Hello, and welcome to the Oneders! (Pronounced wonders, not o-nee-ders; get it right Tom Hanks!) The oneders is an innovative aggressive deck focused on flooding the board with a bunch of one mana 2/1's early on and later casting a Immortal Servitude for 1, reanimating all of your 1 drops. While it does possess a strong synnergy, the deck is still an aggro deck at its core; even if your Servitude gets stopped, you've still got an army of 2/1's that can easily turn sideways for 20 damage. With that being said, let's get to the decklist and card choices.
Soldier of the Pantheon
By far the best one drop in the entire deck. I've won countless games off of his protection ability, and gaining life is surprisingly relevant in this deck. Run 4 and don't question why.
Gnarled Scarhide
If Soldier of the Pantheon is the meat in this deck, Gnarled Scarhide is the potatoes. On his own Scarhide is a 2/1 for 1 which is a respectable body and exactly what we're looking for. The utility you get from bestowing, however, is just plain nuts. Putting this on a Loyal Pegasus can close the game out ridiculously quickly, and it helps to not overextend against sweepers. Do keep in mind you can bestow this guy on pesky Archangel of Thunes in a pinch so they can't block! Run 4.
Dryad Militant, Tormented Hero, Rakdos Cackler
While each of these cards are somewhat dissimilar, they all serve a similar function: having 2 power for 1 mana. Bestowing Scarhide onto Hero lets you drain for 1, which isn't bad. Run 4 of each.
Loyal Pegasus
This card got separated from the three earlier cards because what it does is actually quite different. The drawback isn't nothing, but you usually have at least one other creature out when you play this. Flying is incredibly relevant in this meta, and bestowing a Scarhide here can close a game out. Run 2-4.
Judge's Familiar
Judge's Familiar has two great abilities: countering spells and flying. However, that does come at a cost: it's only got 1 power. Having said that, the utility it brings generally outweighs that sacrifice; they really shine against Mono Black and UW control. Run 0-3; remember to sideboard them out when they're not as good.
Boros Elite
Believe it or not, I actually don't love Elite in this deck. When the card's sweet, it's amazing, but the times when it's a 3/3 are actually quite scarce. The fact that your opponent's removal essentially does twice the work with him out in the sense that it removes a creature and keeps you off batallion is quite annoying, and sometimes you can't afford to attack with three creatures. That and the fact that he makes for a poor blocker in situations where you're trying to outlast a faster aggro opponent means he gets the axe from me. Having said that, his upside is huge, so run him if you wish. 0 or 4 are the recommended numbers.
Pharika's Chosen
Against creature decks, your 2/1's quickly get outclassed. Chosen helps trade for fatties such as polukranos and loxodon smiter much more efficiently late-game, and makes trading creature for creature until you hit a servitude much more viable. Run some copies in your sideboard unless you're in the most creature light of metas.
Non-one drops
To avoid diluting the combo, you generally want to stick with mono one drops. Having said that, there are a few creatures I feel are worth mentioning.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
This guy's a great sideboard option. Anger of the Gods is such an immense beating against us that you want something out of the board to combat it. Brimaz fills that role quite nicely. He survives Anger and puts an immense amount of pressure against the opponent the turn he comes down. He's also quite strong against creature decks that are playing X/1's. Run 2 or so in the board.
Xathrid Necromancer
This guy's okay, but he feels a little clunky sometimes. You run 12 humans, so he's got plenty of Zombie fodder. Having said that, you really want to stick to one drops where possible and you're casting Necromancer on the turn you want to be playing removal or a Spear. My suggestion is to run 0, but if you find he works well in your meta I won't condemn you for giving him a shot.
I haven't been able to playtest with Athreos, God of Passage quite yet, so I can't really give feedback. My initial impressions are that the card's insanely strong, but only makes graveyard have even more of a blowout against us; he does what Servitude does, but more situationally. Perhaps there's room for 1, however.
Removal Spells
Orzhov Charm
The removal spell to trump them all. This card's never dead, either as an unconditional removal spell or an instant speed reanimator effect. One trick you can use is reanimating Judge's Familiar in response to an instant or sorcery that your opponent tapped out for as a counterspell.
Ultimate Price
The best two mana removal spell for this deck that isn't Orzhov Charm. The fact that it kills Desecration Demon is a huge reason to play this card, alongside the new addition Master of the Feast. Run 2 in the main and 1-2 in the side.
Doom Blade
A little worse than Price, but it kills its fair share of creatures that Price doesn't — the most notable being Frostburn Weird and Reckoner. Run at least 2 in your sideboard, and board them in whenever you're not playing against black creatures.
Hero's Downfall
The best removal spell in standard, but perhaps not in our deck. The three mana is a lot, but it kills anything until it's dead. It's great in the sideboard for matchups when you need unconditional removal that doesn't make you lose life. This card really shines when you bring it in against RG monsters. Run 2 or 3 in the board.
Banishing Light
Banishing Light is a great utilitarian effect, but unfortunately it's a little weaker than Downfall most of the time. The instant speed makes a big difference, and the fact that Downfall can't be countered by Detention Sphere or other Banishing Lights is a big strike against it. Having said that, this card answers everything but blood baron, obzedat, and mutavault. Run 0-2 in the board.
Devour Flesh
It's narrow, and even when it's good it's okay. It's worth having a few in your board if Blood Baron or hexproof decks are popular in your meta, but besides that this card doesn't really have a place.
Deicide Erase, but with a Memoricide stapled on. The ability to exile four Thassas at instant speed is pretty sweet. I run a silver bullet in my sideboard, but the card isn't necessary by any means.
Utility Spells
Immortal Servitude
The whole reason to play this deck. Last time I checked, a four mana Rise of the Dark Realms for your one drops is insane. Run 4 and don't look back.
Spear of Heliod
In an aggressive deck that aims to flood the board with cheap creatures, anthem effects are insane. If only the card wasn't legendary... Run 2-3.
Hall of Triumph
Unfortunately, multicolored decks can't really abuse this effect, and it's generally worse than Spear. Run 0.
Fortify
Fortify is incredibly swingy. When you're ahead on board, the card's insane, but it's actually quite terrible when you're behind. It's not really the kind of effect you want multiples of in your opener, too. Run 0.
Brave the Elements
This card isn't good for the same reason Hall isn't good: We run a large amount of black creatures. It can lead to blowouts, but like Fortify it's also highly dependent on board presence. Run 0.
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize is good in just about every black deck ever. Having said that, the fact that it's one mana is actually quite disruptive. In a deck aiming to use as much mana as it can turns 1-3, it's not easy to take your time to thoughtseize for value. However, against decks that have one or two cards that are good against us and not many others (I'm looking at you, Anger of the Gods!), it can be gamebreaking. Run 4 in the sideboard.
Duress
If Thoughtseize is a sideboard card, Duress is definitely not a main. If you want 5 or 6 discard effects, feel free to run 2 or so in your sideboard along Thoughtseize. It still hits a lot of relevant cards, but seeing Archangel in your opponent's hand when you cast this is not a great feeling.
Gift of Orzhova
This card can be quite good against aggressive creature decks, but unfortunately we don't have any creatures that are really worthwile to enchant this with. That and the fact that even after the +1/+1 our creatures are still not out of range of any removal spells means that this sadly doesn't make the cut.
Lands
Godless Shrine
I shouldn't have to explain to you why shocklands are good. Run 4.
Temple of Silence
Duals are important for a deck that needs to empty its hand by turn 4, and Temple does just that, and the scry is really powerful. Coming into play tapped is a massive downside to this card, however. Run 3-4.
Mutavault
As much as I hate to say it, the best card in Standard doesn't fit into this deck. We have 27 creatures that can't be cast off of this creature and that absolutely need to be cast on time. That plus the fact that this deck has a plethora of double mana symbols in its cards (and triple, in the case of Servitude) means that we can't run this. Run 0.
Game 1 is quite difficult for UW. We are their worst nightmare: a deck that drops 6 power on the board on turn 2 that maindecks hate for Verdict. Jace, Architect is by far their best card here. Keep a reasonable hand and you should win. After boarding, they typically bring in some number of Archangels; try to hold up a Downfall or Charm for it if possible. Loyal Pegasus gets cut because while the drawback usually doesn't come up, it does often enough to make you cut it over your other 1 drops.
Mono Black Devotion
Slightly favored pre-board and post-board
-4 Loyal Pegasus
+4 Thoughtseize
Mono Black has a lot more tools than UW does with which to catch up; Bile Blight gets 2 for 1's quite easily if you don't play around it, and Gray Merchant can be really bad for you. Having said that, your opponent's casting three mana removal spells in order to kill one drops. It's quite easy to aggro out your opponent, and one or two removal spells from you is usually enough to seal the deal.
Unfortunately, RG monsters does two things we don't like: they play creatures that are much bigger than ours, and they play them quickly. It's quite difficult to aggro them out as their Sylvan Caryatids block incredibly efficiently and they can just kill you if you take too long. That gets completely flipped around once you sideboard, however. RG crumbles under the face of a few removal spells, and when they have an empty board it suddenly becomes much easier to kill them. If you see them sideboard in Anger game 2, bring in 4 thoughtseize game 3.
RW Burn
Even pre-board and post-board
-2 Ultimate Price
+2 Doom Blade
RW burn isn't your best matchup, but you don't exactly struggle either. You play a huge amount of 2/1's. They try to 1 for 1 you. Unfortunately, unlike mono black, they present a respectable clock and have several cards that are quite good against you. Judge's Familiar is the MVP in this matchup. Keep a hand with enough pressure and you should win.
R/x devotion? Anger? Eidolon??? Reckoners and frostburn weirds, even the ram? Plus 4 mana confluences just make u take a whole lotta unnecessary damage and leave you lethal for fanatic of mogis or burn spells in general, I also fail to see how its good against control without haste, sure you can flood board early but verdict/dspheres can still be devastating, it's a nice idea don't get me wrong but I think this is more of a brew deck for fnms rather than tournament level stuff :/
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Standard: Mardu Midrange, Jeskai Wins, Naya Walkers, Boss Sligh, Mono Black Aggro
Modern: RUG Scapeshift, Burn, UG Infect
Legacy: Death n Taxes, Burn, Tendrils
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion, Krenko, Mob Boss, Narset, Enlightened Master
R/x devotion? Anger? Eidolon??? Reckoners and frostburn weirds, even the ram? Plus 4 mana confluences just make u take a whole lotta unnecessary damage and leave you lethal for fanatic of mogis or burn spells in general,
I'm not worried about R/X devotion. They're a much slower aggro/combo deck that falls apart to removal and discard. Saying Confluence shouldn't be run because it deals damage to you is like saying you shouldn't run shocklands because you take 2 damage from them.
I also fail to see how its good against control without haste, sure you can flood board early but verdict/dspheres can still be devastating, it's a nice idea don't get me wrong but I think this is more of a brew deck for fnms rather than tournament level stuff :/
Read the primer again. Guess what card beats Verdict? The very card that the deck's built around. Detention Sphere isn't something I'm afraid of. If my opponent wants to spend three mana to remove a one drop, that is completely fine with me.
I've taken this deck to 5 tournaments so far, and have done X-1 or better in 4 of them. I've played against every established deck in the format and I can say with confidence that this deck is a strong contender in this format.
Also, give me a deck that did well at a recent large tournament that runs Anger of the Gods. On top of that, we run 6 cards out of our sideboard that are all strong against Anger. I get that you're bringing up valid points, but all of those points are addressed in the primer. I would very much appreciate if you read what I have to say about the deck before you bash it about things I cover in the primer.
I haven't been able to take this to a large tournament yet, but I've done five FNM's so far and gone X-1 or better four times against good decks (UW control, mono black devotion, burn, RG monsters, etc)
Have you tested either of those blow-out white strive cards? The indestructible on seems like it could be valuable. The double-strike one probably wouldn't cut it though.
Have you tested either of those blow-out white strive cards? The indestructible on seems like it could be valuable. The double-strike one probably wouldn't cut it though.
The deck wants to keep combat tricks to a minimum, as each one you play reduces the power of your Servitudes a little bit. The double strike one isn't nearly powerful enough to be played in the first place; while it can be quite good, it's actually pretty rare you have five mana up. The indestructible effect isn't really one that I want as Servitude makes removal (usually) bad, and if I wanted that kind of effect I'd probably use Rootborn.
Interesting idea even if it's a little janky. I personally would avoid putting percentages by the matchups because that leaves people open to go "hey wait a second... your are claiming a favorable matchup in 3 of those 4 matches preboard and all of them post... why isn't this deck dominating like Delver?". People are easy to get hung up on semantic things like that when maybe it's better to just say what are your good and bad matchups without putting a number on it.
Alternative name, since pretty much everything hits for 2: The 2-hit 1-ders!
Anyway, it does seem interesting against control but I'm worried that it will just fold to any midrange or devotion-based strategy. Boros Reckoner, Frostburn Weird, Nyx-Fleece Ram, Courser of Kruphix, and plenty of other early creatures are just houses against this type of strategy. The fastest possible goldfish for this deck:
T1 Land, 1 drop
T2 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 2 (18)
T3 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 6 (12) (or, Spear of Heliod, swing for 9)
T4 Swing for 12, GG (or, swing for 9, GG)
If there's ANY interference with this plan, turn 5 is the soonest you can win, and most midrange or devotion decks will stabilize by that point. While there is some resilience after this point due to the presence of Immortal Servitude, that doesn't have a huge effect when the thing/s that got rid of your guys are still there, putting up a road block while the other player gets into their much stronger late game. Perhaps I'm underrating the pressure this puts on the opponent, but I just can't see it getting there vs non-control players. Feel free to prove me wrong!
Alternative name, since pretty much everything hits for 2: The 2-hit 1-ders!
Anyway, it does seem interesting against control but I'm worried that it will just fold to any midrange or devotion-based strategy. Boros Reckoner, Frostburn Weird, Nyx-Fleece Ram, Courser of Kruphix, and plenty of other early creatures are just houses against this type of strategy. The fastest possible goldfish for this deck:
T1 Land, 1 drop
T2 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 2 (18)
T3 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 6 (12) (or, Spear of Heliod, swing for 9)
T4 Swing for 12, GG (or, swing for 9, GG)
If there's ANY interference with this plan, turn 5 is the soonest you can win, and most midrange or devotion decks will stabilize by that point. While there is some resilience after this point due to the presence of Immortal Servitude, that doesn't have a huge effect when the thing/s that got rid of your guys are still there, putting up a road block while the other player gets into their much stronger late game. Perhaps I'm underrating the pressure this puts on the opponent, but I just can't see it getting there vs non-control players. Feel free to prove me wrong!
Agree with this. There are a lot of early walls in Standard right now. Even mono blue has Frostburn Weird which would you hold off for at least a turn, and red has Ash Zealot which will wall you with her first strike.
WR is definitely not optimal. You loose out on a lot of powerful black 1 drops by doing so in addition to removal spells. What red brings to the table just isn't enough to justify playing it over black.
And please say this deckname was inspired by the movie "That Thing You Do"
O-need-ers.
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Level 2 Judge
Currently playing:
Standard: Superfriends!
Legacy: Nic Fit / Pod
Pauper: Delvar; Tron; Flicker Stuff
Commander: Riku ("Some weird doubple spell thing happened"); Keranos ("I did a Gatherer search for 'random' and 'flip a coin.'"); Superfriends!
Going to be honest here. You claim favorable matchups against all of the relevant decks in the format, but the basis for this deck has been around for a full year now. There is no way that JOU gave so much support (when you aren't even running Athreos) that this deck went from unplayable to favorable against everything. You literally added one card, and now claim that this is the best deck in the format (favorable vs everything=best deck). In the control matchup, you have 1 card that helps you, and doesn't get played until turn four. What happens when they Verdict before you draw Servitude? If you can't play it while they are tapped out for Verdict, they WILL have a counter (they aren't going to waste a counter on a 1-drop, and they certainly will have drawn one by that point). If they counter Servitude you fold. Against monoB after boards they will have several Bile Blights and sometimes Drown in Sorrow as well. A pack rat only needs to make 2 copies to completely shut you out of the game. Desecration Demon costs you a creature every time you attack. Merchant blocks/kills your attacker and gains at least one creature's swing on ETB, often much more than that. Vs RG Polukranos can wreck you, monstrous for x=2 is now a 3-for-1, and with the way they produce mana it can often be an x=3 to make a 4-for-1. Caryatid blocks you all day long, Courser blocks and kills one of you creatures every time you attack and gains life, their other mana creatures can trade with your creatures, and once they get out a fatty o it is over.
These problems are only based on pre-JOU meta, since the new meta hasn't been fully established yet.
-Mono Black splash green looks to be one of the best decks in the new meta. A key card here? Golgari Charm. It's a Verdict against your deck.
-UW/Esper control will remain a top teir contender. You seem way overly optimistic about this matchup already, assuming that you will always have the answers to their Verdict (and to Jace, which makes your offense pathetic). You neglect to consider that they now have Nyx-Fleece Ram, which will be a sideboard card if there is any form of aggro in the meta, and stops a creature and a half of yours every turn.
All of your matchup analyses assume that you go land: creature, land:two creatures, swing, and continue dropping multiple attackers every turn, only drawing removal when they play a big creature, and always having Servitude when you need it. Also, comments like "I'm not worried about r/x devotion, they are much slower and fall apart against some removal and discard"(which you don't even have much of), and "I can beat RG monsters after boards because they fall apart in the face of a few removal spells" is blatantly untrue. RG monsters manages to beat monoB (they aren't favorable, but they don't "fall apart"), and Mono B runs way more removal than you do. You also aren't considering that boarding in removal makes you slower, and against RG especially you are already way too slow. The biggest problems with the deck is that it overextends right into wipes, "flooding out" is drawing four lands by turn six, and that every creature deck has early drops that are bigger than yours.
The biggest problems with the deck is that it overextends right into wipes, "flooding out" is drawing four lands by turn six, and that every creature deck has early drops that are bigger than yours.
One of the biggest problems the deck has is that it isn't fast enough to race any of the midrange or aggro decks out there before they can ram things down the deck's throat. Sylvan Caryatid, Courser, and Nyx-Fleece Ram would laugh at it. Setessan Tactics can wipe the board. Anger, Verdict, Drown, Mortars, even Godsend will make short work.
control decks on the other hand, if you can do enough damage without overextending you can win, but I don't see it, even with Servitude. I so love Scavenging Ooze, especially against this deck.
If you want to build a Servitude deck, consider WBG 2-drops. Stuff like Scooze, Aristocrat, VoR, Fleecemane Lion are all powerful, give you much higher card quality, and there are several mana dumps. Five mana Servitude is also quite achievable.
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Hello, and welcome to the Oneders! (Pronounced wonders, not o-nee-ders; get it right Tom Hanks!) The oneders is an innovative aggressive deck focused on flooding the board with a bunch of one mana 2/1's early on and later casting a Immortal Servitude for 1, reanimating all of your 1 drops. While it does possess a strong synnergy, the deck is still an aggro deck at its core; even if your Servitude gets stopped, you've still got an army of 2/1's that can easily turn sideways for 20 damage. With that being said, let's get to the decklist and card choices.
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Dryad Militant
4x Loyal Pegasus
3x Judge's Familiar
4x Gnarled Scarhide
4x Tormented Hero
4x Rakdos Cackler
Removal
4x Orzhov Charm
2x Ultimate Price
4x Immortal Servitude
3x Spear of Heliod
Lands
4x Godless Shrine
4x Mana Confluence
3x Temple of Silence
6x Plains
3x Swamp
4x Thoughtseize
2x Doom Blade
2x Hero's Downfall
1x Ultimate Price
3x Pharika's Chosen
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1x Deicide
Card Choices
One drops
By far the best one drop in the entire deck. I've won countless games off of his protection ability, and gaining life is surprisingly relevant in this deck. Run 4 and don't question why.
Gnarled Scarhide
If Soldier of the Pantheon is the meat in this deck, Gnarled Scarhide is the potatoes. On his own Scarhide is a 2/1 for 1 which is a respectable body and exactly what we're looking for. The utility you get from bestowing, however, is just plain nuts. Putting this on a Loyal Pegasus can close the game out ridiculously quickly, and it helps to not overextend against sweepers. Do keep in mind you can bestow this guy on pesky Archangel of Thunes in a pinch so they can't block! Run 4.
Dryad Militant, Tormented Hero, Rakdos Cackler
While each of these cards are somewhat dissimilar, they all serve a similar function: having 2 power for 1 mana. Bestowing Scarhide onto Hero lets you drain for 1, which isn't bad. Run 4 of each.
Loyal Pegasus
This card got separated from the three earlier cards because what it does is actually quite different. The drawback isn't nothing, but you usually have at least one other creature out when you play this. Flying is incredibly relevant in this meta, and bestowing a Scarhide here can close a game out. Run 2-4.
Judge's Familiar
Judge's Familiar has two great abilities: countering spells and flying. However, that does come at a cost: it's only got 1 power. Having said that, the utility it brings generally outweighs that sacrifice; they really shine against Mono Black and UW control. Run 0-3; remember to sideboard them out when they're not as good.
Boros Elite
Believe it or not, I actually don't love Elite in this deck. When the card's sweet, it's amazing, but the times when it's a 3/3 are actually quite scarce. The fact that your opponent's removal essentially does twice the work with him out in the sense that it removes a creature and keeps you off batallion is quite annoying, and sometimes you can't afford to attack with three creatures. That and the fact that he makes for a poor blocker in situations where you're trying to outlast a faster aggro opponent means he gets the axe from me. Having said that, his upside is huge, so run him if you wish. 0 or 4 are the recommended numbers.
Pharika's Chosen
Against creature decks, your 2/1's quickly get outclassed. Chosen helps trade for fatties such as polukranos and loxodon smiter much more efficiently late-game, and makes trading creature for creature until you hit a servitude much more viable. Run some copies in your sideboard unless you're in the most creature light of metas.
Non-one drops
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
This guy's a great sideboard option. Anger of the Gods is such an immense beating against us that you want something out of the board to combat it. Brimaz fills that role quite nicely. He survives Anger and puts an immense amount of pressure against the opponent the turn he comes down. He's also quite strong against creature decks that are playing X/1's. Run 2 or so in the board.
Xathrid Necromancer
This guy's okay, but he feels a little clunky sometimes. You run 12 humans, so he's got plenty of Zombie fodder. Having said that, you really want to stick to one drops where possible and you're casting Necromancer on the turn you want to be playing removal or a Spear. My suggestion is to run 0, but if you find he works well in your meta I won't condemn you for giving him a shot.
I haven't been able to playtest with Athreos, God of Passage quite yet, so I can't really give feedback. My initial impressions are that the card's insanely strong, but only makes graveyard have even more of a blowout against us; he does what Servitude does, but more situationally. Perhaps there's room for 1, however.
Removal Spells
The removal spell to trump them all. This card's never dead, either as an unconditional removal spell or an instant speed reanimator effect. One trick you can use is reanimating Judge's Familiar in response to an instant or sorcery that your opponent tapped out for as a counterspell.
Ultimate Price
The best two mana removal spell for this deck that isn't Orzhov Charm. The fact that it kills Desecration Demon is a huge reason to play this card, alongside the new addition Master of the Feast. Run 2 in the main and 1-2 in the side.
Doom Blade
A little worse than Price, but it kills its fair share of creatures that Price doesn't — the most notable being Frostburn Weird and Reckoner. Run at least 2 in your sideboard, and board them in whenever you're not playing against black creatures.
Hero's Downfall
The best removal spell in standard, but perhaps not in our deck. The three mana is a lot, but it kills anything until it's dead. It's great in the sideboard for matchups when you need unconditional removal that doesn't make you lose life. This card really shines when you bring it in against RG monsters. Run 2 or 3 in the board.
Banishing Light
Banishing Light is a great utilitarian effect, but unfortunately it's a little weaker than Downfall most of the time. The instant speed makes a big difference, and the fact that Downfall can't be countered by Detention Sphere or other Banishing Lights is a big strike against it. Having said that, this card answers everything but blood baron, obzedat, and mutavault. Run 0-2 in the board.
Devour Flesh
It's narrow, and even when it's good it's okay. It's worth having a few in your board if Blood Baron or hexproof decks are popular in your meta, but besides that this card doesn't really have a place.
Deicide
Erase, but with a Memoricide stapled on. The ability to exile four Thassas at instant speed is pretty sweet. I run a silver bullet in my sideboard, but the card isn't necessary by any means.
Utility Spells
The whole reason to play this deck. Last time I checked, a four mana Rise of the Dark Realms for your one drops is insane. Run 4 and don't look back.
Spear of Heliod
In an aggressive deck that aims to flood the board with cheap creatures, anthem effects are insane. If only the card wasn't legendary... Run 2-3.
Hall of Triumph
Unfortunately, multicolored decks can't really abuse this effect, and it's generally worse than Spear. Run 0.
Fortify
Fortify is incredibly swingy. When you're ahead on board, the card's insane, but it's actually quite terrible when you're behind. It's not really the kind of effect you want multiples of in your opener, too. Run 0.
Brave the Elements
This card isn't good for the same reason Hall isn't good: We run a large amount of black creatures. It can lead to blowouts, but like Fortify it's also highly dependent on board presence. Run 0.
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize is good in just about every black deck ever. Having said that, the fact that it's one mana is actually quite disruptive. In a deck aiming to use as much mana as it can turns 1-3, it's not easy to take your time to thoughtseize for value. However, against decks that have one or two cards that are good against us and not many others (I'm looking at you, Anger of the Gods!), it can be gamebreaking. Run 4 in the sideboard.
Duress
If Thoughtseize is a sideboard card, Duress is definitely not a main. If you want 5 or 6 discard effects, feel free to run 2 or so in your sideboard along Thoughtseize. It still hits a lot of relevant cards, but seeing Archangel in your opponent's hand when you cast this is not a great feeling.
Gift of Orzhova
This card can be quite good against aggressive creature decks, but unfortunately we don't have any creatures that are really worthwile to enchant this with. That and the fact that even after the +1/+1 our creatures are still not out of range of any removal spells means that this sadly doesn't make the cut.
Lands
I shouldn't have to explain to you why shocklands are good. Run 4.
Mana Confluence
The life loss adds up pretty quickly, but it functions as Godless Shrine 5-8. Run 4.
Temple of Silence
Duals are important for a deck that needs to empty its hand by turn 4, and Temple does just that, and the scry is really powerful. Coming into play tapped is a massive downside to this card, however. Run 3-4.
Mutavault
As much as I hate to say it, the best card in Standard doesn't fit into this deck. We have 27 creatures that can't be cast off of this creature and that absolutely need to be cast on time. That plus the fact that this deck has a plethora of double mana symbols in its cards (and triple, in the case of Servitude) means that we can't run this. Run 0.
UW and Esper
Favored pre-board and post-board
-2 Ultimate Price
-4 Loyal Pegasus
+2 Hero's Downfall
+4 Thoughtseize
Game 1 is quite difficult for UW. We are their worst nightmare: a deck that drops 6 power on the board on turn 2 that maindecks hate for Verdict. Jace, Architect is by far their best card here. Keep a reasonable hand and you should win. After boarding, they typically bring in some number of Archangels; try to hold up a Downfall or Charm for it if possible. Loyal Pegasus gets cut because while the drawback usually doesn't come up, it does often enough to make you cut it over your other 1 drops.
Mono Black Devotion
Slightly favored pre-board and post-board
-4 Loyal Pegasus
+4 Thoughtseize
Mono Black has a lot more tools than UW does with which to catch up; Bile Blight gets 2 for 1's quite easily if you don't play around it, and Gray Merchant can be really bad for you. Having said that, your opponent's casting three mana removal spells in order to kill one drops. It's quite easy to aggro out your opponent, and one or two removal spells from you is usually enough to seal the deal.
RG Monsters
Unfavored pre-board, slightly favored post-board
-3 Orzhov Charm
-3 Judge's Familiar
+2 Hero's Downfall
+2 Doom Blade
+1 Ultimate Price
+1 Deicice
Unfortunately, RG monsters does two things we don't like: they play creatures that are much bigger than ours, and they play them quickly. It's quite difficult to aggro them out as their Sylvan Caryatids block incredibly efficiently and they can just kill you if you take too long. That gets completely flipped around once you sideboard, however. RG crumbles under the face of a few removal spells, and when they have an empty board it suddenly becomes much easier to kill them. If you see them sideboard in Anger game 2, bring in 4 thoughtseize game 3.
RW Burn
Even pre-board and post-board
-2 Ultimate Price
+2 Doom Blade
RW burn isn't your best matchup, but you don't exactly struggle either. You play a huge amount of 2/1's. They try to 1 for 1 you. Unfortunately, unlike mono black, they present a respectable clock and have several cards that are quite good against you. Judge's Familiar is the MVP in this matchup. Keep a hand with enough pressure and you should win.
Standard: Mardu Midrange, Jeskai Wins, Naya Walkers, Boss Sligh, Mono Black Aggro
Modern: RUG Scapeshift, Burn, UG Infect
Legacy: Death n Taxes, Burn, Tendrils
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion, Krenko, Mob Boss, Narset, Enlightened Master
I'm not worried about R/X devotion. They're a much slower aggro/combo deck that falls apart to removal and discard. Saying Confluence shouldn't be run because it deals damage to you is like saying you shouldn't run shocklands because you take 2 damage from them.
Read the primer again. Guess what card beats Verdict? The very card that the deck's built around. Detention Sphere isn't something I'm afraid of. If my opponent wants to spend three mana to remove a one drop, that is completely fine with me.
I've taken this deck to 5 tournaments so far, and have done X-1 or better in 4 of them. I've played against every established deck in the format and I can say with confidence that this deck is a strong contender in this format.
Also, give me a deck that did well at a recent large tournament that runs Anger of the Gods. On top of that, we run 6 cards out of our sideboard that are all strong against Anger. I get that you're bringing up valid points, but all of those points are addressed in the primer. I would very much appreciate if you read what I have to say about the deck before you bash it about things I cover in the primer.
The deck wants to keep combat tricks to a minimum, as each one you play reduces the power of your Servitudes a little bit. The double strike one isn't nearly powerful enough to be played in the first place; while it can be quite good, it's actually pretty rare you have five mana up. The indestructible effect isn't really one that I want as Servitude makes removal (usually) bad, and if I wanted that kind of effect I'd probably use Rootborn.
And please say this deckname was inspired by the movie "That Thing You Do"
Modern Warp / UR Control / UR Storm / Naya Breachshift / ElectroBalance
Solidarity / Lands / Sneak and Show / Grixis Delver / Reanimator / Belcher / Storm / Dredge
It's against the rules to call someone a troll or stupid. Warning for flaming
-DarkRitual
Immortal Servitude...read the primer again.
Anyway, it does seem interesting against control but I'm worried that it will just fold to any midrange or devotion-based strategy. Boros Reckoner, Frostburn Weird, Nyx-Fleece Ram, Courser of Kruphix, and plenty of other early creatures are just houses against this type of strategy. The fastest possible goldfish for this deck:
T1 Land, 1 drop
T2 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 2 (18)
T3 Land, 1 drop, 1 drop, 1 drop, swing for 6 (12) (or, Spear of Heliod, swing for 9)
T4 Swing for 12, GG (or, swing for 9, GG)
If there's ANY interference with this plan, turn 5 is the soonest you can win, and most midrange or devotion decks will stabilize by that point. While there is some resilience after this point due to the presence of Immortal Servitude, that doesn't have a huge effect when the thing/s that got rid of your guys are still there, putting up a road block while the other player gets into their much stronger late game. Perhaps I'm underrating the pressure this puts on the opponent, but I just can't see it getting there vs non-control players. Feel free to prove me wrong!
Standard: UUMono Blue DevotionUU
Modern:
RRBurnRRLooking for something new!Agree with this. There are a lot of early walls in Standard right now. Even mono blue has Frostburn Weird which would you hold off for at least a turn, and red has Ash Zealot which will wall you with her first strike.
O-need-ers.
Currently playing:
Standard: Superfriends!
Legacy: Nic Fit / Pod
Pauper: Delvar; Tron; Flicker Stuff
Commander: Riku ("Some weird doubple spell thing happened"); Keranos ("I did a Gatherer search for 'random' and 'flip a coin.'"); Superfriends!
These problems are only based on pre-JOU meta, since the new meta hasn't been fully established yet.
-Mono Black splash green looks to be one of the best decks in the new meta. A key card here? Golgari Charm. It's a Verdict against your deck.
-UW/Esper control will remain a top teir contender. You seem way overly optimistic about this matchup already, assuming that you will always have the answers to their Verdict (and to Jace, which makes your offense pathetic). You neglect to consider that they now have Nyx-Fleece Ram, which will be a sideboard card if there is any form of aggro in the meta, and stops a creature and a half of yours every turn.
All of your matchup analyses assume that you go land: creature, land:two creatures, swing, and continue dropping multiple attackers every turn, only drawing removal when they play a big creature, and always having Servitude when you need it. Also, comments like "I'm not worried about r/x devotion, they are much slower and fall apart against some removal and discard"(which you don't even have much of), and "I can beat RG monsters after boards because they fall apart in the face of a few removal spells" is blatantly untrue. RG monsters manages to beat monoB (they aren't favorable, but they don't "fall apart"), and Mono B runs way more removal than you do. You also aren't considering that boarding in removal makes you slower, and against RG especially you are already way too slow. The biggest problems with the deck is that it overextends right into wipes, "flooding out" is drawing four lands by turn six, and that every creature deck has early drops that are bigger than yours.
I <3 You
Modern Warp / UR Control / UR Storm / Naya Breachshift / ElectroBalance
Solidarity / Lands / Sneak and Show / Grixis Delver / Reanimator / Belcher / Storm / Dredge
One of the biggest problems the deck has is that it isn't fast enough to race any of the midrange or aggro decks out there before they can ram things down the deck's throat. Sylvan Caryatid, Courser, and Nyx-Fleece Ram would laugh at it. Setessan Tactics can wipe the board. Anger, Verdict, Drown, Mortars, even Godsend will make short work.
control decks on the other hand, if you can do enough damage without overextending you can win, but I don't see it, even with Servitude. I so love Scavenging Ooze, especially against this deck.