What is Big Blue?
'Big Blue' is a Blue midrange deck. Much like Big Red, Big Blue ignores its color's traditional role in favor of a beefy midrange strategy. This deck plays heavily off of Blue Devotion, using it fuel cards like Master of Waves, Thassa, and Nyxthos to become crushing game-winners.
Why play Big Blue?
Big Blue offers some of the most versatile threats in the format, in the color that pumps out card advantage. Playing much like the Pre-Theros Jund deck, Big Blue tries to stick a threat, then rides it to victory. Making use of splash colors, Big Blue has access to the best removal in the format to support its huge threats, while Cyclonic Rift leads to game-ending blowouts.
Currently, I favor a white splash, as it gives access to Detention Sphere, Azorius Charm, and Sphinx's Revelation as removal, utility, and card advantage, respectively. A black splash would give access to Thoughtseize, Doom Blade, and Duskmantle Seer, and a red splash would give access to various burn spells. I do not currently have any experience with either of these options, but they both seem viable and worth exploring.
The goal of the deck is to use early blockers and tempo to survive into the mid-game, where removal, creatures, and Jace can start to take over the game. Eventually we stick an Aetherling or draw a billion cards with Nykthos+Sphinx's Revelation to close out the game.
As the maindeck is still in development, I do not have a sideboard at this time. The sideboard will likely involve some number of more specialized counterspells (Essence Scatter, Dispel, etc), hard to deal with threats like Jace, Memory Adept, tempo cards like Voyage's End, and specific answers like Pithing Needle. As the metagame develops I'll edit this to include more specific sideboard options.
Card Choices Omenspeaker is early game card-fixing, a great blocker, and a devotion enabler. If the format is slow and non-aggro, I might consider replacing these with more counterspells.
Nightveil Specter is an evasive early blocker and threat, a way to generate card advantage, and an important devotion enabler. Without Restoration Angel around to block it, I expect lots of "give-me-the-top-card-plz" in the near future.
Master of Waves is an inexpensive, game-ending bomb when you're ahead, and an excellent way to stay alive when behind. Certainly one of the core cards of the deck; I would never want less than 4. This guy is a beast.
Thassa, God of the Sea is another draw-fixer, and an eventual huge hard-to-deal-with unblockable attacker. She is perfectly reasonable even as an early enchantment, and her upkeep ability allows you to run multiples without getting burned by the Legend rule once you can scry them away.
Aetherling is our answer to a (hopefully) slower metagame. This dude is a house. Not much more to say.
Detention Sphere is, if not the best removal spell in the new standard, certainly in the top 3. It deals with any threat, even the indestructible ones. Even though "it's a mono-blue deck," this is most certainly worth running 4.
Claustrophobia is our answer to only being able to run 4 copies of Detention Sphere. It's removal, it grants 2 devotion, and it can be played early. Much like Nightveil Specter, without Restoration Angel around to ruin everything, this is actually playable. It's certainly not ideal, but it does everything this deck wants in a removal-spell-that-isn't-really-removal.
Sphinx's Revelation is the best way to spend a lot of mana in standard, and with Nyxthos, we hope to have a ton. Like Aetherling there isn't much to say about this one, it's insane and resolving it for 4+ will, more often than not, end the game in short notice. It's even better here than in control decks, since instead of drawing a bunch of answers, we draw a bunch of threats. Totally sweet.
Dissolve is the new counterspell hotness. Playing this versus Syncopate is likely a judgment call, though I prefer this because it's better in the late game, and we want to be playing our own creatures/removal early in the game anyways. It's not strictly necessary for a deck like this, but it's always nice to be able to say No.
Cyclonic Rift is our version of Bonfire of the Damned. LOLnotreally. But it's still versatile, and can lead to game-ending blowouts if we use it to follow up a Master of Waves.
Azorius Charm is another way to answer aggro, and cycles in slower matchups, so it's never irrelevant. The lifelink ability is even somewhat useful if you manage to attack with enough Waves.
Jace, AoT is another devotion enabler, a card advantage engine, and an answer to swarmy aggro decks. He's good, play him.
Lands are pretty straightforward in this deck, you want lots of blue sources so you play lots of blue sources. The oddball land here is Temple of Silence, the White/Black scry land. This is here so can have 2 additional white sources to cast our 3 azorius spells while also being able to cast Nightveil Specter (which Basic Plains is incapable of). As soon as the White/Blue scryland is added to standard in a future set, that will be an easy replacement, but for the time being our Orzhov Temple will have to suffice.
Deck History and Record
Standard hasn't even started yet, but this is the deck I am most excited to start brewing. In my (mostly useless) playtesting on a certain non-MTGO magic client, this deck has performed exceptionally. I very much look forward to being able to test and refine it in person.
So with all that said... THOUGHTS?
Disclaimer: I've not done one of these before, so I don't know if this is the right place for it. If there is a better place for it please let me know!
I like the idea a lot, but I am afraid you dont have enough protection for your Master of the Waves. I would cut the Cyclonic Rifts for more permission spells. Just me thought.
I actually like this idea a lot. Splashing for white is definitely in our best interests.
Why "Big Blue"? What makes this somewhat better than UW control?
Threat density, mostly. My problem with UW control now, as it always has been, is that it can be tough to actually close out the game. With all of the insane creatures in standard, your opponent resolving just one of them can be enough to come back and win. Having 2 Aetherlings and 2 Elsepths in the main deck just doesn't cut it for me. I would rather be proactive than reactive.
And again on that last point, in an open metagame such as after rotation, playing a control deck is tough, since it will be nearly impossible to predict and have responses for the decks you will play. A few weeks into a new standard is when I would be more comfortable switching back to a control deck, but in the meantime, I would rather be the one casting the insane spells.
I love the excuse to play Thassa. Also master of Waves is really fun against big red. I tested your list - 2 Cyclonic Rift -1 Jace +1 Azorius Charm +2 Syncopate and swapped out some islands to up the plains count.
Threat density, mostly. My problem with UW control now, as it always has been, is that it can be tough to actually close out the game. With all of the insane creatures in standard, your opponent resolving just one of them can be enough to come back and win. Having 2 Aetherlings and 2 Elsepths in the main deck just doesn't cut it for me. I would rather be proactive than reactive.
And again on that last point, in an open metagame such as after rotation, playing a control deck is tough, since it will be nearly impossible to predict and have responses for the decks you will play. A few weeks into a new standard is when I would be more comfortable switching back to a control deck, but in the meantime, I would rather be the one casting the insane spells.
It's an instant speed 5/5 trampler for 4. Wtf do you people want seriously? It has applications in populate/ above the curve beats decks, or in Bant control/ flash. I seriously think anyone mad at this card for any reason other than losing an attacker to instant speed wurm, should go home and make their own awesome card game and leave the rest of us alone.
The OP's deck lacks strong early plays.
I'm afraid you'll get run over by aggro, you should be playing frostburn weird or tidebinder mage.
I think you should drop aetherling and sphinx's revelation. Those cards rely heavily on supreme verdict to be effective, not to mention you're only playing 24 lands you're relying heavily on the shrine to get off a good revelation.
Maybe sideboard revelation in slower matchups.
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If MTG is a part of your life, the formats are like relationships:
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
It sounds like you are trying to build an aggro deck.
Pre-Theros Jund decks survived early aggro without having a horde of underpowered 2 drops. Sure, it might make the early game 'more survivable' but it's at the cost of having horrible topdecks in the late game. I don't think those two drops are what this deck wants, at all.
It sounds like you are trying to build an aggro deck.
Pre-Theros Jund decks survived early aggro without having a horde of underpowered 2 drops. Sure, it might make the early game 'more survivable' but it's at the cost of having horrible topdecks in the late game. I don't think those two drops are what this deck wants, at all.
Yeah but Jund did it playing the best removal suit in the format and accelerating, allowing for the midgame threats to come a turn earlier. Also the quality of late game Jund plays were much better. Master of Waves is nothing compared to hustmaster and you don`t have a tusk equivalent either. See the curve of your deck:
It`s median and modal point are both around 3 cmc which is bad place to be. There`s a fairly big chance of skipping the turn 2 spell and you will only cast one spell by turn 3, 4 and 5 likely. This is too slow and clunky for a aggro match up that will consistently cast one spell turn one and two and two or more spells on turn three and four.
I`ve tested this list on cockatrice vs. Gruul Aggro and WW. All in all it`s a midrange deck with bad match up vs. aggro, which is a paradox since midranges normally do well vs. aggro and poorly vs. control. The only striking good thing i see about this strategy is that it`s reasonably good against other kind of midrange decks because of Thassa and Jace ability to win attritions.
You really need to pick more cmc 2 or less cards and find better threats. Nightveil Specter is a big floop in most match ups and Master of Waves is not so great in some. Your threat suit is very fragile and circustantial for a mid range deck.
The 2-drops are not necessarily bad topdecks due to your interest in devotion, and the amount of Scry available here means that your topdecks will be thoroughly massaged. I would recommend playtesting against aggro with and without them before discounting them. In my experience Frostburn Weird is surprisingly good while Tidebinder Mage is just OK.
I've been working primarily on the Red splash version of this deck; I haven't tried Aetherling in it but he is certainly a consideration. I took a stab at defining the other splash options and so far Red is the one I've been happiest with. I would love to run Uwr but the mana base just feels too loose.
The main differences of course are how the different splashes shore up the weaknesses of the blue devotion core.
Small creatures threaten to kill you or at least Jace before you can stabilize. White brings Sphinx's Revelation which helps you stabilize from lower life. White, Red, and Black all offer removal that can kill these early threats.
Big creatures threaten to end the late game if left unanswered. Black and White are the best at answering them with Detention Sphere and Doom Blade etc.
Planeswalkers are only hard to get at when their creatures are in the way. Black, White, and Red have the best answers for them, with Detention Sphere winning overall.
Gods are kind of a unique threat. Anything that handles their devotion source is good, but Green and White have the best ways to get rid of them altogether.
Direct removal will mostly hit your Specter with red and your Master with black. The best way to make sure Master of Waves makes an impact is with Purphoros, God of the Forge.
New sphinx is sick and comes down on 5.
Frostburn should be a four of.
Spear of Heliod makes master tokens survive loss of fish brains.
Elspeth wins games and works with master token strategy
I've been working on a deck on the side that resembles this deck very closely, and have been having a lot of fun, and surprisingly good results with. It's a tempo deck, and aims for an earlier game than the OP's list. I'm testing Rapid Hybridization, because it's a cute synergy with Tidebinder Mage (turning big dudes into green frogs then being able to tap them down) and also being a good response to spot removal. I also want to explore Thoughtseize, since sweepers are an issue, because sometimes 2 golgari charms don't show up especially with a lack of card advantage.
Cloudfin Raptor and Rapid Hybridization are really not worth it when you can be doing much better things with more mana. Honestly if you are going for a fast aggro approach, the blue creature options just aren't good enough.
I quite like Prognostic Sphinx, I think I will test 2-3 of him and 0-1 Aetherling for now. He digs really deep on offense, blocks Stormbreath Dragon safely, and is hard to kill devotion without demanding that you leave mana open.
In the sideboard, Pyxis of Pandemonium is something I can't wait to try against control.
I am probably going to come off as stubborn but I still do not think the aggressive route is the correct answer. Red decks will always do Aggro better since they have burn spells, plain and simple. Blue does not have that same reach. Unless you're going Fish aggro (with FoW backup) in legacy, blue aggro just seems unrealistic.
In other words: I don't want to build this as an aggro deck, since if I wanted to play the 'best' aggro deck, I would be looking to red, not blue. It might have sweet curves and godhands, but I would much prefer the card quality and consistency of just running cards that are good.
If time shows that I'm wrong and that the aggro deck is the better version, I'll change up the original post, but for the time being, i'm going to stay a crotchety old man.
Which is why you run omen speakers and weirds for your two drops, both are good for stalling against aggro, and weird can pack a mean punch vs aggro, or when the board is clear. Plus he is tough to kill for RDW outside of a mortar. Any other removal you can easily stop game 2 with a mizzium skin.
Devotion is the name of the game with this deck, and I think it is pretty sexy. Whether swinging with a 5/5 indestructible, or buffing your weird and making him unblockable, like some sort of goony pseudo Aetherling, I like it!
Was discussing this deck with a few folks during yesterday's prerelease and had a few neat card ideas. What does everyone think of Prognostic Sphinx and/or Domestication in the main deck? Sphinx is nearly unkillable and scry 3 is like drawing 90% of a card. And Domestication actually seems sweet as an answer to Boros Reckoner and other hard-to-deal-with midrange threats, though if heroic decks with +x/+x effects are a thing obviously that might be harder to justify. Domestication might be better in the sideboard, or maybe 1 maindeck and 1-2 more sideboard. (replacing one of the Claustrophobia in the maindeck).
Also for people who recommend Frostburn Weird in addition to Omenspeaker, what would you replace from my maindeck? I've been thinking of actually replacing the Omenspeakers since they aren't nearly as versatile in combat, and the extra blue devotion is relevant with Frosty the Weirdman as well.
Omenspeaker is great for smoothing out draws and keeping hands that are otherwise borderline. From your list I suppose I would try cutting Claustrophobia and Azorius Charm first, but I'm not sure. 4 Omenspeaker and 4 Frostburn Weird seems very solid on the 2-drops.
Domestication and Claustrophobia both feel pretty awkward to me and I think I would like to keep them mostly in the sideboard. Claustrophobia for example is AWFUL against Boros Reckoner when they can just torch their own guy to burn yours and pitch your enchantment. Domestication is good against Reckoner but I think that's about it. Certainly an opposing Prognostic Sphinx would be amazing to steal, if that becomes popular. It certainly is worth consideration in the sideboard but I think at cmc 4 it is too clunky for most situations, especially if you are running white with Detention Spheres. With Red, you blank your own Purphoros, God of the Forge pump.
Interesting that you would include Purphorous as the only red permanent in the deck. Other than the game-winning synergy with Master of Waves, do you think he does enough for you within this deck? He seems like a poor topdeck, especially after you've already cast your Master. Is he good enough without Master to warrant 3 copies?
And has 23 lands been working out?
Also, I like the idea of running Prognostic Sphinx over Aetherling, I hadn't thought of it as just a strict replacement. It comes down two turns earlier (since Aetherling actually costs 7) and doesn't absorb all of your mana once you want to start attacking. The draw fixing is pretty insane too, at least that's what I gathered from my prerelease -- it's probably even better in a constructed deck. Definitely planning on trying him as a 2-3 of in place of Aetherling, and moving the Aether-bro to the sideboard.
I'm not quite sold on 23 land, been considering moving to 24. I seem to have more awkward draws on Cockatrice than when I test with the real thing, so maybe it's my imagination.
Any time Master of Waves has stuck around to swing for a turn I am generally pretty happy, so drawing Purphoros after the fact doesn't sting much -- extra copies are almost always sent away with Scry. I would be tempted to drop him to 2-of if there were extras being a problem, but having 3 gets me exactly 1 in most games, which is perfect. In drawn-out games, Thassa and Purphoros get better as they stick around through most removal and drawing a MoW with nothing but them out is 6 damage in triggers alone.
Huh I hadn't thought of using Spear, that's nothing short of pretty dang neat. The mana seems potentially tough, at least before we have the U/W scryland available.
Thanks for the article! Glad this deck is getting a bit of attention, since it has a hell of a lot of potential.
An anthem effect would definitely be cool, but I think 1WW is just asking too much for something that's basically only Master of Waves insurance. It's effectively a 4-drop with this manabase and running 4 Sacred Foundry to support it is a bit silly.
However, the secondary effect is powerful enough against stuff like Kalonian Hydra and Desecration Demon that it could be worthy of a sideboard slot in UW lists.
I know you want to make your blue devotion deck midrange, but I feel like an aggressive tempo deck may be a bit better, especially with the addition of black's Thoughtseize.
Thoughtseize is really what puts this deck into contention. Such cheap disruption is very good in tempo decks, especially considering the vulnerability to sweepers. A few cheap threats and a Thoughtseize into Master of Waves is going to hurt a lot.
Master of Waves should be the curve-topper of an aggressive deck, especially one with disruption to deal with their answers. He's good enough of a card to make a blue midrange strong, but I don't really think that blue midrange will cut it in the future meta.
Thassa will very likely be a creature with this deck, sometimes by turn 4 so she can swing asap. Obviously not every game will play out like that, but it's going to happen often enough for opponents to have to respect that sort of nut draw.
Bident of Thassa is so synergistic with this deck, it's insane. Powers up Thassa, makes all your little dudes must-block threats, throws their guys into a devastating Triton Tactics, etc. It really powers up the rest of the deck. It's a pretty important card to the deck, imo, so 3 is the right number. 2 might be correct, considering you can't have multiples out. It's possible enough people will run artifact/enchantment removal, though.
Don't forget Mutavault in this deck! Gets pumped by Master of Waves, can draw cards if you've got Bident, and can be unblockable with Thassa.
The sideboard is obviously up for revision based on the metagame. I'm thinking there will be lots of aggressive decks with either green or red, and both Tidebinder Mage and Woodlot Crawler really help clog up the game to a point where you can win with Bident.
Swan Song seems like a reasonable answer to your opponents' answers, and the 2/2 flying usually isn't too relevant especially since the decks it's sided in against won't usually be able to take much advantage of the Bird token.
Aetherize is for all the midrangey/aggressive decks that don't have green or red in them. It's a huge swing in tempo, which is what a deck like this needs to pull ahead of other colors' bigger threats. Also, note the combo with Bident.
Anyways, that's my take on how to make the best Master of Waves deck. Let me know what you think of the idea!
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"That's the funny thing about free will. You don't feel any different without it."
EDH: RWU Zedruu, the Greathearted BUG Damia, Sage of Stone
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What is Big Blue?
'Big Blue' is a Blue midrange deck. Much like Big Red, Big Blue ignores its color's traditional role in favor of a beefy midrange strategy. This deck plays heavily off of Blue Devotion, using it fuel cards like Master of Waves, Thassa, and Nyxthos to become crushing game-winners.
Why play Big Blue?
Big Blue offers some of the most versatile threats in the format, in the color that pumps out card advantage. Playing much like the Pre-Theros Jund deck, Big Blue tries to stick a threat, then rides it to victory. Making use of splash colors, Big Blue has access to the best removal in the format to support its huge threats, while Cyclonic Rift leads to game-ending blowouts.
Decklist and Strategy
4 Omenspeaker
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Master of Waves
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 AEtherling
4 Detention Sphere
3 Claustrophobia
Spells:
3 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Dissolve
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Azorius Charm
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
Lands:
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Azorius Guildgate
2 Temple of Silence
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
12 Island
Currently, I favor a white splash, as it gives access to Detention Sphere, Azorius Charm, and Sphinx's Revelation as removal, utility, and card advantage, respectively. A black splash would give access to Thoughtseize, Doom Blade, and Duskmantle Seer, and a red splash would give access to various burn spells. I do not currently have any experience with either of these options, but they both seem viable and worth exploring.
The goal of the deck is to use early blockers and tempo to survive into the mid-game, where removal, creatures, and Jace can start to take over the game. Eventually we stick an Aetherling or draw a billion cards with Nykthos+Sphinx's Revelation to close out the game.
As the maindeck is still in development, I do not have a sideboard at this time. The sideboard will likely involve some number of more specialized counterspells (Essence Scatter, Dispel, etc), hard to deal with threats like Jace, Memory Adept, tempo cards like Voyage's End, and specific answers like Pithing Needle. As the metagame develops I'll edit this to include more specific sideboard options.
Card Choices
Omenspeaker is early game card-fixing, a great blocker, and a devotion enabler. If the format is slow and non-aggro, I might consider replacing these with more counterspells.
Nightveil Specter is an evasive early blocker and threat, a way to generate card advantage, and an important devotion enabler. Without Restoration Angel around to block it, I expect lots of "give-me-the-top-card-plz" in the near future.
Master of Waves is an inexpensive, game-ending bomb when you're ahead, and an excellent way to stay alive when behind. Certainly one of the core cards of the deck; I would never want less than 4. This guy is a beast.
Thassa, God of the Sea is another draw-fixer, and an eventual huge hard-to-deal-with unblockable attacker. She is perfectly reasonable even as an early enchantment, and her upkeep ability allows you to run multiples without getting burned by the Legend rule once you can scry them away.
Aetherling is our answer to a (hopefully) slower metagame. This dude is a house. Not much more to say.
Detention Sphere is, if not the best removal spell in the new standard, certainly in the top 3. It deals with any threat, even the indestructible ones. Even though "it's a mono-blue deck," this is most certainly worth running 4.
Claustrophobia is our answer to only being able to run 4 copies of Detention Sphere. It's removal, it grants 2 devotion, and it can be played early. Much like Nightveil Specter, without Restoration Angel around to ruin everything, this is actually playable. It's certainly not ideal, but it does everything this deck wants in a removal-spell-that-isn't-really-removal.
Sphinx's Revelation is the best way to spend a lot of mana in standard, and with Nyxthos, we hope to have a ton. Like Aetherling there isn't much to say about this one, it's insane and resolving it for 4+ will, more often than not, end the game in short notice. It's even better here than in control decks, since instead of drawing a bunch of answers, we draw a bunch of threats. Totally sweet.
Dissolve is the new counterspell hotness. Playing this versus Syncopate is likely a judgment call, though I prefer this because it's better in the late game, and we want to be playing our own creatures/removal early in the game anyways. It's not strictly necessary for a deck like this, but it's always nice to be able to say No.
Cyclonic Rift is our version of Bonfire of the Damned. LOLnotreally. But it's still versatile, and can lead to game-ending blowouts if we use it to follow up a Master of Waves.
Azorius Charm is another way to answer aggro, and cycles in slower matchups, so it's never irrelevant. The lifelink ability is even somewhat useful if you manage to attack with enough Waves.
Jace, AoT is another devotion enabler, a card advantage engine, and an answer to swarmy aggro decks. He's good, play him.
Lands are pretty straightforward in this deck, you want lots of blue sources so you play lots of blue sources. The oddball land here is Temple of Silence, the White/Black scry land. This is here so can have 2 additional white sources to cast our 3 azorius spells while also being able to cast Nightveil Specter (which Basic Plains is incapable of). As soon as the White/Blue scryland is added to standard in a future set, that will be an easy replacement, but for the time being our Orzhov Temple will have to suffice.
Deck History and Record
Standard hasn't even started yet, but this is the deck I am most excited to start brewing. In my (mostly useless) playtesting on a certain non-MTGO magic client, this deck has performed exceptionally. I very much look forward to being able to test and refine it in person.
So with all that said... THOUGHTS?
Disclaimer: I've not done one of these before, so I don't know if this is the right place for it. If there is a better place for it please let me know!
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Why "Big Blue"? What makes this somewhat better than UW control?
"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." -Terrance Fletcher, Whiplash (2014)
Threat density, mostly. My problem with UW control now, as it always has been, is that it can be tough to actually close out the game. With all of the insane creatures in standard, your opponent resolving just one of them can be enough to come back and win. Having 2 Aetherlings and 2 Elsepths in the main deck just doesn't cut it for me. I would rather be proactive than reactive.
And again on that last point, in an open metagame such as after rotation, playing a control deck is tough, since it will be nearly impossible to predict and have responses for the decks you will play. A few weeks into a new standard is when I would be more comfortable switching back to a control deck, but in the meantime, I would rather be the one casting the insane spells.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Thoughtseize, epecially in a control shell, changes the Sphinx's Revelation dynamic entirely. I've seen plenty of quality UB lists with Opportunity + Thoughtseize + Counterspells that work very well.
But this looks interesting. So much to test... so many colors.
I'm afraid you'll get run over by aggro, you should be playing frostburn weird or tidebinder mage.
I think you should drop aetherling and sphinx's revelation. Those cards rely heavily on supreme verdict to be effective, not to mention you're only playing 24 lands you're relying heavily on the shrine to get off a good revelation.
Maybe sideboard revelation in slower matchups.
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
Pre-Theros Jund decks survived early aggro without having a horde of underpowered 2 drops. Sure, it might make the early game 'more survivable' but it's at the cost of having horrible topdecks in the late game. I don't think those two drops are what this deck wants, at all.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Yeah but Jund did it playing the best removal suit in the format and accelerating, allowing for the midgame threats to come a turn earlier. Also the quality of late game Jund plays were much better. Master of Waves is nothing compared to hustmaster and you don`t have a tusk equivalent either. See the curve of your deck:
0
1
2 ********
3 *******************
4 *******
5
6 **
It`s median and modal point are both around 3 cmc which is bad place to be. There`s a fairly big chance of skipping the turn 2 spell and you will only cast one spell by turn 3, 4 and 5 likely. This is too slow and clunky for a aggro match up that will consistently cast one spell turn one and two and two or more spells on turn three and four.
I`ve tested this list on cockatrice vs. Gruul Aggro and WW. All in all it`s a midrange deck with bad match up vs. aggro, which is a paradox since midranges normally do well vs. aggro and poorly vs. control. The only striking good thing i see about this strategy is that it`s reasonably good against other kind of midrange decks because of Thassa and Jace ability to win attritions.
You really need to pick more cmc 2 or less cards and find better threats. Nightveil Specter is a big floop in most match ups and Master of Waves is not so great in some. Your threat suit is very fragile and circustantial for a mid range deck.
BGU Control
R Aggro
Standard - For Fun
BG Auras
I've been working primarily on the Red splash version of this deck; I haven't tried Aetherling in it but he is certainly a consideration. I took a stab at defining the other splash options and so far Red is the one I've been happiest with. I would love to run Uwr but the mana base just feels too loose.
The main differences of course are how the different splashes shore up the weaknesses of the blue devotion core.
Small creatures threaten to kill you or at least Jace before you can stabilize. White brings Sphinx's Revelation which helps you stabilize from lower life. White, Red, and Black all offer removal that can kill these early threats.
Big creatures threaten to end the late game if left unanswered. Black and White are the best at answering them with Detention Sphere and Doom Blade etc.
Planeswalkers are only hard to get at when their creatures are in the way. Black, White, and Red have the best answers for them, with Detention Sphere winning overall.
Gods are kind of a unique threat. Anything that handles their devotion source is good, but Green and White have the best ways to get rid of them altogether.
Blowout spells like Supreme Verdict, Gaze of Granite, Mizzium Mortars / Cyclonic Rift Overload are best dealt with by Black's Thoughtseize. Otherwise you are either countering or playing around them. Ratchet Bomb is a similar issue for Master of Waves but nothing else really. I would consider it most effectively trumped by Purphoros, God of the Forge.
Direct removal will mostly hit your Specter with red and your Master with black. The best way to make sure Master of Waves makes an impact is with Purphoros, God of the Forge.
Frostburn should be a four of.
Spear of Heliod makes master tokens survive loss of fish brains.
Elspeth wins games and works with master token strategy
Sigil: an MMORPCCG ">Mexus: An MMORPCCG
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Nightveil Specter
3 Master of Waves
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 AEtherling
2 Golgari Charm
4 Simic Charm
4 Syncopate
4 Rapid Hybridization
6 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Watery Grave
4 Overgrown Tomb
I quite like Prognostic Sphinx, I think I will test 2-3 of him and 0-1 Aetherling for now. He digs really deep on offense, blocks Stormbreath Dragon safely, and is hard to kill devotion without demanding that you leave mana open.
In the sideboard, Pyxis of Pandemonium is something I can't wait to try against control.
In other words: I don't want to build this as an aggro deck, since if I wanted to play the 'best' aggro deck, I would be looking to red, not blue. It might have sweet curves and godhands, but I would much prefer the card quality and consistency of just running cards that are good.
If time shows that I'm wrong and that the aggro deck is the better version, I'll change up the original post, but for the time being, i'm going to stay a crotchety old man.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Devotion is the name of the game with this deck, and I think it is pretty sexy. Whether swinging with a 5/5 indestructible, or buffing your weird and making him unblockable, like some sort of goony pseudo Aetherling, I like it!
Also for people who recommend Frostburn Weird in addition to Omenspeaker, what would you replace from my maindeck? I've been thinking of actually replacing the Omenspeakers since they aren't nearly as versatile in combat, and the extra blue devotion is relevant with Frosty the Weirdman as well.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Domestication and Claustrophobia both feel pretty awkward to me and I think I would like to keep them mostly in the sideboard. Claustrophobia for example is AWFUL against Boros Reckoner when they can just torch their own guy to burn yours and pitch your enchantment. Domestication is good against Reckoner but I think that's about it. Certainly an opposing Prognostic Sphinx would be amazing to steal, if that becomes popular. It certainly is worth consideration in the sideboard but I think at cmc 4 it is too clunky for most situations, especially if you are running white with Detention Spheres. With Red, you blank your own Purphoros, God of the Forge pump.
I do like the Prognostic Sphinx, and I think he fits better than Aetherling does.
Here's the latest decklist I intend to test:
4 Omenspeaker
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Nightveil Specter
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Master of Waves
2 Prognostic Sphinx
Planeswalkers
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
Support
3 Purphoros, God of the Forge
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Syncopate
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Curse of the Swine
4 Steam Vents
4 Izzet Guildgate
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Mountain
11 Island
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Burning Earth
2 Bident of Thassa
2 Domestication
3 Tidebinder Mage
2 Counterflux
1 Syncopate
And has 23 lands been working out?
Also, I like the idea of running Prognostic Sphinx over Aetherling, I hadn't thought of it as just a strict replacement. It comes down two turns earlier (since Aetherling actually costs 7) and doesn't absorb all of your mana once you want to start attacking. The draw fixing is pretty insane too, at least that's what I gathered from my prerelease -- it's probably even better in a constructed deck. Definitely planning on trying him as a 2-3 of in place of Aetherling, and moving the Aether-bro to the sideboard.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
Any time Master of Waves has stuck around to swing for a turn I am generally pretty happy, so drawing Purphoros after the fact doesn't sting much -- extra copies are almost always sent away with Scry. I would be tempted to drop him to 2-of if there were extras being a problem, but having 3 gets me exactly 1 in most games, which is perfect. In drawn-out games, Thassa and Purphoros get better as they stick around through most removal and drawing a MoW with nothing but them out is 6 damage in triggers alone.
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11403
Decklist is here
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Master of Waves
4 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Azorius Charm
3 Claustrophobia
3 Detention Sphere
4 Disperse
3 Essence Scatter
2 Spear of Heliod
2 Sphinx's Revelation
4 Hallowed Fountain
10 Island
1 Mutavault
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Blind Obedience
1 Dispel
2 Jace, Memory Adept
3 Negate
1 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Supreme Verdict
3 Tidebinder Mage
Dega midrange 1-0
Thanks for the article! Glad this deck is getting a bit of attention, since it has a hell of a lot of potential.
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
However, the secondary effect is powerful enough against stuff like Kalonian Hydra and Desecration Demon that it could be worthy of a sideboard slot in UW lists.
3 Far // Away
4 Thoughtsieze
3 Bident of Thassa
4 Master of Waves
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 Nightveil Specter
4 Frostburn Weird
3 Judge’s Familiar
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Tormented Hero
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Watery Grave
8 Island
3 Swamp
4 Tidebinder Mage
3 Woodlot Crawler
3 Swan Song
3 Aetherize
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
I know you want to make your blue devotion deck midrange, but I feel like an aggressive tempo deck may be a bit better, especially with the addition of black's Thoughtseize.
Thoughtseize is really what puts this deck into contention. Such cheap disruption is very good in tempo decks, especially considering the vulnerability to sweepers. A few cheap threats and a Thoughtseize into Master of Waves is going to hurt a lot.
Master of Waves should be the curve-topper of an aggressive deck, especially one with disruption to deal with their answers. He's good enough of a card to make a blue midrange strong, but I don't really think that blue midrange will cut it in the future meta.
Thassa will very likely be a creature with this deck, sometimes by turn 4 so she can swing asap. Obviously not every game will play out like that, but it's going to happen often enough for opponents to have to respect that sort of nut draw.
Bident of Thassa is so synergistic with this deck, it's insane. Powers up Thassa, makes all your little dudes must-block threats, throws their guys into a devastating Triton Tactics, etc. It really powers up the rest of the deck. It's a pretty important card to the deck, imo, so 3 is the right number. 2 might be correct, considering you can't have multiples out. It's possible enough people will run artifact/enchantment removal, though.
Don't forget Mutavault in this deck! Gets pumped by Master of Waves, can draw cards if you've got Bident, and can be unblockable with Thassa.
The sideboard is obviously up for revision based on the metagame. I'm thinking there will be lots of aggressive decks with either green or red, and both Tidebinder Mage and Woodlot Crawler really help clog up the game to a point where you can win with Bident.
Swan Song seems like a reasonable answer to your opponents' answers, and the 2/2 flying usually isn't too relevant especially since the decks it's sided in against won't usually be able to take much advantage of the Bird token.
Aetherize is for all the midrangey/aggressive decks that don't have green or red in them. It's a huge swing in tempo, which is what a deck like this needs to pull ahead of other colors' bigger threats. Also, note the combo with Bident.
Anyways, that's my take on how to make the best Master of Waves deck. Let me know what you think of the idea!
EDH:
RWU Zedruu, the Greathearted
BUG Damia, Sage of Stone