Howdy y'all, I've been bothered enough to build a modern deck so people see me beyond the legacy nights, and I finally decided on going back to my roots with a devotion list! And I figure black devotion will probably be a bit stronger in a meta full of control decks and no tron than green devotion is, since we get to play 6 maindeck discard spells. So without further ado, here's the 77!
I know that the full 4 Obliterators is probably a little ballsy/excessive, but I'm a ballsy player and I'll yolo it for a couple weeks and see how it works out.
In legacy I play various flavours of stompy/stax and I've learned just how powerful the looter scooter can be. While it can't come down turn 1, turn 2 is still reasonably powerful, and combined with the 2 Phyrexian Arenas I feel that it'll probably give me the power to dig through the deck and find things. And with the 4 Gravecrawlers, 2 Relentless Dead, and the single Whip of Erebos, I'm okay with discarding a good 35% of the deck at any given time.
What are your thoughts on it? Is there anything you guys can see that's glaringly bad in the list? I'm okay with having the 62 card main deck, I'll usually play 61 in any other given format, but I'm open to suggestions of things to cut. Other than the Obliterators, those have to stay in as a 4 of, I'm just too attached to my playset to let any of them get cut.
Alright well, while Abrupt isn't strictly necessary for the deck to function, cabals kinda are. Veteran Explorer + Cabal Therapy is really the core of the deck, so you can't really cheat out on those. Other than that, you'll probably need another Green Sun's Zenith or two, maybe even three to go up to the full set, so much of the deck is green that its an honorary core card, since most builds will run it. Both of those cards are at about $5, so that's at least $25, more like $35 if you're gonna go for the whole set of GSZ. Luckily that's about all you'll really need for it to be a Nic Fit deck, the rest of it is just throw in bombs, removal, and ways to add consistency to the deck.
Pernicious Deed and Abrupt Decay are your standard removal spells, as they'll go into any version of the deck you want to make, and hit just about anything you need. Swords to Plowshares is the removal of choice if you're going for a white splash in the deck, though there is some debate about whether it should be run alongside some number of Path to Exiles. If you want to go for a red splash, you get to run Lightning Bolt and Sudden Shock as additional removal, and if you want to eventually make the deck non budget, you can run Punishing Fire and Grove of the Burnwillows as an engine, but Groves are a lot of money. If you want to stick to just GB, Disfigure and Innocent Blood are probably your best options, but any low cost removal will work. Innocent Blood has the advantage of being able to pop your Explorers if you can't find your therapies, or get the opponent to kill them.
but there's a lot of stuff you could theoretically do, Nic Fit is a super variable deck, since it just ramps into big things.
You might want to ask on the MTGthesource's Nic Fit thread, it's considerably more active than this one.
Spirits will probably cast this on turn 5 (or whenever they have 5 mana).
Turn 1: Wanderer
Turn 2: RattleChains
Turn 5: Panharmonicon with either a wanderer they can flash in or Essence Flux on the rattlechains. The first wanderer will get +1/+1 twice (because of panharmonicon) and it becomes a Mana Leak for U (This is assuming a removal, not a counterspell, otherwise it's only 2 more)
Can any other deck do that? If not, then its only viable in spirits. Which means that it's only good in one deck. So it definitely won't be ban worthy.
That's a lot of Wanderers, they can only play 4, so in your scenario, they're gonna have a Rattlechains, Panharmonicon, and two Wanderers, or a Wanderer and an Essence Flux (which isn't played that much, from what I can find). That's 4 cards out of 11 cards, that's pretty lucky if you ask me.
EDIT: Out of curiosity, were you playing Standard the last time they banned anything in it? Because the last time anything was banned was Jace the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic, when Cawblade was like 70% of the meta. The time before that it was artifact lands, Arcbound Ravager, and Disciple of the Vault. Broken things that are still banned in Modern, and were banned in Extended.
I mean, if you're excluding the land base, you can build Nic Fit on a fairly tight budget. What colors are you looking to play? Also, what's your budget like? Is it closer toward the $300 side or is it hardcore budget $70?
Multiple use: Mirror Entity: is one of my favourites, and since you're already running Sacred Mesa, you can make your pegasus tokens large and kill with them. Vengeful Archon: is a nice one because you can just take all of the damage and then redirect it to an opponent. Evangelize: That's a nice set of large creatures you got there, lemme just take one of your choice. Oh, I'm gonna do it again. And again. And again for each 9 mana I have.
Single use: Martial Coup: is nice and fun, with Avacyn you can kill the board, keep your guys and then get a lot of soldiers. Follow it up with Mirror Entity and wins White Sun's Zenith: end of someone's turn? Make 30 2/2 cats, swing in on your turn. Decree of Justice: Either cycle it for an uncounterable amount of 1/1 soldiers and drawing a card, or hardcast it for 4/4 angels! profit either way.
The one Leyline is still in testing, but I'm feeling really solid on the rest of it. Qasali Pridemage is nice since twin has started popping up in my meta, so people are starting to use more Torpor Orb meaning that I die, even with the 2x Abrupt Decay it's not quite enough for me to fight through it. Disciple of Bolas is still pulling her weight, but she's been moved to the sideboard because I finally decided to put removal in the main. Still haven't gotten much testing against tron with it, but that'll come with the term being over soon.
What I have been testing though, is something that's a little more ridiculous: Bant devotion!
The list mostly started as a stupid idea:
Turn 1: Shock in a Breeding Pool, play an Arbor Elf
Turn 2: Play a Forest, enchant the Pool with a Utopia Sprawl calling blue
On their turn: Tap Pool and Arbor Elf, make Cryptic Command mana, play Cryptic countering their spell and bouncing a land to their hand.
Turn 3: Plow Under their other two lands, move onto game 2
That was the joke idea that started the deck, and now it's a list that I'm putting effort into, in whatever time I have not studying for finals.
Also Sphinx's Revelationing for any more than 5 is pretty fun. Doing that on turn 4 or 5 is even more fun.
And, ya know, Elspeth, Sun's Champion turn 3 is fun too.
I mean we could put plow under in the main, resolving that turn two against tron ruins their day pretty nicely, but I kind of feel that in order to be really effective you'd need to run at least 3 so you can get them as often as you'd want. Other land destruction in the form of beast within, ghost quarter, and I guess maybe blood moon would work to keep them under control, and works against other decks to stop them as early as turn 2. The problem though is the moon, which disables the nykthos and in a lot of cases, shocks, fetches, and other utility lands. I'll be doing some testing later against tron and I'll come back with results.
EDIT: Against UWR control, Thrun would be probably be the best bet, alongside Predator Ooze. This is really where Eternal Witness really comes in handy, getting back anything they counter. Hopefully.
I've been playing MGD since before Khans was even a thing and have always played the Primal Command version (mostly because it was cheaper since G-waves were $8 a piece at the time) and this is the version that I've settled on for now. With a healthy dose of lifegain in the form of Thragtusk, Siege Rhino, Batterskull, and shenanigans with Chord of Calling, Cloudstone Curio, and Genesis Wave the deck is capable of lasting well into the lategame usually. Mana usually isn't an issue, and I'm kind of surprised by it. The only problem I have is activating Kessig Wolf Run, nothing else seems to be an issue for me. Rhino is a surprisingly easy turn 2 play, or any other turn play, really.
Cloudstone Curio has been such a useful artifact, even without the whole going infinite thing with Garruk and Nissa, it still creates value town with Thragtusk, Rhino, Resto, Finks, Eternal Witness, and Disciple of Bolas.
Speaking of the Disciple, let's talk about her. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Finks, gain 3 and draw 3. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Thragtusk, get a 3/3 beast. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Genesis Hydra gain on average 7 and draw 7. Include the Curio and it becomes sac a creature, bounce a creature, play the creature again for value. Someone's got removal for your creature? Chord out Disciple and sacrifice it for profit!
Siege Rhino has been so much fun in the deck, especially with the recent addition of Restoration Angel. It's such a value card against almost every matchup, the only one who it's not super good against is really fast aggro decks (looking at you speed delver and affinity) but against everyone else, it's never a bad card to see.
If there are any questions about any other card, I'd be happy to explain my choice
Onto the matchups!
Bogles - Decent?
While they seem to be really fast, they can't seem to do much to me until they get a Spirit Mantle on their guy, at which point I'm dead. G2 I side in Chalice of the Void, Thoughtsieze, Fracturing Gust, and Golgari Charm. Chalice set for 1 on anything before turn 3 seems to take them out of the race.
BGx Rock - Very Good
Value town all day, Thragtusk, Finks, G-wave, Primal Command, and E-witness ensure that I have a hand and boardstate at almost all times. Turn 1 they discard your only Arbor Elf? No problem! Witness it come back to your hand after a turn 1 play of Utopia Sprawl!
Burn - Fairly Good
Lifegain tends to put a damper on their plan, as well as a Chalice set to 1
Affinity - Fairly Good
See Burn
Storm - Bad
Let's hope you get your Chalices and Chokes, if not, you're pretty much dead.
Delver - Pretty Bad to Oh Progenitus No
Yeah, they're fast, but they have have counterspells which tends to ruin my life. Even though Spellsnare won't actually do anything against me, almost every other counterspell they run will. Remand is only annoying before I have a boardstate, after that it's a laugh for me. But a turn 2 Choke seems to ruin their day
Tron - N/A
The one matchup that I'm scared for, since I don't really have anyway to tackle them besides Primal Command and maybe Plow Under should I decide to include it.
That's the matchups so far, I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has about the deck!
2x Collective Brutality
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
2x Phyrexian Arena
1x Batterskull
3x Smuggler's Copter
1x Whip of Erebos
3x Liliana of the Veil
3x Geralf's Messenger
2x Gifted Aetherborn
4x Gravecrawler
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4x Phyrexian Obliterator
2x Relentless Dead
1x Arena
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
17x Swamp
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Hero's Downfall
1x Night of Souls' Betrayal
3x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Pithing Needle
1x Sadistic Sacrament
3x Surgical Extraction
3x Yahenni's Expertise
I know that the full 4 Obliterators is probably a little ballsy/excessive, but I'm a ballsy player and I'll yolo it for a couple weeks and see how it works out.
In legacy I play various flavours of stompy/stax and I've learned just how powerful the looter scooter can be. While it can't come down turn 1, turn 2 is still reasonably powerful, and combined with the 2 Phyrexian Arenas I feel that it'll probably give me the power to dig through the deck and find things. And with the 4 Gravecrawlers, 2 Relentless Dead, and the single Whip of Erebos, I'm okay with discarding a good 35% of the deck at any given time.
What are your thoughts on it? Is there anything you guys can see that's glaringly bad in the list? I'm okay with having the 62 card main deck, I'll usually play 61 in any other given format, but I'm open to suggestions of things to cut. Other than the Obliterators, those have to stay in as a 4 of, I'm just too attached to my playset to let any of them get cut.
Pernicious Deed and Abrupt Decay are your standard removal spells, as they'll go into any version of the deck you want to make, and hit just about anything you need. Swords to Plowshares is the removal of choice if you're going for a white splash in the deck, though there is some debate about whether it should be run alongside some number of Path to Exiles. If you want to go for a red splash, you get to run Lightning Bolt and Sudden Shock as additional removal, and if you want to eventually make the deck non budget, you can run Punishing Fire and Grove of the Burnwillows as an engine, but Groves are a lot of money. If you want to stick to just GB, Disfigure and Innocent Blood are probably your best options, but any low cost removal will work. Innocent Blood has the advantage of being able to pop your Explorers if you can't find your therapies, or get the opponent to kill them.
For consistency, you're going to want some combination of Sylvan Library and Sensei's Divining Top. Eternal Witness can also fall under consistency, since she'll get back things that were countered or destroyed, or just get back your removal. The new(ish) Eldritch Evolution would give you another way to pop explorer and search for bigger things, and if you want to go the 'combo' route with it, you can play it with Gurmag Angler and super bomby things like Iona, Shield of Emeria, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Griselbrand or whatever big bombs you want.
The rest of your deck can be finishers, or cute engines. Assuming you want to stick to GB, Grave Titan and Wurmcoil Engine are alright finishers, but you're gonna want more. Maybe some stuff to gain you life like Thragtusk or Obstinate Baloth work. Master of the Wild Hunt, Primeval Titan, and Thrun, the Last Troll are popular finishers for just GB. If you want to splash into white, you can play both of your titans, as well as Reveillark to give your deck a little more resiliency. Also in white is Siege Rhino and Archangel of Thune, so you'd get to play the good Spike Feeder + Thune combo, or you could go into the modern Pod combos.
You're gonna want some more ramp in there too, but that's really up to you what you use.
Some example decks
GB
1 Grave Titan
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Eternal Witness
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Wood Elves
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Thragtusk
4 Veteran Explorer
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Recurring Nightmare
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Sylvan Library
2 Innocent Blood
3 Pernicious Deed
2 Disfigure
4 Green Sun's Zenith
2 City of Brass
1 Cabal Pit
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Treetop Village
1 Overgrown Tomb
8 Forest
3 Swamp
4 Woodland Cemetery
Necra/Abzan/white splash
4 Veteran Explorer
4 Siege Rhino
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Grave Titan
1 Courser of Kruphix
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Thragtusk
1 Shriekmaw
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Eternal Witness
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Cabal Therapy
1 Recurring Nightmare
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Sylvan Library
1 Diabolic Intent
Lands [22]
1 Phyrexian Tower
5 Forest
3 Swamp
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Volrath's Stronghold
4 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
but there's a lot of stuff you could theoretically do, Nic Fit is a super variable deck, since it just ramps into big things.
You might want to ask on the MTGthesource's Nic Fit thread, it's considerably more active than this one.
Can any other deck do that? If not, then its only viable in spirits. Which means that it's only good in one deck. So it definitely won't be ban worthy.
That's a lot of Wanderers, they can only play 4, so in your scenario, they're gonna have a Rattlechains, Panharmonicon, and two Wanderers, or a Wanderer and an Essence Flux (which isn't played that much, from what I can find). That's 4 cards out of 11 cards, that's pretty lucky if you ask me.
EDIT: Out of curiosity, were you playing Standard the last time they banned anything in it? Because the last time anything was banned was Jace the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic, when Cawblade was like 70% of the meta. The time before that it was artifact lands, Arcbound Ravager, and Disciple of the Vault. Broken things that are still banned in Modern, and were banned in Extended.
Mirror Entity: is one of my favourites, and since you're already running Sacred Mesa, you can make your pegasus tokens large and kill with them.
Vengeful Archon: is a nice one because you can just take all of the damage and then redirect it to an opponent.
Evangelize: That's a nice set of large creatures you got there, lemme just take one of your choice. Oh, I'm gonna do it again. And again. And again for each 9 mana I have.
Single use:
Martial Coup: is nice and fun, with Avacyn you can kill the board, keep your guys and then get a lot of soldiers. Follow it up with Mirror Entity and wins
White Sun's Zenith: end of someone's turn? Make 30 2/2 cats, swing in on your turn.
Decree of Justice: Either cycle it for an uncounterable amount of 1/1 soldiers and drawing a card, or hardcast it for 4/4 angels! profit either way.
1x Acidic Slime
4x Arbor Elf
4x Eternal Witness
3x Kitchen Finks
2x Knight of the Reliquary
3x Restoration Angel
3x Siege Rhino
1x Temur Sabertooth
3x Thragtusk
Instant (3)
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Chord of Calling
Enchantment (5)
1x Leyline of Vitality
4x Utopia Sprawl
6x Forest
1x Gavony Township
1x Ghost Quarter
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Overgrown Tomb
3x Temple Garden
2x Windswept Heath
3x Wooded Foothills
Sorcery (3)
1x Genesis Wave
2x Primal Command
Planeswalker (3)
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Beast Within
1x Choke
1x Disciple of Bolas
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Golgari Charm
1x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Qasali Pridemage
3x Path to Exile
1x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Slaughter Pact
The one Leyline is still in testing, but I'm feeling really solid on the rest of it. Qasali Pridemage is nice since twin has started popping up in my meta, so people are starting to use more Torpor Orb meaning that I die, even with the 2x Abrupt Decay it's not quite enough for me to fight through it. Disciple of Bolas is still pulling her weight, but she's been moved to the sideboard because I finally decided to put removal in the main. Still haven't gotten much testing against tron with it, but that'll come with the term being over soon.
What I have been testing though, is something that's a little more ridiculous: Bant devotion!
4x Arbor Elf
4x Coiling Oracle
4x Eternal Witness
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Primeval Titan
2x Restoration Angel
1x Temur Sabertooth
1x Thragtusk
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
Enchantment (4)
4x Utopia Sprawl
Land (21)
4x Breeding Pool
4x Forest
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3x Temple Garden
4x Windswept Heath
3x Wooded Foothills
1x Chord of Calling
3x Cryptic Command
1x Sphinx's Revelation
Sorcery (4)
2x Plow Under
2x Primal Command
Artifact (2)
2x Cloudstone Curio
The list mostly started as a stupid idea:
Turn 1: Shock in a Breeding Pool, play an Arbor Elf
Turn 2: Play a Forest, enchant the Pool with a Utopia Sprawl calling blue
On their turn: Tap Pool and Arbor Elf, make Cryptic Command mana, play Cryptic countering their spell and bouncing a land to their hand.
Turn 3: Plow Under their other two lands, move onto game 2
That was the joke idea that started the deck, and now it's a list that I'm putting effort into, in whatever time I have not studying for finals.
Also Sphinx's Revelationing for any more than 5 is pretty fun. Doing that on turn 4 or 5 is even more fun.
And, ya know, Elspeth, Sun's Champion turn 3 is fun too.
The deck doesn't have a side as I made the list up yesterday, though it'd probably just contain some control elements, hate, and either some ETB babies (Captain of the Watch, Trostani's Summoner, Terastodon, or Craterhoof Behemoth) or some things that are just big and powerful (Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, or Thornling)
For now, the deck is just a fun idea that might not get built at all, but it's a really amusing thing and maybe it'll help someone else make theirs.
EDIT: Against UWR control, Thrun would be probably be the best bet, alongside Predator Ooze. This is really where Eternal Witness really comes in handy, getting back anything they counter. Hopefully.
Thanks!
4x Arbor Elf
1x Disciple of Bolas
4x Eternal Witness
1x Genesis Hydra
3x Kitchen Finks
2x Knight of the Reliquary
3x Restoration Angel
4x Siege Rhino
4x Thragtusk
Sorcery (4)
1x Genesis Wave
3x Primal Command
Planeswalker (3)
2x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
Land (21)
6x Forest
1x Gavony Township
1x Kessig Wolf Run
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Stomping Ground
3x Temple Garden
2x Windswept Heath
3x Wooded Foothills
1x Batterskull
1x Cloudstone Curio
Instant (1)
1x Chord of Calling
Enchantment (4)
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Chalice of the Void
2x Choke
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Golgari Charm
4x Path to Exile
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Slaughter Pact
2x Thoughtseize
Maybeboard
1x Acidic Slime
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1x Grand Abolisher
4x Lotus Cobra
1x Memoricide
1x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Primeval Titan
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Silent Arbiter
1x Voice of Resurgence
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Plow Under
I've been playing MGD since before Khans was even a thing and have always played the Primal Command version (mostly because it was cheaper since G-waves were $8 a piece at the time) and this is the version that I've settled on for now. With a healthy dose of lifegain in the form of Thragtusk, Siege Rhino, Batterskull, and shenanigans with Chord of Calling, Cloudstone Curio, and Genesis Wave the deck is capable of lasting well into the lategame usually. Mana usually isn't an issue, and I'm kind of surprised by it. The only problem I have is activating Kessig Wolf Run, nothing else seems to be an issue for me. Rhino is a surprisingly easy turn 2 play, or any other turn play, really.
Cloudstone Curio has been such a useful artifact, even without the whole going infinite thing with Garruk and Nissa, it still creates value town with Thragtusk, Rhino, Resto, Finks, Eternal Witness, and Disciple of Bolas.
Speaking of the Disciple, let's talk about her. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Finks, gain 3 and draw 3. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Thragtusk, get a 3/3 beast. Disciple ETB trigger, sac Genesis Hydra gain on average 7 and draw 7. Include the Curio and it becomes sac a creature, bounce a creature, play the creature again for value. Someone's got removal for your creature? Chord out Disciple and sacrifice it for profit!
Siege Rhino has been so much fun in the deck, especially with the recent addition of Restoration Angel. It's such a value card against almost every matchup, the only one who it's not super good against is really fast aggro decks (looking at you speed delver and affinity) but against everyone else, it's never a bad card to see.
If there are any questions about any other card, I'd be happy to explain my choice
Onto the matchups!
Bogles - Decent?
While they seem to be really fast, they can't seem to do much to me until they get a Spirit Mantle on their guy, at which point I'm dead. G2 I side in Chalice of the Void, Thoughtsieze, Fracturing Gust, and Golgari Charm. Chalice set for 1 on anything before turn 3 seems to take them out of the race.
BGx Rock - Very Good
Value town all day, Thragtusk, Finks, G-wave, Primal Command, and E-witness ensure that I have a hand and boardstate at almost all times. Turn 1 they discard your only Arbor Elf? No problem! Witness it come back to your hand after a turn 1 play of Utopia Sprawl!
Burn - Fairly Good
Lifegain tends to put a damper on their plan, as well as a Chalice set to 1
Affinity - Fairly Good
See Burn
Storm - Bad
Let's hope you get your Chalices and Chokes, if not, you're pretty much dead.
Delver - Pretty Bad to Oh Progenitus No
Yeah, they're fast, but they have have counterspells which tends to ruin my life. Even though Spellsnare won't actually do anything against me, almost every other counterspell they run will. Remand is only annoying before I have a boardstate, after that it's a laugh for me. But a turn 2 Choke seems to ruin their day
Tron - N/A
The one matchup that I'm scared for, since I don't really have anyway to tackle them besides Primal Command and maybe Plow Under should I decide to include it.
That's the matchups so far, I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has about the deck!