I'm a little torn between going
-2 Giant Adephage
+1 Arbor Colossus
+1 Worldspine Wurm
So far, I've been very happy with 2-of each of Worldspine Wurm and Giant Adephage, I see either often enough, and both often end up being a good finisher. If you're set on running Commune with the Gods and Garruk, Caller of Beasts, then you should have no problem digging through to one of them.
So far, I've been very happy with 2-of each of Worldspine Wurm and Giant Adephage, I see either often enough, and both often end up being a good finisher. If you're set on running Commune with the Gods and Garruk, Caller of Beasts, then you should have no problem digging through to one of them.
If people are using Commune with the gods then why are you not maindecking scavenging ooze to get the best utilization of the gy. There will be sometimes will you will mill 4 of your creatures and the only one you will be able to shuffle back is Worldspire Wurm
And With Kalonian Hydra, my testing has be the exact opposite, it is a must answer threat for your opponent or they just lose. It is why We have ranger's Guile in the sideboard to make sure it stays alive to spot removal.
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If people are using Commune with the gods then why are you not maindecking scavenging ooze to get the best utilization of the gy.
you'll notice I said "if you're set on running Commune with the Gods" Personally, I don't use commune with the gods, and many of the brews in this thread do not; I prefer to let Garruk dig for me, and he puts everything not taken on the bottom of the library. Scooze was very beneficial before theros because of Flashback/Snapcaster/Reanimator. Flashback/Snappy are gone, and reanimator strategies are far slower and harder to pull off. Scooze is also great in a deck with bloodrushers to get added value after you rush them, but as there are no rushers, it's less dependable in this case.
And With Kalonian Hydra, my testing has be the exact opposite, it is a must answer threat for your opponent or they just lose. It is why We have ranger's Guile in the sideboard to make sure it stays alive to spot removal.
That is true, but its real value is in a deck featuring far more +1/+1 counters like a BUG brew. As mentioned in previous posts, I'd rather have an arbor colossus on the board to go monstrous next turn and get in the way of Desecration Demons and Stormbreath Dragons. In my current build, the only card I would even consider swapping out to test Kalonian Hydra is Polukranos, but I've been far happier with Polukranos. I had Kalonian in my initial build, and he just hasn't pulled his weight, especially vs. B/G/x Rock and B/R control, which look to be some of the nastier decks this season.
I have a lot more creatures that get counters in my build with Experiment One Both Hydras, Polukranos, Arbor colossus plus Primeval bounty giving counters. Kalonian hydra is pretty nuts in my build and with ooze in the sideboard I get even more value out of kalonian hydra.
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In which case, I see that working out wonderfully for you, but not so much in my build with almost no creatures getting +1/+1 counters outside of monstrous. But with you having creatures more reliably getting counters, I can see why you would like K-Hydra better.
Between some failed attempts at other Devotion-based decks and seeing one of these guys in action, I put together my own Mono-:symg: list. So far I really like it, so here I am eh?
You guys don't like Kalonian Hydra, really? I've found it to be my best creature by far. It's the only reasonably-costed fatty that doesn't need Nylea to provide it Trample. Arbor Colossus doesn't have Trample and needs another land drop + all your mana that turn to swing for just 1 more next turn (and doesn't continue to grow after). Giant Adephage and friends simply don't hit the battlefield fast enough. Hydra's just super-undercosted for the amount of damage it can deal, not unlike an aggro-slanted Desecration Demon. The synergy with +1/+1 counters on other creatures, and Bow of Nylea, is pure gravy.
Scooze is still great. Look man, I'm playing 30 dudes. Bare minimum in this topic so far is what, 26? Combat will be bloody and there's no shortage of targets for enemy removal. And when they die, Scooze is getting bigger. It's Tarmogoyf-level pure, efficient fat with incidental lifegain to boot. It's maindeckable even if GY-based strategies are dead in RTR-THS Standard, which I'm not convinced will be the case. If nothing else, Whip of Erebos + Ghost Dad is going to be a thing.
For the sake of other lines of discussion, I need to post my decklist:
You'll notice no mana dorks. Ultimately, I decided with multiple good two-drops, and no reason to rush to three since we're not playing Domri in mono, that I may as well just curve out properly. I figure this way I just overload control with threats (everything is a threat) and out-muscle other creature decks. Experiment One, unlike Elvish Mystic (or worse, the two-drop dorks), can easily grow to be a threat in combat. Go ahead, Doom Blade my Hydra. I got five more Hydras and about 20 other things that can kill in 3-5 combat steps. Plus Garruk!
Between Experiment One, Scooze plus Hydras, I figured I'd try out Renegade Krasis too and go all-in on the +1/+1 counters theme. Krasis is already decent on-curve and generates 2 Devotion. Not only does it easily grow beyond that (unlike, say, Boon Satyr or Witchstalker) but it plays nicely both ways with the Hydras: Hydras grow it because they're bigger, Krasis grows them because they utilize +1/+1 counters. So far, I'm fairly pleased with it.
Most everything else is largely agreed upon here I think, Nylea / Bow / Garruk are all good. I stuck to 3 each of Nylea and Polukranos respecting their Legendary status. Honestly I think Nylea is pretty important for the Trample, especially for you K-Hydra haters. Besides, she's a 6/6 Indestructible for when she's online.
Anything else? Umm, Rubblebelt Raiders has been underwhelming and Plummet should probably be Arbor Colossus but I thought I'd post my original list before I make any changes. I included the former because it can get big on its own and provides 3 Devotion but it doesn't grow that quickly swinging alone and it lacks Trample. I'm thinking I can turn it into Boon Satyr or Reverent Hunter to give me a second dude at the three-drop spot (probably the former: 2 Devotion, better alone, triggers Evolve). I'm not high on Tusker either but I can't say it's been bad, I mean it's a 3/3 for sitting alongside Scooze on the curve and for 2 Devotion. *shrug*
Mana Bloom only is good for X amount of taps before it comes back to the hand. Verdant Haven always lets me tap for a mana. Both let me add a G to devotion for Nykthos, but Haven gives me the 2 life gained. Sure, Bloom could come down turn 2 and let me cast a mana off of it the next turn, but putting it down turn 2 keeps me from early pressure with playing a Kalonian Tusker or potential Witchstalker.
Just a crazy thought brought on likely by a lack of sleep, but what about Skaarg Goliath? 9/9 trample that can be ramped into (or even better tricked in with Garruk. Bloodrushes for 5GG, so on a stable curve something like this (assuming 1 dork)
Feels too magic christmasland as a bloodrusher... just trying to consider if we're using the best value fatty creatures.
Before I had built the deck, I had considered Sylvan Primordial, but it really only shines to me in multiplayer games, and the added forest really isn't necessary if you've got the mana to play it... all the other cards at the 7CMC+ spot just seem rather underwhelming. Would be nice to see another G(/x) wurm in BNG, might even consider a G/W Wurms deck then.
Edit: In light of recent conversations with one of my teammates... Sylvan Primordial with an ETB effect in a heavy B/X(/x) removal meta could prove more valuable than Giant Adephage. As a creature that doesn't care whether it dies or not, Worldspine Wurm is great on the battlefield, and if primeval bounty is in play and Worldspine gets destroyed, bonus. If it gets counterspelled, it gets recycled... I'm hesitant to play it as a 4-of, as the deck doesn't nearly have enough ramp to reliably land it without the aid of Garruk though.
Well, by my way of thinking, assuming that T4 I've either had a verdict or removal kill a dork or two, if I've had the mana to play out a Primeval Bounty, then I should hope I'm not far off the mana to at least play a Giant Adephage, make a monstrous Arbor Colossus, or put out more threats. I would hope I have a Garruk, Caller of Beasts out by this time... I suppose I could cast Mana Bloom and have X=0; it keep getting triggers, but that just seems way too cumbersome for what it's worth.
Edit: I don't view Worldspine so much as my win condition, as a win option.
Just a crazy thought brought on likely by a lack of sleep, but what about Skaarg Goliath? 9/9 trample that can be ramped into (or even better tricked in with Garruk. Bloodrushes for 5GG, so on a stable curve something like this (assuming 1 dork)
What does everyone think of Pit Fight? It's removal in mono green, which is great when you're trying to break through your opponent's defenses. I'm thinking of running four in my own green devotion deck.
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What does everyone think of Pit Fight? It's removal in mono green, which is great when you're trying to break through your opponent's defenses. I'm thinking of running four in my own green devotion deck.
I'm running four in my sideboard.
Against aggro we have the cards listed below to sort of run them down. Nylea, God of the Hunt
let's us go over, Bow of Nylea
makes blocking unfavorable and you can activate Polukranos, World Eater ability in response to declaring attackers to ping each of their creatures with deathtouch. Our creatures should almost always be bigger here.
Against control we mostly have Arbor Colossus to deal with their fliers along with the previously mentioned trick with Polukranos. If everything goes according to plan, we will be dropping more threats than they can deal with and we will win the game.
Midrange is where I bring in Pit Fight. I find myself wanting some extra removal to keep pace with the bigger creatures they drop.
I feel like decks are forgetting Mutavault. It's a good card to chumpblock or trade mid game. I only play 4 colorless though to avoid the rare case of 1 forest no elf into Tusker.
Gyre Sage feels more solid then the Caryatid since the whole deck enable it. Hexproof is a marginal improvement since they'll run out of spot removal and you don't need ramp that badly. Blocking 2 damage early on isn't that much of a big deal either, especially with the red pump floating around that could be dangerous. The choice is still quite metagame dependent, hence why I play both.
2 Polukranos is on the low side but without the Bow more isn't worth it. I consider the bow to be pretty lackluster without trample. You'll already kill most of the blockers and the ability is slow. Not worth wasting a turn or a card slot unless you really need to kill stuff with Polukranos, sideboard card if I deem it needed.
Deadbridge is non-legend Polukranos with post-board-wipe enabling. Good at racing, good at blocking, good at evolving, good vs control. Still ok vs Ooze.
Karametra's Acolyte + Garruk is VERY nice vs midrange. Loads of mana to deploy an army every turn. Sided out vs control.
I wish I could play more Nylea but I just can't find space. Trample isn't too critical in this list with a lot of creatures and only 2 Mistcutter Hydra. Might cut a Deadbridge Goliath for a second one.
2 Kalonian Hydra/2 Colossus seems right to often get what you need from Garruk at least.
Singleton Guile to make the opponent wary.
Nemesis of Mortals sound very promising against board wipes, something devotion doesn't like. Probably an attacking 10/10 on turn 6 if they wipe turn 4.
Garruk is something I wouldn't like to draw too many of against aggro but against anything else more is better.
What I like about this list is that you can try almost all the cards to see what shines the most. Also the opponent never gets to know what to expect.
I haven't seen anyone mention anything about reverent hunter has anyone tried him at all? If he was going to be played i assumed this would be the deck for him.
I had considered Reverent Hunter, but it would probably fit in better with a deck running heavier in counters than what I'm running. Xover has a build with kalonian hydras and other +1/+1 counter creatures that might be worth trying him in if that's what you want to go for.
I don't think you necessarily have to be playing a ton of things that add counters or build around him,for example if you just had say a mana dork and a kalonian tusker out that alone would make him a 5/5,I don't know maybe he does suck,if he does ill leave it at that,anyways just sayin.
Reverent hunter is quite like a cheaper mistcutter hydra without haste. He can pretty often be a bad draw if you aren't already in a winning position. I wouldn't play him unless we get more GGG goodies later like Predator Ooze.
Fair enough,I'm just not sure I'm on board with everyone's strategy of playing a bunch of expensive cards like worldspine wurm and hoping to cast them solely off garruk,because if you draw them without garruk their just dead cards,also garruk costs 6 mana and these decks are only playing 22 lands,so even with 8 mana dorks he might be sitting in your hand awhile.
Fair enough,I'm just not sure I'm on board with everyone's strategy of playing a bunch of expensive cards like worldspine wurm and hoping to cast them solely off garruk,because if you draw them without garruk their just dead cards,also garruk costs 6 mana and these decks are only playing 22 lands,so even with 8 mana dorks he might be sitting in your hand awhile.
Well, if you look at the deck list in my sig, the win-con isn't Worldspine Wurm. He's a win option, not condition. Same with Giant Adephage. The main point of the deck is to force early threats with Kalonian Tusker and Witchstalker to put opponents on their back foot or to somewhat keep pace with aggro. With the dorks, the idea is to then shift gear into a more mid-range oriented deck by putting out larger threats to dominate (or answer other potential threats), using tools like trample+deathtouch (courtesy of Bow of Nylea) to negate any blocking ability and force maximum damage through.
In light of a lack of bow, trample and good body creatures can still push some damage through over typical blocking fodder, or trade 1-for-1 until a creature threat density can be established. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is in this way more important for his +1 ability to rip creatures off the top of the deck than for his -3 of putting them in. I find the -3 ability to be awesome, and no doubt it plays well with the biggest of creatures like Worldspine. But that pales in comparision to his every game use, card advantage through drawing creatures.
In regards to the ramping, many of the cards have GG (or better) in their CMC (see the current breakdown in my deck of mana/devotion distribution briefly covered here). This allows Nykthos to come on line with plenty of ramp potential available. In my testing, without Supreme Verdict coming down immediately on T4, big creatures (or more small creatures) are able to be let loose, with or without Garruk. Admittedly, Worldspine has a harder time of it, but Giant Adephage or monstrous Arbor Colossus do not.
TL;DR. Garruk is an enabler, but not the decks only play. (also, 2x Giant Adephage and 2x Worldspine in a deck of 60 are hardly a bunch, lol)
I also don't get the thing with Giant Adephage. Isn't Kalonian Hydra almost strictly better? Attacks for 8 that doubles each turn, trample, 2 less mana cost. He's harder to remove after he hits, blocks better turn 1 and can hit through deathtouch but I'm not sure that's worth 2 mana.
Also playing Worldspine Wurm is cool but that's hard to do without Garruk and it's a bit overkill. There's probably a better target that's more castable and just as hard to remove.
I also don't get the thing with Giant Adephage. Isn't Kalonian Hydra almost strictly better? Attacks for 8 that doubles each turn, trample, 2 less mana cost. He's harder to remove after he hits, blocks better turn 1 and can hit through deathtouch but I'm not sure that's worth 2 mana.
Also playing Worldspine Wurm is cool but that's hard to do without Garruk and it's a bit overkill. There's probably a better target that's more castable and just as hard to remove.
One is .25 the other is 17$. Maybe has something to do with it.
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@Uncle Isty:
Just curious: Does Bounty trigger if the Wurm tokens are "put on the battlefield"?
No, the spell has to be cast, one of the reasons i don't like to use Bounty.
All in all, except for Esper and UW control this deck is probably the most consistent I have tried on these forums. Definitely found the deck I want to use.
One is .25 the other is 17$. Maybe has something to do with it.
Not really, I have 3 of them sitting in a box, I just haven't found Kalonian Hydra to be as powerful as I'd wanted it to be. Yes, it doubles in size, but because it has to attack to grow, in testing, it usually gets removed before it can do anything (Celestial Flare has been its bane). I'm toying with the idea of trying Mistcutter Hydra again, despite my reservations about feeling early pressure to play it, but uncounterable pro-blue with haste just seems too good to pass up.
Correct about the Bounty + Wurm tokens, found that out from a judge friend, so not as great a synergy, but still, 26 creatures means bounty will still have plenty of triggers, and it still (along with Garruk) has been one of the best ways to recover from a wipe.
@johnwoods: There's a reason Worldspine is only 2-of. And in late turns (6/7), it is possible to cold-cast worldspine from the hand off of devotion and mana with verdant ramping. But there are 26 creatures in this deck, asides from 2x Worldspine and 2x Giant Adephage at the very top end, most of these creatures come down very quickly.
The fact that I get to replace a playset of $25 Hydra with $0.35 Colossus makes me happy.
So far, I've been very happy with 2-of each of Worldspine Wurm and Giant Adephage, I see either often enough, and both often end up being a good finisher. If you're set on running Commune with the Gods and Garruk, Caller of Beasts, then you should have no problem digging through to one of them.
Yeah, without something like Hammer of Purphoros or Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch to give it haste immediately, it tends to just get removed before it can effect the board.
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If people are using Commune with the gods then why are you not maindecking scavenging ooze to get the best utilization of the gy. There will be sometimes will you will mill 4 of your creatures and the only one you will be able to shuffle back is Worldspire Wurm
And With Kalonian Hydra, my testing has be the exact opposite, it is a must answer threat for your opponent or they just lose. It is why We have ranger's Guile in the sideboard to make sure it stays alive to spot removal.
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you'll notice I said "if you're set on running Commune with the Gods" Personally, I don't use commune with the gods, and many of the brews in this thread do not; I prefer to let Garruk dig for me, and he puts everything not taken on the bottom of the library. Scooze was very beneficial before theros because of Flashback/Snapcaster/Reanimator. Flashback/Snappy are gone, and reanimator strategies are far slower and harder to pull off. Scooze is also great in a deck with bloodrushers to get added value after you rush them, but as there are no rushers, it's less dependable in this case.
That is true, but its real value is in a deck featuring far more +1/+1 counters like a BUG brew. As mentioned in previous posts, I'd rather have an arbor colossus on the board to go monstrous next turn and get in the way of Desecration Demons and Stormbreath Dragons. In my current build, the only card I would even consider swapping out to test Kalonian Hydra is Polukranos, but I've been far happier with Polukranos. I had Kalonian in my initial build, and he just hasn't pulled his weight, especially vs. B/G/x Rock and B/R control, which look to be some of the nastier decks this season.
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You guys don't like Kalonian Hydra, really? I've found it to be my best creature by far. It's the only reasonably-costed fatty that doesn't need Nylea to provide it Trample. Arbor Colossus doesn't have Trample and needs another land drop + all your mana that turn to swing for just 1 more next turn (and doesn't continue to grow after). Giant Adephage and friends simply don't hit the battlefield fast enough. Hydra's just super-undercosted for the amount of damage it can deal, not unlike an aggro-slanted Desecration Demon. The synergy with +1/+1 counters on other creatures, and Bow of Nylea, is pure gravy.
Scooze is still great. Look man, I'm playing 30 dudes. Bare minimum in this topic so far is what, 26? Combat will be bloody and there's no shortage of targets for enemy removal. And when they die, Scooze is getting bigger. It's Tarmogoyf-level pure, efficient fat with incidental lifegain to boot. It's maindeckable even if GY-based strategies are dead in RTR-THS Standard, which I'm not convinced will be the case. If nothing else, Whip of Erebos + Ghost Dad is going to be a thing.
For the sake of other lines of discussion, I need to post my decklist:
20 Forest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Creatures
4 Experiment One
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Kalonian Tusker
4 Renegade Krasis
4 Rubblebelt Raiders
3 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Kalonian Hydra
3 Bow of Nylea
3 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2 Fade into Antiquity
2 Nylea's Disciple
4 Witchstalker
4 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Plummet
You'll notice no mana dorks. Ultimately, I decided with multiple good two-drops, and no reason to rush to three since we're not playing Domri in mono, that I may as well just curve out properly. I figure this way I just overload control with threats (everything is a threat) and out-muscle other creature decks. Experiment One, unlike Elvish Mystic (or worse, the two-drop dorks), can easily grow to be a threat in combat. Go ahead, Doom Blade my Hydra. I got five more Hydras and about 20 other things that can kill in 3-5 combat steps. Plus Garruk!
Between Experiment One, Scooze plus Hydras, I figured I'd try out Renegade Krasis too and go all-in on the +1/+1 counters theme. Krasis is already decent on-curve and generates 2 Devotion. Not only does it easily grow beyond that (unlike, say, Boon Satyr or Witchstalker) but it plays nicely both ways with the Hydras: Hydras grow it because they're bigger, Krasis grows them because they utilize +1/+1 counters. So far, I'm fairly pleased with it.
Most everything else is largely agreed upon here I think, Nylea / Bow / Garruk are all good. I stuck to 3 each of Nylea and Polukranos respecting their Legendary status. Honestly I think Nylea is pretty important for the Trample, especially for you K-Hydra haters. Besides, she's a 6/6 Indestructible for when she's online.
Anything else? Umm, Rubblebelt Raiders has been underwhelming and Plummet should probably be Arbor Colossus but I thought I'd post my original list before I make any changes. I included the former because it can get big on its own and provides 3 Devotion but it doesn't grow that quickly swinging alone and it lacks Trample. I'm thinking I can turn it into Boon Satyr or Reverent Hunter to give me a second dude at the three-drop spot (probably the former: 2 Devotion, better alone, triggers Evolve). I'm not high on Tusker either but I can't say it's been bad, I mean it's a 3/3 for sitting alongside Scooze on the curve and for 2 Devotion. *shrug*
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T4: Arbor Colossus
T5: forest, Monsterous Colossus, swing 9
T6: forest, bloodrush Skaarg on colossus, swing 18.
Feels too magic christmasland as a bloodrusher... just trying to consider if we're using the best value fatty creatures.
Before I had built the deck, I had considered Sylvan Primordial, but it really only shines to me in multiplayer games, and the added forest really isn't necessary if you've got the mana to play it... all the other cards at the 7CMC+ spot just seem rather underwhelming. Would be nice to see another G(/x) wurm in BNG, might even consider a G/W Wurms deck then.
Edit: In light of recent conversations with one of my teammates... Sylvan Primordial with an ETB effect in a heavy B/X(/x) removal meta could prove more valuable than Giant Adephage. As a creature that doesn't care whether it dies or not, Worldspine Wurm is great on the battlefield, and if primeval bounty is in play and Worldspine gets destroyed, bonus. If it gets counterspelled, it gets recycled... I'm hesitant to play it as a 4-of, as the deck doesn't nearly have enough ramp to reliably land it without the aid of Garruk though.
Just some food for thought.
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Edit: I don't view Worldspine so much as my win condition, as a win option.
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I think that Skarrg Goliath is an alright choice. Both hardcasting and bloodrushing seem viable.
Viewing it as another creature for the opponent to deal with first and a bloodrusher as 'backup' might be the right call for it.
UBR Sedris
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage
UB The Scarab God
RUG Maelstrom Wanderer
WU Dragonlord Ojutai
I'm running four in my sideboard.
Against aggro we have the cards listed below to sort of run them down. Nylea, God of the Hunt
let's us go over, Bow of Nylea
makes blocking unfavorable and you can activate Polukranos, World Eater ability in response to declaring attackers to ping each of their creatures with deathtouch. Our creatures should almost always be bigger here.
Against control we mostly have Arbor Colossus to deal with their fliers along with the previously mentioned trick with Polukranos. If everything goes according to plan, we will be dropping more threats than they can deal with and we will win the game.
Midrange is where I bring in Pit Fight. I find myself wanting some extra removal to keep pace with the bigger creatures they drop.
//Main Deck
18 Forest
2 Mutavault
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Experiment One
4 Kalonian Tusker
3 Gyre Sage
1 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Renegade Krasis
4 Boon Satyr
1 Witchstalker
2 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Deadbridge Goliath
1 Karametra's Acolyte
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
2 Kalonian Hydra
2 Arbor Colossus
1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Ranger's Guile
3 Nemesis of Mortals
3 Pit Fight
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Fade into Antiquity
1 Arbor Colossus
1 Bow of Nylea
2 Ranger's Guile
1 Witchstalker
1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
I feel like decks are forgetting Mutavault. It's a good card to chumpblock or trade mid game. I only play 4 colorless though to avoid the rare case of 1 forest no elf into Tusker.
Gyre Sage feels more solid then the Caryatid since the whole deck enable it. Hexproof is a marginal improvement since they'll run out of spot removal and you don't need ramp that badly. Blocking 2 damage early on isn't that much of a big deal either, especially with the red pump floating around that could be dangerous. The choice is still quite metagame dependent, hence why I play both.
2 Polukranos is on the low side but without the Bow more isn't worth it. I consider the bow to be pretty lackluster without trample. You'll already kill most of the blockers and the ability is slow. Not worth wasting a turn or a card slot unless you really need to kill stuff with Polukranos, sideboard card if I deem it needed.
Deadbridge is non-legend Polukranos with post-board-wipe enabling. Good at racing, good at blocking, good at evolving, good vs control. Still ok vs Ooze.
Karametra's Acolyte + Garruk is VERY nice vs midrange. Loads of mana to deploy an army every turn. Sided out vs control.
I wish I could play more Nylea but I just can't find space. Trample isn't too critical in this list with a lot of creatures and only 2 Mistcutter Hydra. Might cut a Deadbridge Goliath for a second one.
2 Kalonian Hydra/2 Colossus seems right to often get what you need from Garruk at least.
Singleton Guile to make the opponent wary.
Nemesis of Mortals sound very promising against board wipes, something devotion doesn't like. Probably an attacking 10/10 on turn 6 if they wipe turn 4.
Garruk is something I wouldn't like to draw too many of against aggro but against anything else more is better.
What I like about this list is that you can try almost all the cards to see what shines the most. Also the opponent never gets to know what to expect.
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GMono-Green BeatsG
Testing: BGRock VariantGB
GWBJanky JunkGWB
UWGMimic BantrolUWG
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Well, if you look at the deck list in my sig, the win-con isn't Worldspine Wurm. He's a win option, not condition. Same with Giant Adephage. The main point of the deck is to force early threats with Kalonian Tusker and Witchstalker to put opponents on their back foot or to somewhat keep pace with aggro. With the dorks, the idea is to then shift gear into a more mid-range oriented deck by putting out larger threats to dominate (or answer other potential threats), using tools like trample+deathtouch (courtesy of Bow of Nylea) to negate any blocking ability and force maximum damage through.
In light of a lack of bow, trample and good body creatures can still push some damage through over typical blocking fodder, or trade 1-for-1 until a creature threat density can be established. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is in this way more important for his +1 ability to rip creatures off the top of the deck than for his -3 of putting them in. I find the -3 ability to be awesome, and no doubt it plays well with the biggest of creatures like Worldspine. But that pales in comparision to his every game use, card advantage through drawing creatures.
In regards to the ramping, many of the cards have GG (or better) in their CMC (see the current breakdown in my deck of mana/devotion distribution briefly covered here). This allows Nykthos to come on line with plenty of ramp potential available. In my testing, without Supreme Verdict coming down immediately on T4, big creatures (or more small creatures) are able to be let loose, with or without Garruk. Admittedly, Worldspine has a harder time of it, but Giant Adephage or monstrous Arbor Colossus do not.
TL;DR. Garruk is an enabler, but not the decks only play. (also, 2x Giant Adephage and 2x Worldspine in a deck of 60 are hardly a bunch, lol)
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GWLambs and LionsWG
GMono-Green BeatsG
Testing: BGRock VariantGB
GWBJanky JunkGWB
UWGMimic BantrolUWG
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Also playing Worldspine Wurm is cool but that's hard to do without Garruk and it's a bit overkill. There's probably a better target that's more castable and just as hard to remove.
One is .25 the other is 17$. Maybe has something to do with it.
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
4 sylvan caryatid
3 voyaging satyr
4 karametra's acolyte
4 kalonian tusker
2 giant adephage
2 worldspine wurm
2 polukranos, world eater
2 nylea, god of the hunt
2 arbor colossus
3 kalonian hydra
2 boon satyr
3 garruk, caller of beasts
2 nykthos, shrine to nyx
21 forest
No, the spell has to be cast, one of the reasons i don't like to use Bounty.
All in all, except for Esper and UW control this deck is probably the most consistent I have tried on these forums. Definitely found the deck I want to use.
Not really, I have 3 of them sitting in a box, I just haven't found Kalonian Hydra to be as powerful as I'd wanted it to be. Yes, it doubles in size, but because it has to attack to grow, in testing, it usually gets removed before it can do anything (Celestial Flare has been its bane). I'm toying with the idea of trying Mistcutter Hydra again, despite my reservations about feeling early pressure to play it, but uncounterable pro-blue with haste just seems too good to pass up.
Correct about the Bounty + Wurm tokens, found that out from a judge friend, so not as great a synergy, but still, 26 creatures means bounty will still have plenty of triggers, and it still (along with Garruk) has been one of the best ways to recover from a wipe.
@johnwoods: There's a reason Worldspine is only 2-of. And in late turns (6/7), it is possible to cold-cast worldspine from the hand off of devotion and mana with verdant ramping. But there are 26 creatures in this deck, asides from 2x Worldspine and 2x Giant Adephage at the very top end, most of these creatures come down very quickly.
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GWLambs and LionsWG
GMono-Green BeatsG
Testing: BGRock VariantGB
GWBJanky JunkGWB
UWGMimic BantrolUWG
BWApostleypse NowBW