
3 Vexing Shusher
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Banefire
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Blood Moon
2 Grafdigger's Cage
The deck lacks any mainboard removal like Lightning Bolt, which could be a draw back. However, in the games I've played so far, Lightning Bolt really hasn't done too much for me and usually just sits in my hand. I'm looking to be a bit more aggressive so I added in 4 Ash Zealot to counteract all the Snapcaster Mage shenanigans I've seen in Nagoya, as well as adding in Domri Rade and Xenagos to give me both card and creature advantage (while also giving me the option to make lots of mana with Xenagos). The sideboard is geared towards control (Shusher, Banefire, Relic) and Pod (Grudge, Revelry, Grafdiggers Cage, Relic). I'm thinking it might be better to put in 4 Revelry instead of the Grudge so I can deal with Twin decks easier while also having the ability to deal with Birthing Pod.
My other deck R/w devotion.
4 Arid Mesa
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
8 Mountain
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Creatures
4 Ash Zealot
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Path to Exile
2 Boros Charm
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Blood Moon
2 Wear // Tear
2 Banefire
3 Vexing Shusher
15 sideboard cards
R/w has a few more spells at it's disposable, namely Path to Exile. Instead of Xenagos I have Koth to speed up my mana production, but the creature set it is basically same as the other build. I had Lightning Bolt in this deck before, but as I said it was rather underwhelming. I found myself wanting to play creatures every turn, and going up to 28 creatures really helps me achieve that more often.
In the sideboard, I again have various cards for Pod, Twin, and UWR control/tempo, but with Wear/Tear instead of Revelry, and Boros Charm to prevent board wipes (I think this could probably be changed to something else since board wipes aren't as prevalent as they are in standard). Could you guys help me to strengthen it a little bit more? Again, this is just something I'd like to try out for fun, but it would be great if it could also be competitive.
4 Clifftop Retreat
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Arid Mesa
4 Sacred Foundry
6 Mountain
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Creatures
4 Ash Zealot
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Blasphemous Act
4 Path to Exile
2 Stony Silence
1 Shatterstorm
2 Combust
2 Wear/Tear
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Blood Moon
2 Vexing Shusher
I finally took the deck out for a spin last weekend at a 20 person Modern tournament and the deck actually surprised me a number of times as I went 2-1. I beat a mono black devotion deck 2-0, lost to Affinity 1-2, and beat UWR control 2-0. I found myself drawing a lot of gas most of the time, almost doubling my attack each turn if I had a Nykthos in play. Quite a few games I found myself with a turn 1 Figure, Turn 2 Ash Zealot or Dragonlord, and then on turn 3 I played Nykthos + Burning Tree for 5 mana. Sometimes I played a Fanatic of Mogis and leveled up my Kithkin, but other times I was able to play a Demigod of Revenge on turn 3 and attack for at least 5 in the air. The great thing about playing Nykthos is that it doesn't need you to worry too much about pumping up a creature. On turn 4, I could use Nykthos for 4-5 and pump up a dragonlord of Figure of Destiny while still leaving a mana open for Path to Exile if I wanted to. The deck was crazy aggressive, and thanks to Demigod and Fanatic it also had a good long game if my board got shut down.
I found myself wanting some land destruction though, so I'm trying out this newest build with Ghost Quarters (or Tectonic Edges if you have them). Hopefully it will help me with my man land match ups, as well as Affinity and Tron. I also decided to drop a Vexing Shusher from the sideboard for a Shatterstorm. 4 mana is nothing for the deck (turn 3 with a good hand), and making Welding Jar useless is also a good reason to play it. Not sure if it will be better than Shattering Spree, but I'd like to at least try it out. I also tested the deck out against GR Tron and it did pretty well against it too. The deck can be both aggro or midrange depending on your situation, and changing Bonfire for Blasphemous Act gives you another win condition if you have a Boros Reckoner in play.
The deck continues to be a blast to play, and the sideboard options in red and white are really good against this current metagame. It does take some skill in order to mulligan correctly for the fastest hand, but once you get the hang of it I think this deck can hang with even the big boys of modern. I'll be testing it out again during the Big Magic Open in Yokohama I think.
Modern R/g Devotion
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Stomping Ground
4 Arid Mesa
8 Mountain
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
[Creatures]
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Demigod of Revenge
2 Æther Vial
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Banefire
4 Domri Rade
2 ?????
2 Torpor Orb
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blasphemous Act
2 Blood Moon
3 Combust
1 Shatterstorm
1 Grafdigger's Cage
I could use more help with the sideboard, but I think Eidolon does a good job of putting your UWR, Burn, GB, and Affinity players in a bad position if they can't get rid of it. Any ideas or thoughts? Any new M15 cards or Nyx cards you'd add?
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/33038_Daily-Digest-Devotion-To-Winning.html
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/much-abrew-about-nothing-mono-red-devotion-modern
While it can lead to some nut-draws it's very unreliable and leads to bad draws at awkward moments.
I like the idea of the deck so I decided to try an build it without Leylines using on-curve hasty aggressive creatures instead backed up by: L.Bolt, Skred and Koth.
The sideboard plan is to become a more controlling deck.
Here it is:
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Kargan Dragonlord
4x Ash Zealot
4x Boggart Ram-Gang
4x Boros Reckoner
3x Fanatic of Mogis
4x Demigod of Revenge
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Skred
Planeswalker (3)
2x Koth of the Hammer
1x Chandra, Pyromaster
Land (22)
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
18x Snow-Covered Mountain
2x Dragon's Claw
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
3x Dominus of Fealty
2x Mizzium Mortars
2x Pyroclasm
2x Shattering Spree
1. What do you think of the deck ?
2. Any better options than Ash Zealot and Boggart Ram-Gang in the 2,3-drop slots ?
(Eidolon of the Great Revel, Vexing Shusher, Blood Knight, Scab-Clan Berserker, Crag Puca, Flamewake Phoenix, Fulminator Mage, Mindsparker, Stigma Lasher)
3. Would any other fatties be better here as top end options ?
(Moonveil Dragon, Hostility, Deus of Calamity, Stormbreath Dragon)
In looking at my most recent lists, I've cut Kargan Dragonlord for a couple Spellskites and some Boros Charms. Without devotion, the deck just falls flat (which is why the Leyline lists are actually intriguing to me). The Spellskites do their thing in protecting your devotion critters, and Boros Charm is just a very versatile spell in this particular deck, but the protecting aspect is why I wanted it. It's like a double whammy when our guys die, because it obviously screws up our early game, but it actually sabotages our late game as well, leaving us with a bunch of average creatures to top-deck.
I cut Lightning Bolt as well. I know, this is sacrilege, but I found the deck to be okay against creature decks, and if you can survive long enough to get some Nykthos mana online, you don't usually need the reach of Bolt as your Fanatic of Mogis and Demigod of Revenge should wrap things up pretty quickly.
Other departures from your list include the following cards, which you may or may not like.
Rise of the Hobgoblins + Purphoros, God of the Forge - Both provide some hard to remove devotion, and as a late game combo, it can be a game winner even if you don't have a great board presence filled with red mana symbols.
Balefire Liege - With so many hybrid mana symbols and R/W spells (at least in my list), I like this guy as a curve topper.
If I was going to play a red walker, it would probably be Chandra, Pyromaster. The one thing this deck lacks is some card draw, and I think her +0 ability would be quite helpful.
I see how Spellskite can be good here but on the other hand in some match-ups it would do very little an actually slow-down the devotion plan, it can probably be better from the SB (as well as Boros Charm, though I don't plan to splash White so far).
Lightning Bolt is neccessary for removal and option to burn-out the opponent is also good, I wouldn't cut it.
Purphoros, God of the Forge does indeed seem rather good but will require to build around him, as in this deck he can at best be a resilent creature.
Rise of the Hobgoblins seems like a worse Secure the Wastes to me (you do splash White, right ?), other options like Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Siege-Gang Commander seem better to me.
Good call on Chandra, Pyromaster.
I'm going to add 1x Chandra and 1x more Fanatic of Mogis instead of Dominus of Fealty which will replace Goblin Dark-Dwellers in the SB.
What do you think about Scab-Clan Berserker here ?
Can it replace Boggart Ram-Gang (or at least be in the SB) ?
In comparison to Secure the Wastes, I like that Rise of the Hobgoblins hangs around on the battlefield after resolving, granting me 2 devotion that nobody would want to waste removal on. The first strike thing can also tip combat in your favor. Compared to Pia and Siege Gang, I like that it continues to scale up if you have your Nykthos mana online. I will admit that both Pia and Siege Gang are more impactful on curve, though.
Bolt was definitely in my original list...
I'll post the whole thing when I get a chance.
Should I add Scrying Sheets to help against flooding and hitting land-drops ?
I wonder if Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker can be good here.