Hey there, im trying to break into modern this summer as im going to GP copenhagen. So for this event i've put together an affinity deck. The mainboard is basically done. But i've got no idea what i should be having for sideboard. I've looked at other sucsessful lists in the past and took some from that, but i've only arrived at this so far:
I finally got to do some live testing with this deck. It's got the Pros and cons which i expected.
It struggles a lot against hyper aggressive decks. Even with the newly added atarka's command it usually doesn't help. Im considering taking out 1 crater's claw for something like roast or the liking. Due to the meta that is played in my area i'm forced to play a lot against mono red aggro, usually either boss sligh or just usual red deck wins with lots of burn for more reach.
I've yet to manage to play against any control or midrange. But i feel confident i both these matchups either way.
Have you considered Xenagos, God of Revels? He can serve as a double duty Surrak, giving haste and turning Atarka into a 16/16 the turn he comes out.
Yes i have considered him. But he's very akward usually. If you ever get him in a early hand he will not usually be doing anything until turn 4. At which point you could already have done plenty of damage. Plus he's not the kind of card you'd want to draw once you're behind. If you're behind on board you playing him will usually barerly change anything. Plus im already out of spots left in the deck. All the numbers in terms of creatures and spell are about as good you can get without diluting your draws. Making them inconsistent.
Update! I think i've found out that im cutting chord of calling and nylea. I switched them both for 2x Atarka's command. Like i said earlier. Chord of calling was very akward and didn't make me feel good about casting it. Every time i cast it, it was with big doubts. I don't really like it all. What i found out is Atarka's command is really good as it serves 3 primary functions, 4 including lowering my curve a bit. It makes my mana dorks relevant in combat. During playtesting i recieved some hands that had no gas nor any bombs. But this is still a good hand. Atarka's command makes it so that my dorks doesn't just chump block and die. Now i can trade early while still ramping. It denies lifegain which is usually relevant in some matchups. It makes hornet queen really friggin scary with all the tokens. I can also burn the last damage that doesn't get Disdainful stroked. And it can also serve as instant speed ramp. I think it feels great every time i land this in my hand.
I don't feel like i need the evasion that comes with Nylea as im running a lot of fliers. Or just high power creatures which in the end will just end the match. I Think i've finalized this deck. I can't say for sure. But the entire deck feels overall really good. Mulligans are rarerly a problem, you get some hands with just too high mana curve which happens. But overall i'm really happy with this.
Thanks a lot for the Feedback, it was really helpsome
Chord of calling is indeed a huge headache. For one i don't really know what i should be toolboxing. I don't really think of Reclamation sage as a viable mainboard right now. If it was before Dragons it would have been fine since people were playing lots of enchantments. Now these tactics are starting to fade somewhat due to the amount of hate it has created.
As for nylea's disciple, even as a one of it seems like wasted spots, even as a toolbox. If im struggling with getting smothered by lets say mono red aggro. By the point i can cast Chord of calling im already dead. Plus it's really akward with Shaman of forgotten ways, which i found was one of it's only weaknesses. Since it doesn't fuel spells chord just sometimes just sits in my hand while im doing something else. And i rarerly would need to cast it.
Ill start looking for something else meanwhile. But ill keep trying it out for now.
Im really liking the Shamanic revelation. If i cast it i usually gain between 8 to 12 life and draw 4 cards. Which is freakin huge for this kind of deck. Right now i don't feel like chord of calling is needed in this kind of deck. But i haven't done enough playtesting just yet to set anything in stone. Ill report back once i can get some more testing in.
I actually think taking out the Thunderbreak regents might actually be a good idea. It'll make the manabase a lot less akward. Only have to do some minor tweaks from like 2 mountains for 2 more forests. I'd actually like to try Surrak hunter caller out just to check out how he plays out. But now that i think about it he synergises very well with basically every card in the deck(Atarka with haste is just disgusting to think about :p). Ill actually also try out the Shamanic revelation and maybe 1 ofs of like nylea's disciple. I thinking i take out 1 Polukranos and 4 thunderbreak regent, adding 2 surrak hunter caller(since legendary rules suck) and maybe 2 chord of calling and 1 shamanic revelation.
This way i only lose 3 creatures and gain some utility aswell as better aggro matchups. Since ill be assured to have the right color of mana, aswell as gaining a lot of tempo with surrak.
Edit: Strike the 2x chord of calling. I think it'll have to be a one of. As there is nothing to remove. Rather just do a 1 of chord and something else with utility. Just did some playtesting. And i realized i've got nothing to chord of calling for. Im going to try out a Nylea, god of the hunt instead.
See this? this is what you'll be doing, riding motha****in dragons and killin ***** like it ain't no problem. Looking for a deck that is powerful and can withstand the new dragons that has come with the new set? Well have i got news for you!
This deck is a heavy devotion shell that focuses on reaching your high end curve. This can happen as early as turn 4, making this deck very efficient and can make kills at turn 5.
The cards you are ramping into
Hornet queen it might not exactly come as a suprise to you. With the new flying monster of pure awsomeness that we call dragons comin into our lives Hornet Queen gets a new revival and is extremely backbreaking for both aggro and midrange decks. The high mana cost isn't usually a problem at all due to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and 12 mana dorks.
Dragonlord Atarka Ain't she a beauty? i love the smell of roasted corpses in the morning. Which is what this card'll do if it ever resolves. this is currently the highest power/toughness card in standard. Lets just say the many antlers she has isn't just for show. And think about it. This can start swinging on round 5. That is both disgusting and terrifying. She also works as removal as you get to deal 5 damage to whatever you want, it's basically a better Bogardan hellkite
Thunderbreak Regent This card was used in a previous version of this deck. But with some help from the friendly posters we figured out that thunderbreak regent doesn't quite fit into the deck. It's still a powerhouse for other decks still. But makes for weird mana in this deck.
Surrak, The Hunter Caller This is a new addition to the deck. He is a really good body at 5/4 which can give anything you please haste before combat. The formidable option is not hard to trigger at all. He already has over half the power needed. And when you're playing usually at least 2 mana dorks he should always have this triggered. This makes for tempo plays like a play Atarka on turn 5 and swing for 13. which is simply amazing for a midrange deck. We can out aggro the aggro decks purerly on the basis of this card.
I'll just go through a quick explanation of the mana dorks that i've chosen:
Elvish mystic This is pretty self explanatory. It ramps you into your 3 drops which are stupidly powerful.
Voyaging Satyr The satyr is pretty much just used for getting those huge genesis hydras and easing up the manabase early game. As sometimes you don't have the required colors to cast your 4 drops.
Shaman of Forgotten Ways This card is the reason why the devotion deck is able to do what it does best. Ramp into big stuff. Plus this has an upside. Not only does this card give you double ramp, it also serves as a finisher if you ever need to finish a game quickly. This also eases up the manabase to make the 4 drops a lot easier to cast. And can also trade early on with a decent body in comparison to Sylvan caryatid
And a small note on Sylvan caryatid I didn't add this card as i really don't think we need it. It isn't as great as before. Not saying that it's bad. But most people gets through this card easily. Especially in aggro matchups where most people are playing 3 power cards or it has deathtouch. This is just a small observation after the first invitational. As i think the new aggro decks all run deathtouch creatures. Making caryatid worse as you'd rather just play something bigger and better with ramping with shaman of forgotten ways. the hexproof loss hurts a bit, but it usually won't be a huge problem.
Now that that's out of the way!
Manabase
This manabase is pretty basic. The reasoning for playing the basics i do right now is because when i did playtesting often had a lack of the right color of mana which made it very akward and clunky. Other than that it's pretty basic with temple of abandon and wooded foothills.
You might have noticed that i've only put 3 nykthos in this deck.
this is due to during playtesting where i had several turns where i'd start off with 2 nykthos in hand. Which usually is pretty terrible.
Now another addition to this deck is Haven of the Spirit Dragon. This is to make it easier to cast Atarka. There's also that scenario in the lategame where you've got too much mana. And you just happen to have on of these down and you've played an Atarka earlier in the game that got killed by removal. You can use this end of the turn and just slam Atarka on the board usually wiping an important creature, or maybe even several.
Spells
By now you've probably noticed something. Spells, where they at? I've thought about it, but never arrived at a good answer really. I've tried several things, but to no avail usually.
So i've just added the usual Crater's Claws which is very good in every devotion deck as it allows you to remove most huge threats or just burn out the rest of your opponents lifepoints.
Some new spells has been added since i last wrote this post. These being Shamanic Revelation as a one of. And the other spell being Atarka's Command So a quick few words on the new spells each on their own:
Atarka's Command This addition to the deck is exactly what this kind of deck needed, utility. Throughout this standard era Green devotion has always been lacking utility in form of efficient and good spells. Which is exactly what this card does. It basically can be baked down to 3 things that it'll do in the majority of times: it'll ramp on instant speed, it'll burn out the last lifepoints an opponent has left(stopping them from gaining any life too), and the most important for me is the +1/+1 mode and reach. This'll make it hard for aggro to do what they do. Just turn things sideways and trade with your early dorks. This is no longer the case as you get to just block everything. Elvish mystic can block say a Rabblemaster. Shaman of forgotten ways can block Mantis rider which has seen some return and live! It makes for so much value in just one card i feel all fuzzy inside. It's a great addition to this kind of deck since all the modes are always relevant in some ways. Plus Hornet queen tokens gets really dangerous and more ferocious.
Shamanic Revelation This is a card that was suggested to me by you guys. And i looked into it. Usually this is just a win more card that doesn't win any merit on any occasion at all. But with this deck it works based on the fact that you're either always playing a lot of manadorks or high power creatures. This blatantly wins you the game against most aggro matchups as most of them can't handle you gaining between 4 to 12 life and the massive card advantage. If you're ever behind on board(which should rarerly happen)think of this. If you've played a hornet queen last turn. That is you paying 5 mana to draw 5 cards. Which is absurd. This is a 1 of in the deck, since we don't want to lose too many creatures. It fits perfectly at this amount. If they counter this they've just used a valuable spell on you just drawing cards,which in turn will make it easier for your threats to stick, namely Atarka and Hornet queen. And if they don't they've basically just lost the game usually, as you outperform most of their plays.
I am a bit worried about how this will perform against aggro decks as early removal is key against them usually. There is a few options:
Wild slash This card can work, but i don't really feel like this is where we want to be with a devotion deck.
Lightning strike Same as above. Lightning strike is not bad by any means. But i just feel like you'd rather just try and hit your highcurve drops as they are usually far more dangerous than what other people might play.
Draconic Roar This card is really good. But after doing some testing and doing some finicking i have effectively removed 4 thunderbreak regents. Making this card not as good as it could be. I don't reccomend playing this card in any way if you are planning to play this version of the deck.
The rest of the best
Now that we've basically gone through most of the deck i'll just add some small words about the rest of remaining cards in the deck. Since this is a devotion deck we've got staples that all good decks needs. So we're adding the usual Courser of Kruphix due to it being among one of the best green creatures in the entire format. After that we've got Polukranos,World eater which is just a good card overall that acts as a manasink and removal spell(which you sorerly need). Then there's Genesis hydra, this is just a overall good card and makes you usually get a 2 for 1 package, it's just a good card to have in a devotion shell.
Sideboard
Hornet Nest This card is for aggro matchups, you resolve this, they leave you alone, you ramp into stuff and kill them.
Nylea's disciple Another card for aggro matchups, just a good card with a nice body that gains you life equal to devotion.
Whisperwood elemental More control matchup cards. this is supergood against midrange decks that plays boardwipes aswell. This is just to prevent you getting blown out by overextending to a boardwipe(not that someone ever should, sometimes you've just got to).
Mistcutter hydra The best answer to a board wipe is haste. And haste that cannot be countered and has protection from blue is usually pretty good when you're up against control which funnily enough usually always has blue in it(Abzan control doesn't count ).
Outpost Siege Just a good card against really grindy matchups. Usually against midrange or control strategies.
Summary
This is my own take on the previous G/R devotion decks and added cards from the new set, taking into account playability and performance from 1st week release tournaments.
If there's something you think i might have missed i'd be glad to discuss with you. Please comment below and help me improve this deck to be as good as it can be
Edits (05/04/2015): Removed 4x Thunderbreak regent and 1x Polukranos, World eater. Added 2x Surrak the hunt caller, 1x Nylea, God of the Hunt, 1x Chord of calling and 1x Shamanic revelation Edit (06/04/2015) Removed 1x Nylea, God of the Hunt and 1x Chord of calling. Added 2x Atarka's Command
I see where you're going. I feel like the 2 polukranos is something that shouldn't be touched upon, seeing as there will be a lot of hate cards for ground creatures and certain colored permanents.
As for the new sarkhan, I'll probably have to take out a few(need to find a replacement for him thou). 2-3 is probably good, the thing i love about him is the amount of card filtering you gain from him when you've got both courser of kruphix and sarkhan out at the same time. It's like a better version of Domri rade.
I really don't like nissa mainboard, i'd rather have a high value creature. I feel like whisperwood elemental isn't really where i want to be with this deck. If i were to say anything it could be a sideboard card against control. but why play him when i've already got nissa which already gets the job done.
I think ill try switching out 2 sarkhans and the rattleclaw mystic for elvish mystic. As it's probably better to reach my 5 drops as you mentioned. I don't like dropping blue, as i'd lose so much value in cutting Sarkhan unbroken plus i hate not having any interaction with my opponents spells. Plus that Sarkhan is just a better version of sorin in terms of pure creature creation.
With the basically all the spoilers being done i decided that i'd post this brew i made. I am a livid lover of G/R. But this time splashing blue.
This deck focuses on heavy creature value with a devotion shell.
It playes all the usual cornerstones of standard in the color of green.
This is only a first draft that i came up with. I've made a few proxies and played about 5-10 games against different decks. Mostly against mono red aggro decks which i think will be the highest problem for this deck, as the mana costs in this deck is really unforgiving.
I've really noticed how much i would struggle when im not on curve.
But the power that this deck has when you first go off is unmatched by any deck in the current standard.
Sideboard is still very negotiable. It runs the usual sideboard. nissa vs control, disciple vs aggro strategies + arc lightning. Plus setessan tactics for midrange and aggro decks.
I will edit this when i figure out more. I'd love for people to point out more flaws that i might have missed during the initial building. Edit: removed 2 rattleclaw mystic and 2 Sarkhan unbroken for 4x elvish mystics.
added 2x Xenagos the reveler, cutting 1 thunderbreak regent and 1 chandra.
Early game
During the early rounds of the game you want to try and curve out with both elvish mystics,sylvan caryatids and Courser of kruphix. Staying on the defensive usually until about round 3. which is basically when you're entering midgame.
Midgame
Midgame is where this deck will really shine. Currently there's nothing that can withstand the amount of power that you bring to the board. Even the G/W devotion deck that has started to see play is going to have issues with this deck as you're able to start swinging for 8 in the air each turn as early as turn 4.
lategame
the deck is not lacking in lategame either. you are secured a lategame based on the fact that you will win based on pure card value and card draw. The combination of Sarkhan and courser of kruphix is really sweet. You can think of it like the old Domri rade courser combo, only this is 10x times better. Sarkhan unbroken gives you value insurrance when you resolve him making 4/4 dragon tokens with flying or just pure card advantage. You take advantage of both the card draw and mana that he creates putting them into a huge genesis hydra along with nykthos, shrine to nyx as this deck is a midrange deck with a devotion shell.
Standout cards
Sarkhan unbroken this pretty much explains itself. It's a planeswalker that gives you both a big threat in the air along with card advantage or mana that might be put to good use with genesis hydra.
Xenagos, the reveler I recently put this into my deck because i felt like i lacked the proper mana fix for this deck. Not only do you gain mana. But he can be a threat on his own spamming out 2/2 satyr tokens with haste that will heap up very quickly. He synergises very well with all the cards in the deck since his +1 will often be for 3 as you will be playing manadorks, which can lead into a quick Thunderbreak regent or Stormbreath dragon.
Genesis hydra VALUE!!!!! I will be saying that word a lot throughout this primer. Value, this card is just pure value. You take advantage of this with nykthos and with the Xenagos planeswalker. playing a genesis hydra for 5-8 is usually not a problem with all the different mana generators.
Thunderbreak regent How can we make a dragon deck unless we've got dragons?! This card is an insurrance against removal. It's great against control deck since if they want to remove it they usually have to take 3 damage in return. This card costing only 4 is really good considering the size and effect that it gives. If there ever enters 2 of these at the same time on the battle field they will most likely be dead unless they've got a boardwipe or a huge blocker. since removing this becomes a pain as you're taking 6 damage everytime you target a DRAGON, not only this thing. The effect is also triggered if you target stormbreath dragon. Important part to remember is that this triggers the instant a spell targets one of your dragons. So immediately once a spell enters the stack it is triggered aswell.
3x ancient grudge
2x Spellskite(considering putting these into mainboard)
1x Etched champion
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Thoughtseize
Other than this i am at complete blank. I would like just some small help to get me on my way as i am new to the format.
It struggles a lot against hyper aggressive decks. Even with the newly added atarka's command it usually doesn't help. Im considering taking out 1 crater's claw for something like roast or the liking. Due to the meta that is played in my area i'm forced to play a lot against mono red aggro, usually either boss sligh or just usual red deck wins with lots of burn for more reach.
I've yet to manage to play against any control or midrange. But i feel confident i both these matchups either way.
Yes i have considered him. But he's very akward usually. If you ever get him in a early hand he will not usually be doing anything until turn 4. At which point you could already have done plenty of damage. Plus he's not the kind of card you'd want to draw once you're behind. If you're behind on board you playing him will usually barerly change anything. Plus im already out of spots left in the deck. All the numbers in terms of creatures and spell are about as good you can get without diluting your draws. Making them inconsistent.
Thanks for the feedback thou
I don't feel like i need the evasion that comes with Nylea as im running a lot of fliers. Or just high power creatures which in the end will just end the match. I Think i've finalized this deck. I can't say for sure. But the entire deck feels overall really good. Mulligans are rarerly a problem, you get some hands with just too high mana curve which happens. But overall i'm really happy with this.
Thanks a lot for the Feedback, it was really helpsome
As for nylea's disciple, even as a one of it seems like wasted spots, even as a toolbox. If im struggling with getting smothered by lets say mono red aggro. By the point i can cast Chord of calling im already dead. Plus it's really akward with Shaman of forgotten ways, which i found was one of it's only weaknesses. Since it doesn't fuel spells chord just sometimes just sits in my hand while im doing something else. And i rarerly would need to cast it.
Ill start looking for something else meanwhile. But ill keep trying it out for now.
Im really liking the Shamanic revelation. If i cast it i usually gain between 8 to 12 life and draw 4 cards. Which is freakin huge for this kind of deck. Right now i don't feel like chord of calling is needed in this kind of deck. But i haven't done enough playtesting just yet to set anything in stone. Ill report back once i can get some more testing in.
I actually think taking out the Thunderbreak regents might actually be a good idea. It'll make the manabase a lot less akward. Only have to do some minor tweaks from like 2 mountains for 2 more forests. I'd actually like to try Surrak hunter caller out just to check out how he plays out. But now that i think about it he synergises very well with basically every card in the deck(Atarka with haste is just disgusting to think about :p). Ill actually also try out the Shamanic revelation and maybe 1 ofs of like nylea's disciple. I thinking i take out 1 Polukranos and 4 thunderbreak regent, adding 2 surrak hunter caller(since legendary rules suck) and maybe 2 chord of calling and 1 shamanic revelation.
This way i only lose 3 creatures and gain some utility aswell as better aggro matchups. Since ill be assured to have the right color of mana, aswell as gaining a lot of tempo with surrak.
Edit: Strike the 2x chord of calling. I think it'll have to be a one of. As there is nothing to remove. Rather just do a 1 of chord and something else with utility. Just did some playtesting. And i realized i've got nothing to chord of calling for. Im going to try out a Nylea, god of the hunt instead.
Artist: Jason Chan
See this? this is what you'll be doing, riding motha****in dragons and killin ***** like it ain't no problem. Looking for a deck that is powerful and can withstand the new dragons that has come with the new set? Well have i got news for you!
This deck is a heavy devotion shell that focuses on reaching your high end curve. This can happen as early as turn 4, making this deck very efficient and can make kills at turn 5.
The cards you are ramping into
Hornet queen it might not exactly come as a suprise to you. With the new flying monster of pure awsomeness that we call dragons comin into our lives Hornet Queen gets a new revival and is extremely backbreaking for both aggro and midrange decks. The high mana cost isn't usually a problem at all due to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and 12 mana dorks.
Dragonlord Atarka Ain't she a beauty? i love the smell of roasted corpses in the morning. Which is what this card'll do if it ever resolves. this is currently the highest power/toughness card in standard. Lets just say the many antlers she has isn't just for show. And think about it. This can start swinging on round 5. That is both disgusting and terrifying. She also works as removal as you get to deal 5 damage to whatever you want, it's basically a better Bogardan hellkite
Thunderbreak Regent This card was used in a previous version of this deck. But with some help from the friendly posters we figured out that thunderbreak regent doesn't quite fit into the deck. It's still a powerhouse for other decks still. But makes for weird mana in this deck.
Surrak, The Hunter Caller This is a new addition to the deck. He is a really good body at 5/4 which can give anything you please haste before combat. The formidable option is not hard to trigger at all. He already has over half the power needed. And when you're playing usually at least 2 mana dorks he should always have this triggered. This makes for tempo plays like a play Atarka on turn 5 and swing for 13. which is simply amazing for a midrange deck. We can out aggro the aggro decks purerly on the basis of this card.
4x Courser of Kruphix
3x Dragonlord Atarka
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Genesis Hydra
3x Hornet Queen
2x Polukranos, World Eater
4x Shaman of Forgotten Ways
2x Surrak, The hunt caller
4x Voyaging Satyr
9x Forest
2x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
2x Mountain
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4x Temple of Abandon
4x Wooded Foothills
Instants (2)
2x Atarka's command
Sorcery (4)
3x Crater's Claws
1x Shamanic revelation
3x Display of Dominance
2x Hornet Nest
3x Mistcutter Hydra
3x Nylea's Disciple
2x Outpost Siege
2x Whisperwood Elemental
The Mana dorks
I'll just go through a quick explanation of the mana dorks that i've chosen:
Elvish mystic This is pretty self explanatory. It ramps you into your 3 drops which are stupidly powerful.
Voyaging Satyr The satyr is pretty much just used for getting those huge genesis hydras and easing up the manabase early game. As sometimes you don't have the required colors to cast your 4 drops.
Shaman of Forgotten Ways This card is the reason why the devotion deck is able to do what it does best. Ramp into big stuff. Plus this has an upside. Not only does this card give you double ramp, it also serves as a finisher if you ever need to finish a game quickly. This also eases up the manabase to make the 4 drops a lot easier to cast. And can also trade early on with a decent body in comparison to Sylvan caryatid
And a small note on Sylvan caryatid I didn't add this card as i really don't think we need it. It isn't as great as before. Not saying that it's bad. But most people gets through this card easily. Especially in aggro matchups where most people are playing 3 power cards or it has deathtouch. This is just a small observation after the first invitational. As i think the new aggro decks all run deathtouch creatures. Making caryatid worse as you'd rather just play something bigger and better with ramping with shaman of forgotten ways. the hexproof loss hurts a bit, but it usually won't be a huge problem.
Now that that's out of the way!
Manabase
This manabase is pretty basic. The reasoning for playing the basics i do right now is because when i did playtesting often had a lack of the right color of mana which made it very akward and clunky. Other than that it's pretty basic with temple of abandon and wooded foothills.
You might have noticed that i've only put 3 nykthos in this deck.
this is due to during playtesting where i had several turns where i'd start off with 2 nykthos in hand. Which usually is pretty terrible.
Now another addition to this deck is Haven of the Spirit Dragon. This is to make it easier to cast Atarka. There's also that scenario in the lategame where you've got too much mana. And you just happen to have on of these down and you've played an Atarka earlier in the game that got killed by removal. You can use this end of the turn and just slam Atarka on the board usually wiping an important creature, or maybe even several.
Spells
By now you've probably noticed something. Spells, where they at? I've thought about it, but never arrived at a good answer really. I've tried several things, but to no avail usually.
So i've just added the usual Crater's Claws which is very good in every devotion deck as it allows you to remove most huge threats or just burn out the rest of your opponents lifepoints.
Some new spells has been added since i last wrote this post. These being Shamanic Revelation as a one of. And the other spell being Atarka's Command So a quick few words on the new spells each on their own:
Atarka's Command This addition to the deck is exactly what this kind of deck needed, utility. Throughout this standard era Green devotion has always been lacking utility in form of efficient and good spells. Which is exactly what this card does. It basically can be baked down to 3 things that it'll do in the majority of times: it'll ramp on instant speed, it'll burn out the last lifepoints an opponent has left(stopping them from gaining any life too), and the most important for me is the +1/+1 mode and reach. This'll make it hard for aggro to do what they do. Just turn things sideways and trade with your early dorks. This is no longer the case as you get to just block everything. Elvish mystic can block say a Rabblemaster. Shaman of forgotten ways can block Mantis rider which has seen some return and live! It makes for so much value in just one card i feel all fuzzy inside. It's a great addition to this kind of deck since all the modes are always relevant in some ways. Plus Hornet queen tokens gets really dangerous and more ferocious.
Shamanic Revelation This is a card that was suggested to me by you guys. And i looked into it. Usually this is just a win more card that doesn't win any merit on any occasion at all. But with this deck it works based on the fact that you're either always playing a lot of manadorks or high power creatures. This blatantly wins you the game against most aggro matchups as most of them can't handle you gaining between 4 to 12 life and the massive card advantage. If you're ever behind on board(which should rarerly happen)think of this. If you've played a hornet queen last turn. That is you paying 5 mana to draw 5 cards. Which is absurd. This is a 1 of in the deck, since we don't want to lose too many creatures. It fits perfectly at this amount. If they counter this they've just used a valuable spell on you just drawing cards,which in turn will make it easier for your threats to stick, namely Atarka and Hornet queen. And if they don't they've basically just lost the game usually, as you outperform most of their plays.
I am a bit worried about how this will perform against aggro decks as early removal is key against them usually. There is a few options:
Wild slash This card can work, but i don't really feel like this is where we want to be with a devotion deck.
Lightning strike Same as above. Lightning strike is not bad by any means. But i just feel like you'd rather just try and hit your highcurve drops as they are usually far more dangerous than what other people might play.
Draconic Roar This card is really good. But after doing some testing and doing some finicking i have effectively removed 4 thunderbreak regents. Making this card not as good as it could be. I don't reccomend playing this card in any way if you are planning to play this version of the deck.
The rest of the best
Now that we've basically gone through most of the deck i'll just add some small words about the rest of remaining cards in the deck. Since this is a devotion deck we've got staples that all good decks needs. So we're adding the usual Courser of Kruphix due to it being among one of the best green creatures in the entire format. After that we've got Polukranos,World eater which is just a good card overall that acts as a manasink and removal spell(which you sorerly need). Then there's Genesis hydra, this is just a overall good card and makes you usually get a 2 for 1 package, it's just a good card to have in a devotion shell.
Sideboard
Hornet Nest This card is for aggro matchups, you resolve this, they leave you alone, you ramp into stuff and kill them.
Nylea's disciple Another card for aggro matchups, just a good card with a nice body that gains you life equal to devotion.
Display of dominance I felt warm inside when i saw we green players finally got a card to deal with pesky black removal and especially Ashiok, nightmare weaver(i hate this card so much). Also kills whip of erebos and similar cards.
Whisperwood elemental More control matchup cards. this is supergood against midrange decks that plays boardwipes aswell. This is just to prevent you getting blown out by overextending to a boardwipe(not that someone ever should, sometimes you've just got to).
Mistcutter hydra The best answer to a board wipe is haste. And haste that cannot be countered and has protection from blue is usually pretty good when you're up against control which funnily enough usually always has blue in it(Abzan control doesn't count
Outpost Siege Just a good card against really grindy matchups. Usually against midrange or control strategies.
Summary
This is my own take on the previous G/R devotion decks and added cards from the new set, taking into account playability and performance from 1st week release tournaments.
If there's something you think i might have missed i'd be glad to discuss with you. Please comment below and help me improve this deck to be as good as it can be
Edits (05/04/2015): Removed 4x Thunderbreak regent and 1x Polukranos, World eater. Added 2x Surrak the hunt caller, 1x Nylea, God of the Hunt, 1x Chord of calling and 1x Shamanic revelation
Edit (06/04/2015) Removed 1x Nylea, God of the Hunt and 1x Chord of calling. Added 2x Atarka's Command
As for the new sarkhan, I'll probably have to take out a few(need to find a replacement for him thou). 2-3 is probably good, the thing i love about him is the amount of card filtering you gain from him when you've got both courser of kruphix and sarkhan out at the same time. It's like a better version of Domri rade.
I really don't like nissa mainboard, i'd rather have a high value creature. I feel like whisperwood elemental isn't really where i want to be with this deck. If i were to say anything it could be a sideboard card against control. but why play him when i've already got nissa which already gets the job done.
I think ill try switching out 2 sarkhans and the rattleclaw mystic for elvish mystic. As it's probably better to reach my 5 drops as you mentioned. I don't like dropping blue, as i'd lose so much value in cutting Sarkhan unbroken plus i hate not having any interaction with my opponents spells. Plus that Sarkhan is just a better version of sorin in terms of pure creature creation.
2 polukranos, world eater
4 sylvan caryatid
3 stormbreath dragon
4 courser of kruphix
4 elvish mystic
4 genesis hydra
3 thunderbreak regent
Spells
4 lightning strike
2 crater's claw
2 stubborn denial
2 sarkhan unbroken
2 Xenagos, the reveler
Land
4 mountain
3 forest
3 yavimaya coast
4 frontier bivouac
4 wooded foothills
4 temple of abandon
2 nykthos, shrine to nyx
2 nissa, worldwaker
2 reclamation sage
3 nylea's disciple
2 setessan tactics
3 arc lightning
With the basically all the spoilers being done i decided that i'd post this brew i made. I am a livid lover of G/R. But this time splashing blue.
This deck focuses on heavy creature value with a devotion shell.
It playes all the usual cornerstones of standard in the color of green.
This is only a first draft that i came up with. I've made a few proxies and played about 5-10 games against different decks. Mostly against mono red aggro decks which i think will be the highest problem for this deck, as the mana costs in this deck is really unforgiving.
I've really noticed how much i would struggle when im not on curve.
But the power that this deck has when you first go off is unmatched by any deck in the current standard.
Sideboard is still very negotiable. It runs the usual sideboard. nissa vs control, disciple vs aggro strategies + arc lightning. Plus setessan tactics for midrange and aggro decks.
I will edit this when i figure out more. I'd love for people to point out more flaws that i might have missed during the initial building.
Edit: removed 2 rattleclaw mystic and 2 Sarkhan unbroken for 4x elvish mystics.
added 2x Xenagos the reveler, cutting 1 thunderbreak regent and 1 chandra.
Early game
During the early rounds of the game you want to try and curve out with both elvish mystics,sylvan caryatids and Courser of kruphix. Staying on the defensive usually until about round 3. which is basically when you're entering midgame.
Midgame
Midgame is where this deck will really shine. Currently there's nothing that can withstand the amount of power that you bring to the board. Even the G/W devotion deck that has started to see play is going to have issues with this deck as you're able to start swinging for 8 in the air each turn as early as turn 4.
lategame
the deck is not lacking in lategame either. you are secured a lategame based on the fact that you will win based on pure card value and card draw. The combination of Sarkhan and courser of kruphix is really sweet. You can think of it like the old Domri rade courser combo, only this is 10x times better. Sarkhan unbroken gives you value insurrance when you resolve him making 4/4 dragon tokens with flying or just pure card advantage. You take advantage of both the card draw and mana that he creates putting them into a huge genesis hydra along with nykthos, shrine to nyx as this deck is a midrange deck with a devotion shell.
Standout cards
Sarkhan unbroken this pretty much explains itself. It's a planeswalker that gives you both a big threat in the air along with card advantage or mana that might be put to good use with genesis hydra.
Xenagos, the reveler I recently put this into my deck because i felt like i lacked the proper mana fix for this deck. Not only do you gain mana. But he can be a threat on his own spamming out 2/2 satyr tokens with haste that will heap up very quickly. He synergises very well with all the cards in the deck since his +1 will often be for 3 as you will be playing manadorks, which can lead into a quick Thunderbreak regent or Stormbreath dragon.
Genesis hydra VALUE!!!!! I will be saying that word a lot throughout this primer. Value, this card is just pure value. You take advantage of this with nykthos and with the Xenagos planeswalker. playing a genesis hydra for 5-8 is usually not a problem with all the different mana generators.
Thunderbreak regent How can we make a dragon deck unless we've got dragons?! This card is an insurrance against removal. It's great against control deck since if they want to remove it they usually have to take 3 damage in return. This card costing only 4 is really good considering the size and effect that it gives. If there ever enters 2 of these at the same time on the battle field they will most likely be dead unless they've got a boardwipe or a huge blocker. since removing this becomes a pain as you're taking 6 damage everytime you target a DRAGON, not only this thing. The effect is also triggered if you target stormbreath dragon. Important part to remember is that this triggers the instant a spell targets one of your dragons. So immediately once a spell enters the stack it is triggered aswell.