I'm disappointed that, even with the new Dragons of Tarkir goodies, there were exactly zero Blue Devotion decks played at the Pro Tour. It's an obvious deck to test, so I guess nobody found a version that was any good.
The deck is Just not there vs black Midrange and Control matches where they run lots of removal it's sheer luck if you win. vs red removal particularly one to one removal the deck can race and easily by trading one for one creatures early before you out power the opponent, similarly to green strategies the evasive creatures are a real pain for them and by the time they get to Dragonlord or Genesis hydra mana you should have a way of protecting the board with them under real threat.
Until we have a way to deal with Black I dont feel the deck can get any better, not that it's a bad deck just when 50% of the field is playing black it's a bad choice.
Yea i am trying to figure out a way to combat that right now. I was thinking about adding Deathmist Raptor to the Sideboard for that match up and the grindy midrange decks. This is what i have currently.
First I agree with a lot of you Master of Waves has underpreformed. however it is still really good against red aggro. Also if it is not answered it wins games. I am trying out the Kiora's Follower. I felt that the accelaration and versitilaty will be very welcomed.
I am main decking Encase in Ice because i feel that this deck need some sort of instant speed removal and Encase in Ice is great in the current metagame. If any deck is gonna be atacking there creatures are probably green or red. If they are not gonna attack we would sideboard removal out anyway.
I also main deck 2 dissolve to act as a catch all couterspell. They have been very good.
The thought process of the 3/3 split between Icefeather Aven and Stratus Dancer is because the aven has a better body. Also I can cast Aven as a morph and make it look like Stratus dancer. Effectively creating the apperance of 6 stratus dancers with another one coming into the board.
I have been playing around with the sideboard alot.
Out:
-3 Sidis's Faithful
-3 Encase in Ice
-1 Master of Waves
-1 Thassa, God of Sea
Explaination: Removed the dead card like encase and faithful. Removed Master and Thassa because it plays into mass removal. Bident is really good in the really grindy match ups. extra stratus dancer to act like another negate. The match-up. I have started to have success in.
Ok so I fixed the UB Matchup or at very least made it winnable, went 3/1 so far vs UB/Esper Dragons and the impact of rangers guile is largely to thank along with the flash on silumgars sorcerer
Torrent elemental really only really excels in the green/x matchups when the board can become clogged up with them on the defensive, the 5 toughness and flying or sometimes 6 with master is quite relevant vs Mantis riders/Ashcloud/Thunderbreak at times too. I'm not 100% sure that it is 100% needed but I am happy to keep it in as a 2 of and it has won me a few games.
Hello everybody! I'm testing this deck since the release of Dragons of Tarkir,
and these are my points:
- the deck is quite consistent, and it is not dependent on single cards (e.g. Master of Waves)
- it retains a good lategame thanks to evasion (Flying/Unblockable)
- Frost Walker is almost a flop: it is blocked by Elvish Mystic and tokens (quite common these days), plus it can't be buffed or targeted by Thassa's ability.
While it is still quite good against decks with a low creature density (control/Abzan mainly), I prefer a classic Vaporkin.
- Shorecrasher Elemental isn't as good as expected, mainly due to the lack of a form of evasion. However, it is a solid devotion trigger.
- Ghostfire Blade, paired with unblockables and Cloudform, could be the way to go.
Given these points, I came up with two different lists: one based on mid/lategame card advantage with Mastery of the Unseen, the other trying to be more aggressive through Ensoul Artifact.
The Ensoul Artifact package allows for an explosive turn 2/3, and helps getting the first big hits in.
The mid/lategame should be based on evasion and Ghostfire Blades blowouts: 4/4 Flying Hexproof and 4/4 Unblockable creatures tend to end games really fast.
I'm not sold on Ornithopter, as it is potentially dead a lot of the time.
A possibile modification is
-2 Shorecrasher Elemental
+2 Silumgar Sorcerer
as Ornithopter provides a good exploitable body.
I currently find myself more confortable with the Ensoul Devotion deck, as early aggro is a solution to most of the deck's weaknesses: G2/G3 the strategy should be focused on landing an early Ensoul Artifact or an evasive creature with Ghostfire Blade, and protecting it.
I found Icefall regent just awful in our deck, torrent elemental has been much better as it has other applications outside of tapping a creature down and the frost titan + 2 clause doesnt often matter against UB or Gruul ramp. I had fun with cloudform but eventually settled on Silumgar sorcerer as you can often fall behind with no counters for creatures like outai,atarka etc and the flash is relevant in matches where you are trying to keep up pressure and empty their hands of counters/kill spells so you can resolve a more potent spell. master of the unseen is poor with Master of waves. The more I play, the more I feel like green is the natural suitor to the decks off colour.
I found Icefall regent just awful in our deck, torrent elemental has been much better as it has other applications outside of tapping a creature down and the frost titan + 2 clause doesnt often matter against UB or Gruul ramp. I had fun with cloudform but eventually settled on Silumgar sorcerer as you can often fall behind with no counters for creatures like outai,atarka etc and the flash is relevant in matches where you are trying to keep up pressure and empty their hands of counters/kill spells so you can resolve a more potent spell. master of the unseen is poor with Master of waves. The more I play, the more I feel like green is the natural suitor to the decks off colour.
I agree Torrent Elemental is good, or even game-winning in the late game. However, it forces a (somewhat heavy) green splash, which is not supported by fetchlands (which is a HUGE difference in my experience with this format), as I would never play him without delve cards MD: the card is good because of its activated ability, otherwise it's too situational. The main difference is that the tapdown from Icefall Regent is on ETB (allowing for an instant win sometimes) and permanent (preventing attacks as well). Basically, Torrent Elemental reads 'your opponent has 1 turn to avoid a blowout' while Icefall Regent reads 'your opponent has to use a whole turn to remove it, instantly affects combat the turn it ETBs, and prevents 1 attack most of the time'. That said, I agree that Torrent Elemental is better if the game lasts more than 10 turns, but they're very different cards in the end. On a void, I prefer the Regent, but I'd probably play the Elemental if I was already sold on the green splash.
Mastery of the Unseen is anti-synergic with Master of Waves, but it's super synergic with almost every other single creature in the deck, especially Thassa, God of the Sea. So, odds are in our favor. It's slow but it grants cards advantage and the lifegain allows us to play as a midrange deck if needed.
Hmmm, I'm trying to fit in both Cloudform and Silumgar Sorcerer in the deck. I'm still on the fence about removing Frost Walker as it is nice WHEN Cloudform hits it. However, I think I'm just cutting it out all together seeing that I am running out of space. Another decision I have to make is trying to fit in Gudul Lurker vs Sidisi's Faithful, depending on Meta, Sidisi's Faithful is better against aggro decks. The Exploit is a nice bonus, although, only sorcery speed/no flash.
I do like the idea of adding Ghostfire blade back into the deck, especially with Cloudform and Stratus Dancer.
Lastly, how does one use Profaner of the Dead properly? Do we use it Against aggro decks?
I have built this deck in so many different ways, the ensoul vs collecting company vs dragons vs evasive one drops. Just a couple of my thoughts. First the ensoul always seemed a little clunky to me. Alot of times I ended up with an low powered artifact no ensoul or ensoul with no artifact. The evasive one drops didnt do enough and got outclassed quickly by every deck i played against. Also the small evasive creatures got crushed post sideboard to mass removal.
I am not gonna lie and say I am unbiased but I think collecting company is the card that makes this deck competitive. The problem with devotion decks were always that they are too slow in getting the crtical amount of devotion. Collecting company allows us to put 2 cards in play instant speed for 4 mana. It really works well with the exploit creatures cause it gives some of there effects flash. Also it digs for them.
Torrent Elemental and Icefall Reagent havent preformed enough in my experince to use so far. I really believe strongely in collecting company and greater then 3 mana creatures have to be game breaking to find a place in the deck.
Stop using Frost Walker because how many tokens are used in todays meta. I use icefeather aven instead it and vaporkin because of the 2 toughness and flying. also it can be morphed to give the impression of having a extra stratus dancer
Shorecrasher Elemental has been amazing for me. 3 devotion, its a mini morphling and its resitant to removal. It is pumped by master of waves. It does not have evasion but my deck has 10 flying creatures in the maindeck plus 3 thassa, god of the sea. Alot of times the card plays defense for my flier to get in the damage. It can trade with bigger creatures. I have even used its "blink" to act as a surprise vigilance.
even though the deck has alot of creatures. I think as a pure aggro deck it is pretty bad. It has played better as an aggro control/tempo deck. It has the abiliy to play creatures at the end of opponets turns and use counterspells. Especially when you look at the sideboard.
The deck hoses mono red. The goal is to drop Master of Waves as soon as possible or to stall by keeping a high life total and to trade your creatures with theirs. Watch out for a surprise Wild Slash which, when Ferocious is turned on, can ambush Master of Waves. Wall of Frost is painfully unfair in this match up.
Against Jeskai Aggro:
An aerial defense is important if Mantis Rider is to be stopped. A resolved Ensoul Artifact will be sufficient to handle the early game. Icefall regent becomes exceptional to pick up the threats that get through. As in mono red, this deck sports enough burn that it becomes important to keep life total high for most part of the game.
Against Jeskai Tokens:
This matchup is oddly manageable. AEtherspouts is your friend. Should Jeskai Ascendancy come into play, a resolved Master of Waves becomes crucial with a high enough devotion to create multiple tokens to stall the board until you are able to find AEtherspouts.
FNM is up later. I'll post results as soon as I get back.
R1: UB control (2-0)
Frost Walker turn 2, and collected, they did all the work
R2: RG Dragons (2-1)
Master of the waves and 4 tokens, and side 3 Encase in Ice
R3: UW Control (1-0)
a very long game, where Deathmist Raptor and Shorecrasher Elemental had an incredible synergy to be nearly 10 manas in play and play no cards in hand
R4: Temur Aggro (2-1)
again did his master and Encase whit hornet nest in side finished the job
It is a list that was posted a few days ago, but I made the following changes
- 2 Bident of Thassa: I was being practically useless
+ 1 Deathmist Raptor: useful v/s most decks, a criature/removal returning, must be 4 copies
+ 1 Gudul Lurker: in an advanced game, allows us to revive the Deathmist Raptor from graveyard
*29 creatures for Collected
*13 Morph
*6 creatures CMC 1 serve for advanced turns
*3 criatures/counters for criatures and 3 for instant/sorcery
Control
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Negate
+2 Reclamation Sage: only if using the perilous vault
- 1 Master of Waves
- 3 Hypnotic Siren
- 3 Omenspeaker
Monored
+2 Profaner of the Dead
+2 Hornet Nest
+3 Encase in Ice
-3 Thassa, God of the Sea
-3 Stratus Dancer
-1 Siren/Gudul
RG Dragons - Temur Aggro
+3 Encase in Ice
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Polymorphist's Jest
-2 stratus Dancer
-3 Omenspeaker
-2 Frost Walker
Abzan Aggro
+3 Encase in Ice
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Hornet Nest
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Polymorphist's Jest
-2 Frost Walker
-3 Stratus Dancer
-1 Thassa
-2 Omenspeaker
-1 Master of Waves
Do you all think it is still worth it to play Collected Company despite not having Deathmist Raptor? I'm not sure if I should keep going with it or just switch to monoblue.
I've enjoyed Collected Company thus far. Even as two instant speed 2/1 fliers, it's fine, and it's usually better than that.
I've moved some Frost Walkers to the side, but I still think they should be in the 75. They're one of your best ways to force U/B control to respect all of your threats, and not just Master/Thassa. A mix of Frost Walker, Stratus Dancer, Cloudform and Shorecrasher Elemental gives control opponents fits.
This list looks awesome BUT Double green for raptor seems scary. Especially next to Triple Blue. Also when you add raptors to a deck I REALLY want to add den protector...
Round 1: RB Dragons, 2-1 Win
Game 1: Win - He got stuck on 2-3 Lands and I was able to go off with Cloudform'd Stratus Dancer that I morphed to counter removal spell. Thassa eventually came in with Shorecrasher and one of the 1-drops and won.
Sided in Disdainful Stroke, Encase, Negate.
Out - Bident, Some Walkers, Hall of Triumph, Sorcerer
Game 2: Loss - Too many removals, picked off every creature cept Thassa. At least I got to scry for 1 every upkeep >.<
Game 3: Win - He got stuck again on 2-3 Lands for a while. I curved out nice. I got him down to 2 life then he stabilized/cleaned the board9. Thanks to top deck cloudform, I was able to push for win.
1-0 for the night
Round 2: UBw Control, 0-2 Loss
Game 1: I had a nice hand, unfortunately, every threat was answered with either Counter or Removal. He dropped an Ugin and I scoop.
I sided in Negates, Disdanful Stroke, Regent
Out - Bident, Walker, Sorcerer, Hall of Triumph
Game 2: A lot longer than game 1, I was able to use Stratus Dancer Morph ability to counter one of his spells. Still, 1 for 1 removal is pretty harsh on the deck. Every threat removed or countered (again) and there was a Crux of Fate Waiting anyway.
1-1 for the night
Round 3: Abzan Midrange, 0-2 Loss
Game 1: I had a "good" hand with 3 Lands, Siren, Walker, Shorecrasher and Master of Waves. Double Thoughtseized and never recovered.
Side in Disdainful stroke, Aetherspouts, Encase.
Out - Bident and Dancers
Game 2: Longer than game 1. I was able to Encase two Rhinos, which is nice. I had no answer to Elspeth though. Cloudform'd Island was doing some work but eh.
1-2 for the night
I wanted to go 1 more Round because I'm just testing but had to go already, so I dropped.
Anyways, I still like Cloudform, Adds devotion, and the hexproof is big ; however, be wary since black decks use Crux of Fate, Abzan also has End Hostilites. It also takes a while to finish games with a 2/2.
It was quite hard to get Thassa online tonight, because my devotion enablers were getting picked off (or countered). I never found use for Bident of Thassa, saw it once and I was basically losing at that point, needs more testing for me, but I sided it out every time to make room.
Icefall Regent's ability is not as good against these decks that can generate tons of mana or if the game goes longer. In the RB dragons matchup, I was able to stick a regent late game, but they had enough mana to pay tax like it was nothing.
Stratus Dancer is amazing with the Morph ability, even better with Cloudform.
@Surfkatt: Why would it be? Thornwood Falls, Temple of Mystery, and Yavimaya Coast tap for both colors, plus it's possible to rip the raptor off of Collected Company instead of hardcasting it. Den Protector could be a potentially sweet addition to the deck especially because it makes sideboard options even better.
So this archetype is super good in this meta. doesnt really have many terrible matchups. Just came off of a DTK Game Day first place finish with my brew of this. I think a lot of you are going about the deck the wrong way: the deck works really well as a tempo deck instead of forcing the devotion/aggro strategy.
I couldnt find a 4th raptor to play today, so I ended up playing a singular den protector instead of the 4th copy. It didnt matter becuase i didnt see it once all day. and I would definitely put hornets nests into the board for the red matchups.
Round 1(UB dragon control):
game one, I had a slow start and he ends up resolving a Dragonlord Silumgar and i have no outs to it. Game 2 I never saw my 4th land.
0-2 loss
Round 2(Temur Company):
Guy had borrowed the deck and didnt know it that well, I took it pretty easily 2-0
2-0 win (1-1)
Round 3 (Sultai Control):
game 1 was really long and I got ashiok ulted and milled a bunch, but long games + resolved shorecrashers are very hard for abzan to do anytrhing about and I ended up taking it with 2 cards left in deck. Game 2 I curved out and she missed a land drop.
2-0 win (2-1)
Round 4 (Temur Midrange):
Game 1 he had like 5 mana dorks and 3 kunckleblades all being deadlocked by double master of waves + shorecrasher. I eventually attrition through him by hitting with a stratus dancer. Game 2 he got mana flooded and I countered his sarkhans and dragons.
2-0 win (3-1)
Cut to top after the 4th round. I think I was 6th.
Top 8 (Jeskai Tokens):
Game 1 I played a turn 3 raptor into his turn 4 attack step company into shorecrasher and a 2nd deathmist which blanked his outburst tokens. after that the clock was set and I dancered his end hostilities and he scooped. Game 2 he got turn 3 ascendency but I countered his eot tokens and at that point I was so far ahead in tempo he couldnt catch up.
2-0
Top 4 (Abzan Control/Midrange/Aggro):
I honestly dont know if this was control or midrange. I saw Lions and Courser in game 3 but only saw tasigur and rhinos other games. Game 1 I was racing a rhino with a mega'd stratus and a sorcerer, but I couldnt get there quick enough. Game 2 I think she sided in like a ton of duress because I got thoughtsiezed and duressed like 7 times in games 2 and 3. Both games the game got late enough where she didnt have enough mana and outs to kill my shorecrashers and then I resolved a company for two frost walkers with a thassa and shorecrasher out and then hardcasted a MOW on my turn and swung for 19 damage. game 3 opening hand of counterspells and raptors and she didnt have charms to exile them with and I won through card advantage off of Dancer and Raptors.
2-1
Final (Grixis Dragon control):
game 1 I got trounced and was worried it would be a quick match. He had two scorns and two roars into a turn 5 silumgar taking my only creature. Game two I kept an iffy one mana hand with a temple and a frost walker and 2 strokes and a denial and missed a land drop but after that everything flowed and I took over the game countering all his threats. Game 3 he couldnt find a blue source for a while and I just swung at him with a stratus dancer backed with dissolves and some strokes.
2-1
Overall the deck is fantastic. I think we absolutely need to go the tempo route and just rely on getting to the midgame then stomping face with shorecrashers. I really want to find room for Reality Shifts because as of now, other than the encases out of the board and company flashing in a raptor, this deck has virtually no ways to deal with on-board threats. Usually it can outrace them, especially with a thassa out. The only cards that seem to under-perform are the icefalls. I still believe they are the best option for a curve topper, but they didnt really have a huge impact in my games so far.
@fluffofdoom: Congrats on the first place finish! I completely agree on your thoughts as I have noticed this deck tends to excel by making small tempo plays to gain an advantage rather than going all out aggro or devotion. Reality Shift was a card I definitely could have used during my game day experience as well because it hits what Encase in Ice cannot i.e. tapped Dragonlord Ojutai and Dragonlord Silumgar. Plummet could also be a decent option since a good amount of the targets we would want to reality shift have flying. How did you like Monastery Flock and Monastery Siege in the sideboard? I'm curious to know what they did for you and when you sided them in.
My only question is how you balanced out Collected Company with your spells in the main and sideboard. In my experience, collected company gets significantly worse post board so I was wondering how you might mitigate that potential downside.
@Kaos MD: I had actually forgot about plummet completely. That would be a perfect side board card because it hits everything raptor cant stop. I had the flock in the board mainly for the aggro match up as well as for any deck that i might need to chump thunderbreaks. I didn't have hornets nests to play yesterday, and I went with the flock over the other options because I can get a flip trigger to get back a raptor. The sieges usually came in vs control or very heavy removal decks the khans mode really provides a ton of advantage if a game goes long. Because i am running a dense creature linup, and mostly what I would board out especially vs abzan or other non-red decks with heavy removal would be to board out the Master of waves. With like 22 targets for company g1 and usually 21-22 post board it hasn't been an issue so far. And honestly, hitting at least one creature is usually good enough with two just being insane.
@CoBTyrannon: The mono red matchup is surprisingly not that bad: resolving a shorecrasher with like 1 or 2 mana open usually completely stops their offense. but post board its easily like 80-90% with Profaners nad encase coming in from the board. Ojutai hasnt been an issue beucause in order to get value out of it, they have to swing with it, so you can usually race them from there. The GR dragons is actually one of the better matchups. being able to hold up countermagic for their dragons and then play a EoT sorcerer or company is huge. They also have like no removal to kill MoW.
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Until we have a way to deal with Black I dont feel the deck can get any better, not that it's a bad deck just when 50% of the field is playing black it's a bad choice.
Top 4 at States
http://mtgdecks.net/decks/view/223092
Top 8 at Some Event (sorry not sure)
http://mtgdecks.net/decks/view/222412
This list has Omenspeaker in it.
Standard
UR Control
Modern
Merfolk
Burn
Avacyn did nothing wrong!
Purify Innistrad!
#Purge
3 Sidis's Faithful
4 Kiora's Follower
3 Icefeather Aven
3 Stratus Dancer
4 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
3 Thassa, God of Sea
3 Master of Waves
3 Encase in Ice
2 Dissolve
4 Collected Company
Lands 24
4 Yavimaya Coast
4 Thornwood Falls
4 Temple of Mystery
2 Mana Confluence
10 Island
1 Master of Waves
2 Profaner of the Dead
1 Sidis's Faithful
2 Bident of Thassa
2 Hornet Nest
2 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1 Stratus Dancer
Discussion:
First I agree with a lot of you Master of Waves has underpreformed. however it is still really good against red aggro. Also if it is not answered it wins games. I am trying out the Kiora's Follower. I felt that the accelaration and versitilaty will be very welcomed.
I am main decking Encase in Ice because i feel that this deck need some sort of instant speed removal and Encase in Ice is great in the current metagame. If any deck is gonna be atacking there creatures are probably green or red. If they are not gonna attack we would sideboard removal out anyway.
I also main deck 2 dissolve to act as a catch all couterspell. They have been very good.
The thought process of the 3/3 split between Icefeather Aven and Stratus Dancer is because the aven has a better body. Also I can cast Aven as a morph and make it look like Stratus dancer. Effectively creating the apperance of 6 stratus dancers with another one coming into the board.
I have been playing around with the sideboard alot.
Against Ub control
In:
+2 Negate
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Bident of Thassa
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Stratus Dancer
Out:
-3 Sidis's Faithful
-3 Encase in Ice
-1 Master of Waves
-1 Thassa, God of Sea
Explaination: Removed the dead card like encase and faithful. Removed Master and Thassa because it plays into mass removal. Bident is really good in the really grindy match ups. extra stratus dancer to act like another negate. The match-up. I have started to have success in.
Aggainst Abazan aggro:
In
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Stratus Dancer
Out
-1 Master of Waves
-1 Thassa, God of Sea
-1 Icefeather Aven
-1 Kiora's Follower
Explaination:
I dont know if this is correct.
4 Temple of Mystery
3 Yavimaya Coast
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
3 Anticipate
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Stratus Dancer
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Ranger's Guile
4 Master of Waves
2 Torrent Elemental
4 Hypnotic Siren
3 Gudul Lurker
11 Island
3 Thornwood Falls
1 Ætherspouts
2 Bident of Thassa
1 Stratus Dancer
1 Silumgar Sorcerer
3 Encase in Ice
2 Sagu Mauler
2 Sylvan Caryatid
and these are my points:
- the deck is quite consistent, and it is not dependent on single cards (e.g. Master of Waves)
- it retains a good lategame thanks to evasion (Flying/Unblockable)
- Frost Walker is almost a flop: it is blocked by Elvish Mystic and tokens (quite common these days), plus it can't be buffed or targeted by Thassa's ability.
While it is still quite good against decks with a low creature density (control/Abzan mainly), I prefer a classic Vaporkin.
- Shorecrasher Elemental isn't as good as expected, mainly due to the lack of a form of evasion. However, it is a solid devotion trigger.
- Ghostfire Blade, paired with unblockables and Cloudform, could be the way to go.
Given these points, I came up with two different lists: one based on mid/lategame card advantage with Mastery of the Unseen, the other trying to be more aggressive through Ensoul Artifact.
2 Hypnotic Siren
4 Stratus Dancer
2 Vaporkin
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
4 Cloudform
4 Master of Waves
2 Icefall Regent
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 Bident of Thassa
1 Hall of Triumph
2 Ghostfire Blade
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Flooded Strand
4 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Tranquil Cove
1 Plains
7 Island
2 Banishing Light
1 Erase
2 Negate
2 AEthersprouts
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Encase in Ice
2 Profaner of the Dead
2 Treasure Cruise
The white splash allows for an outstanding late game thanks to Mastery of the Unseen, granting bodies, card advantage and lifegain.
Ghostfire Blade is really good due to a high morph/manifest density
I opted for a Vaporkin/Hypnotic Siren split, but I'm not convinced. A good change for increased resilience would be:
-2 Hypnotic Siren
-2 Vaporkin
-1 Hall of Triumph
-1 Bident of Thassa
-1 Shorecrasher Elemental
-2 Island
+4 Anticipate
+2 Treasure Cruise
+2 Polluted Delta
4 Stratus Dancer
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
4 Cloudform
4 Master of Waves
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Hall of Triumph
4 Ghostfire Blade
4 Ensoul Artifact
2 Stubborn Denial
18 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
1 Stubborn Denial
2 Negate
2 AEthersprouts
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Encase in Ice
1 Singing Bell Strike
2 Silumgar Sorcerer
2 Profaner of the Dead
The Ensoul Artifact package allows for an explosive turn 2/3, and helps getting the first big hits in.
The mid/lategame should be based on evasion and Ghostfire Blades blowouts: 4/4 Flying Hexproof and 4/4 Unblockable creatures tend to end games really fast.
I'm not sold on Ornithopter, as it is potentially dead a lot of the time.
A possibile modification is
-2 Shorecrasher Elemental
+2 Silumgar Sorcerer
as Ornithopter provides a good exploitable body.
The sideboard is similar in both cases, based on combat hindering effects that provide devotion as well (Encase in Ice, Singing Bell Strike), solutions to aggro or token strategies (AEthersprouts, Profaner of the Dead) and removal/wrath protection.
Sidisi's Faithful could find a place too.
I currently find myself more confortable with the Ensoul Devotion deck, as early aggro is a solution to most of the deck's weaknesses: G2/G3 the strategy should be focused on landing an early Ensoul Artifact or an evasive creature with Ghostfire Blade, and protecting it.
I agree Torrent Elemental is good, or even game-winning in the late game. However, it forces a (somewhat heavy) green splash, which is not supported by fetchlands (which is a HUGE difference in my experience with this format), as I would never play him without delve cards MD: the card is good because of its activated ability, otherwise it's too situational. The main difference is that the tapdown from Icefall Regent is on ETB (allowing for an instant win sometimes) and permanent (preventing attacks as well). Basically, Torrent Elemental reads 'your opponent has 1 turn to avoid a blowout' while Icefall Regent reads 'your opponent has to use a whole turn to remove it, instantly affects combat the turn it ETBs, and prevents 1 attack most of the time'. That said, I agree that Torrent Elemental is better if the game lasts more than 10 turns, but they're very different cards in the end. On a void, I prefer the Regent, but I'd probably play the Elemental if I was already sold on the green splash.
Mastery of the Unseen is anti-synergic with Master of Waves, but it's super synergic with almost every other single creature in the deck, especially Thassa, God of the Sea. So, odds are in our favor. It's slow but it grants cards advantage and the lifegain allows us to play as a midrange deck if needed.
Cloudform is not key, but it's a really solid beater and devotion enabler, which are often needed when Ghostfire Blade, Bident of Thassa, Master of Waves or Thassa, God of the Sea are around. The Manifest/Megamorph synergy is just a side effect.
I do like the idea of adding Ghostfire blade back into the deck, especially with Cloudform and Stratus Dancer.
Lastly, how does one use Profaner of the Dead properly? Do we use it Against aggro decks?
Standard
UR Control
Modern
Merfolk
Burn
Avacyn did nothing wrong!
Purify Innistrad!
#Purge
I am not gonna lie and say I am unbiased but I think collecting company is the card that makes this deck competitive. The problem with devotion decks were always that they are too slow in getting the crtical amount of devotion. Collecting company allows us to put 2 cards in play instant speed for 4 mana. It really works well with the exploit creatures cause it gives some of there effects flash. Also it digs for them.
In regards to Cloudform and Silumgar Sorcerer. I believe Silumgar Sorcerer is alot better. It has flash. Can use as an unsummon. It can be played with collecting company. Even though they both bring 2 devotion. The manifest bonus from Cloudform is really slow to use.
Torrent Elemental and Icefall Reagent havent preformed enough in my experince to use so far. I really believe strongely in collecting company and greater then 3 mana creatures have to be game breaking to find a place in the deck.
Stop using Frost Walker because how many tokens are used in todays meta. I use icefeather aven instead it and vaporkin because of the 2 toughness and flying. also it can be morphed to give the impression of having a extra stratus dancer
Shorecrasher Elemental has been amazing for me. 3 devotion, its a mini morphling and its resitant to removal. It is pumped by master of waves. It does not have evasion but my deck has 10 flying creatures in the maindeck plus 3 thassa, god of the sea. Alot of times the card plays defense for my flier to get in the damage. It can trade with bigger creatures. I have even used its "blink" to act as a surprise vigilance.
even though the deck has alot of creatures. I think as a pure aggro deck it is pretty bad. It has played better as an aggro control/tempo deck. It has the abiliy to play creatures at the end of opponets turns and use counterspells. Especially when you look at the sideboard.
4 Stratus Dancer
3 Shorecrasher Elemental
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Master of Waves
2 Icefall Regent
3 Springleaf Drum
3 Anticipate
4 Ensoul Artifact
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Hall of Triumph
1 AEtherspouts
4 Darksteel Citadel
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Encase in Ice
2 Negate
2 Reality Shift
3 Silumgar's Scorn
2 Thassa's Rebuff
2 Wall of Frost
1 Icefall Regent
1 AEtherspouts
Against Mono Red:
The deck hoses mono red. The goal is to drop Master of Waves as soon as possible or to stall by keeping a high life total and to trade your creatures with theirs. Watch out for a surprise Wild Slash which, when Ferocious is turned on, can ambush Master of Waves. Wall of Frost is painfully unfair in this match up.
Against Jeskai Aggro:
An aerial defense is important if Mantis Rider is to be stopped. A resolved Ensoul Artifact will be sufficient to handle the early game. Icefall regent becomes exceptional to pick up the threats that get through. As in mono red, this deck sports enough burn that it becomes important to keep life total high for most part of the game.
Against Jeskai Tokens:
This matchup is oddly manageable. AEtherspouts is your friend. Should Jeskai Ascendancy come into play, a resolved Master of Waves becomes crucial with a high enough devotion to create multiple tokens to stall the board until you are able to find AEtherspouts.
FNM is up later. I'll post results as soon as I get back.
R1: UB control (2-0)
Frost Walker turn 2, and collected, they did all the work
R2: RG Dragons (2-1)
Master of the waves and 4 tokens, and side 3 Encase in Ice
R3: UW Control (1-0)
a very long game, where Deathmist Raptor and Shorecrasher Elemental had an incredible synergy to be nearly 10 manas in play and play no cards in hand
R4: Temur Aggro (2-1)
again did his master and Encase whit hornet nest in side finished the job
- 2 Bident of Thassa: I was being practically useless
+ 1 Deathmist Raptor: useful v/s most decks, a criature/removal returning, must be 4 copies
+ 1 Gudul Lurker: in an advanced game, allows us to revive the Deathmist Raptor from graveyard
*29 creatures for Collected
*13 Morph
*6 creatures CMC 1 serve for advanced turns
*3 criatures/counters for criatures and 3 for instant/sorcery
http://deckstats.net/deck-6501126-895227ccea6fbd773cb2df808f08feb3.html
3 Hypnotic Siren
3 Gudul Lurker
2 Frost Walker
3 Stratus Dancer
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Omenspeaker
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Master of Waves
4 Collected Company
Lands (23)
9 Island
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Yavimaya Coast
4 Thornwood Falls
3 Encase in Ice
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Hornet Nest
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Profaner of the Dead
1 Polymorphist's Jest
Sideboard
Control
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Negate
+2 Reclamation Sage: only if using the perilous vault
- 1 Master of Waves
- 3 Hypnotic Siren
- 3 Omenspeaker
Monored
+2 Profaner of the Dead
+2 Hornet Nest
+3 Encase in Ice
-3 Thassa, God of the Sea
-3 Stratus Dancer
-1 Siren/Gudul
RG Dragons - Temur Aggro
+3 Encase in Ice
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Polymorphist's Jest
-2 stratus Dancer
-3 Omenspeaker
-2 Frost Walker
Abzan Aggro
+3 Encase in Ice
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Hornet Nest
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
+1 Polymorphist's Jest
-2 Frost Walker
-3 Stratus Dancer
-1 Thassa
-2 Omenspeaker
-1 Master of Waves
sultai/Abzan Reanimator
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Negate
+2 Reclamation Sage
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
-3 Hypnotic Siren
-4 Master of Waves
any help is welcome =)
__
tomorrow I will continue testing the list in the Game Day
I've moved some Frost Walkers to the side, but I still think they should be in the 75. They're one of your best ways to force U/B control to respect all of your threats, and not just Master/Thassa. A mix of Frost Walker, Stratus Dancer, Cloudform and Shorecrasher Elemental gives control opponents fits.
Cubetutor Link
4 Master of Waves
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Icefall Regent
4 Frost Walker
4 Gudul Lurker
4 Hypnotic Siren
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
3 Stratus Dancer
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
2 Bident of Thassa
1 Hall of Triumph
4 Cloudform
//Lands
22 Island
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Encase in Ice
3 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Silumgar Sorcerer
1 Stratus Dancer
1 Icefall Regent
1 Aetherspouts
3 Wall of Frost
Round 1: RB Dragons, 2-1 Win
Game 1: Win - He got stuck on 2-3 Lands and I was able to go off with Cloudform'd Stratus Dancer that I morphed to counter removal spell. Thassa eventually came in with Shorecrasher and one of the 1-drops and won.
Sided in Disdainful Stroke, Encase, Negate.
Out - Bident, Some Walkers, Hall of Triumph, Sorcerer
Game 2: Loss - Too many removals, picked off every creature cept Thassa. At least I got to scry for 1 every upkeep >.<
Game 3: Win - He got stuck again on 2-3 Lands for a while. I curved out nice. I got him down to 2 life then he stabilized/cleaned the board9. Thanks to top deck cloudform, I was able to push for win.
1-0 for the night
Round 2: UBw Control, 0-2 Loss
Game 1: I had a nice hand, unfortunately, every threat was answered with either Counter or Removal. He dropped an Ugin and I scoop.
I sided in Negates, Disdanful Stroke, Regent
Out - Bident, Walker, Sorcerer, Hall of Triumph
Game 2: A lot longer than game 1, I was able to use Stratus Dancer Morph ability to counter one of his spells. Still, 1 for 1 removal is pretty harsh on the deck. Every threat removed or countered (again) and there was a Crux of Fate Waiting anyway.
1-1 for the night
Round 3: Abzan Midrange, 0-2 Loss
Game 1: I had a "good" hand with 3 Lands, Siren, Walker, Shorecrasher and Master of Waves. Double Thoughtseized and never recovered.
Side in Disdainful stroke, Aetherspouts, Encase.
Out - Bident and Dancers
Game 2: Longer than game 1. I was able to Encase two Rhinos, which is nice. I had no answer to Elspeth though. Cloudform'd Island was doing some work but eh.
1-2 for the night
I wanted to go 1 more Round because I'm just testing but had to go already, so I dropped.
Anyways, I still like Cloudform, Adds devotion, and the hexproof is big ; however, be wary since black decks use Crux of Fate, Abzan also has End Hostilites. It also takes a while to finish games with a 2/2.
It was quite hard to get Thassa online tonight, because my devotion enablers were getting picked off (or countered). I never found use for Bident of Thassa, saw it once and I was basically losing at that point, needs more testing for me, but I sided it out every time to make room.
Icefall Regent's ability is not as good against these decks that can generate tons of mana or if the game goes longer. In the RB dragons matchup, I was able to stick a regent late game, but they had enough mana to pay tax like it was nothing.
Stratus Dancer is amazing with the Morph ability, even better with Cloudform.
Standard
UR Control
Modern
Merfolk
Burn
Avacyn did nothing wrong!
Purify Innistrad!
#Purge
2 Master of Waves
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 Icefall Regent
4 Frost Walker
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 Shorecrasher Elemental
4 Stratus Dancer
4 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Collected Company
3 Dissolve
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Stubborn Denial
//Lands: 23
12 Island
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Thornwood Falls
3 Encase in Ice
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Monastery Siege
2 Profaner of the Dead
2 Monastery Flock
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Aetherspouts
1 Dig Through Time
I couldnt find a 4th raptor to play today, so I ended up playing a singular den protector instead of the 4th copy. It didnt matter becuase i didnt see it once all day. and I would definitely put hornets nests into the board for the red matchups.
Round 1(UB dragon control):
game one, I had a slow start and he ends up resolving a Dragonlord Silumgar and i have no outs to it. Game 2 I never saw my 4th land.
0-2 loss
Round 2(Temur Company):
Guy had borrowed the deck and didnt know it that well, I took it pretty easily 2-0
2-0 win (1-1)
Round 3 (Sultai Control):
game 1 was really long and I got ashiok ulted and milled a bunch, but long games + resolved shorecrashers are very hard for abzan to do anytrhing about and I ended up taking it with 2 cards left in deck. Game 2 I curved out and she missed a land drop.
2-0 win (2-1)
Round 4 (Temur Midrange):
Game 1 he had like 5 mana dorks and 3 kunckleblades all being deadlocked by double master of waves + shorecrasher. I eventually attrition through him by hitting with a stratus dancer. Game 2 he got mana flooded and I countered his sarkhans and dragons.
2-0 win (3-1)
Cut to top after the 4th round. I think I was 6th.
Top 8 (Jeskai Tokens):
Game 1 I played a turn 3 raptor into his turn 4 attack step company into shorecrasher and a 2nd deathmist which blanked his outburst tokens. after that the clock was set and I dancered his end hostilities and he scooped. Game 2 he got turn 3 ascendency but I countered his eot tokens and at that point I was so far ahead in tempo he couldnt catch up.
2-0
Top 4 (Abzan Control/Midrange/Aggro):
I honestly dont know if this was control or midrange. I saw Lions and Courser in game 3 but only saw tasigur and rhinos other games. Game 1 I was racing a rhino with a mega'd stratus and a sorcerer, but I couldnt get there quick enough. Game 2 I think she sided in like a ton of duress because I got thoughtsiezed and duressed like 7 times in games 2 and 3. Both games the game got late enough where she didnt have enough mana and outs to kill my shorecrashers and then I resolved a company for two frost walkers with a thassa and shorecrasher out and then hardcasted a MOW on my turn and swung for 19 damage. game 3 opening hand of counterspells and raptors and she didnt have charms to exile them with and I won through card advantage off of Dancer and Raptors.
2-1
Final (Grixis Dragon control):
game 1 I got trounced and was worried it would be a quick match. He had two scorns and two roars into a turn 5 silumgar taking my only creature. Game two I kept an iffy one mana hand with a temple and a frost walker and 2 strokes and a denial and missed a land drop but after that everything flowed and I took over the game countering all his threats. Game 3 he couldnt find a blue source for a while and I just swung at him with a stratus dancer backed with dissolves and some strokes.
2-1
Overall the deck is fantastic. I think we absolutely need to go the tempo route and just rely on getting to the midgame then stomping face with shorecrashers. I really want to find room for Reality Shifts because as of now, other than the encases out of the board and company flashing in a raptor, this deck has virtually no ways to deal with on-board threats. Usually it can outrace them, especially with a thassa out. The only cards that seem to under-perform are the icefalls. I still believe they are the best option for a curve topper, but they didnt really have a huge impact in my games so far.
My only question is how you balanced out Collected Company with your spells in the main and sideboard. In my experience, collected company gets significantly worse post board so I was wondering how you might mitigate that potential downside.
I think my deck goes into this
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/ug_morph_with_ian_barber.html
@CoBTyrannon: The mono red matchup is surprisingly not that bad: resolving a shorecrasher with like 1 or 2 mana open usually completely stops their offense. but post board its easily like 80-90% with Profaners nad encase coming in from the board. Ojutai hasnt been an issue beucause in order to get value out of it, they have to swing with it, so you can usually race them from there. The GR dragons is actually one of the better matchups. being able to hold up countermagic for their dragons and then play a EoT sorcerer or company is huge. They also have like no removal to kill MoW.