Now..I played devotion a looooooong time, and the hardest matches I had (and often lost) were the ones where the opponent targeted my mana dorks, slowing my ramp down, giving him the time to set up his board.
Cards like these (again together with bolts and such) will simply wreck my opening...and destroy a good hand I kept with maybe 2 dorks for a T3 combo out, or big guy, leaving me with like....2-3 mana, a 6-cmc in hand and nothing on the board
So, I ask you...is my view on the current situation correct? Or maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel I'm not seeing?
Oh, and making a devotion with enchantments could be a good idea but...the problem of mana dorks still remain, and if we rely too much on enchantments I can see game 2 and 3 with the opponent doing target practice with us....kill dork, kill enchant, kill dork, kill enchant
What i noticed on the spoiler is that a VERY large part of the set are creatures, of the remaining cards many are creatures related, and this creates the perfect situation for this kind of deck
How did your tests go with this deck? (i assume you tested it a lot before bringing it to a GP)
I tried the Tooth and Nail variant for a w hile, but got extremely annoyed when i kept having a mono-emrakul in my hand every time without being able to cast it.
I'm also interested in the 4 Primeval Titan. In devotion decks i've seen people going for 2 titans max, while you're going with a full set. Considering it doens't rly do much by itself in this deck, and that with the same mana cost you could have a Woodland Wellower that with so many 3-drops could be rly great...why the choice?
looking at discussions and event results, it doesn't seem to perform reliably.
Just a small consideration
If you look top-8 decks, you see mostly other T1 Decks, and very rarely devotion ones.
Considering most of those events are hundreds of people strong, if you have a 100 ppl event with 30 Jund and 1 Devotion, chances to see a Jund in Top 8 are "a bit" higher than seeing the lone devotion deck.
Speaking out of personal experience...i've been playing Green Devotion..starting from Wave devotion to my latest list you can see few pages back, for quite a few years, and by playing 30-60 people events, i've played against a mirror only ONCE (in at least 3 years).
That means opponents usually are not prepared to face your deck, have no particular hate against it....but still....seeing top 8 results when there are like 1-2 Devo decks out of 200 people is very hard
@soulgix: That sounds like a good adaption. I've noticed a surge in Jund and UWx control that keep your ramp in check. So there's a higher risk of not being able to cast your expensive cards. Carnage Tyrant is propably not a bad call as its solid against both these decks. Keep the edict effect in Mind.
A good preperation for your tournament is to got to mtgtop8 and see the top decks and have an idea how to sideboard against each one. I'm mostly struggling of what to take out.
The side is the ONLY thing i'm pretty sure about. Even after checking mtgtop8 i think i'm pretty good. Here's the details
3x Stony Silence: I-WIN button against Affinity, Helps against Tron
1x Creeping Corrosion: I-WIN button against Affinity. I'm using it together with Stony Silence in case i draw the enchantment too far into the game
3x Angel's Grace: I-WIN button against Ab Nauseam deck. Can buy you a turn against Storm/kiki-Jiki/Valakut. I started using it because it is the ONLY option against Ab Nauseam. Without it...i have an auto-lose against that deck unless i manage to kill him by turn 4...and thats not very reliable
4x Crumble to Dust: I-WIN button against Valakut, and helps a lot against Tron. It's a 4-of cos if Valakut combo out before i draw it..i'm dead, and same thing goes for Tron. Drawing it after he has a Karn or Ugin in play is pointless
So, every card i have in my side has the Auto-Win option against a certain deck. I don't really like to use cards that "may help" but will not win you the game right away.
As for the rest of the field..let's see
Death's Shadow. Primal Command can kill their shadows. A well placed Nissa can lock them out forever, and a Hornet Queen win me the game. So i have options
Eldrazi Aggro/Jund. These are the decks i struggle more, but it mostly depends on their opening hands. If they start destroying my hand with 2-3 discards by turn 2-3..then i'm in trouble. If they keep it normal...i can manage.
RDW. If i manage to reach 5 mana i have the command. Before that, Caryatids are a nightmare for them. Plus Ballista can kill almost anything they play.
Control. If they get into control-mode with 7 cards in hand, 7 lands in play...GG. Before that happens i have a total of 10 PW, 1 Tyrant, and a lot of fingers to cross
Now...i built my side so not to have a deck that is auto-lose on the spot. I can play my game against every deck on the field.
Never bothered to check the win %, but i tried to make it so it is not 0% against any deck on the field
I'm still a lot behind on reading the last few pages since my last visit but.....from what i did read in the last 2, there are a few things i'd like to share from experience in playing this deck for years
1. Primeval Titan, ok it was a 2-of in a list that made a Top 8, but i would say that it made a top 8 "despite" of it. When we have 6 mana to cast a titan..we don't really need 2 more lands. And the Kessig Wolf Run """combo""" doesn't work most of the times, since they will just kill the targeted creature. Woodland Bellower for the same mana cost of Titan is A LOT better
2. Wistful Selkie. I tried her, tried the Courser, and finally settled with Carven Caryatid. it is a GREAT blocker, gives u a card like selkie..only downside is 1 less devotion.
I have a big tournament on saturday and this is my actual list. I'd like to hear what are your thoguhts. What i can replace, remove, add, and so on, thank you
I haven't been impressed with Nissa, Steward of Elements so i'm thinking of replacing her, considering also that the blue splash is ONLY for her...taking her out will help the mana base.
P.S.
Forgot to add regarding Oath of Nissa. Revealing 3 finishers with it, having to put 2 of them at the bottom. Revealing a Primal command and having to put it to the bottom, being forced to take a land or elf instead...makes that card extremely bad in many situations...and very good in others....s i thin it is too risky to play it and hoping it wont screw you up.
I reached top 8s and finals pretty steadly with this deck...only yday i lost in top 8 in a 58ppl tourney, so i'm pretty happy with it.
I'll add a quick report of yday then add some considerations/questions at the bottom.
Round 1. Mono-red 2-0
Game 1. He send me to 7. No command on the horizon so i play Ruric Thar and close the game with him.
Game 2. 1 Command. I recur it 3 times with witness. Need to say more?
Round 2 Affinity 2-0
Game 1. He attacks with nexus and lifelink guy. 1 dmg and 1 poison each turn for 3 attacks. Then he plays the Overseer. I go to 9 life and 7 poison. I play Hornet queen. He pass. I play Behemoth.
Game 2. He overextend to T3 Creeping corrosion.
Round 3 Dredge 2-1
Game 1. I see no ooze, command, garruk or biggie. I lose with only Ballistae and elves
Game 2. Pretty close one i manage to win with a timely command to shuffle his gy and kill with Behemoth.
Game 3. Rest in peace on T2. (Love the decks who lose to a single card don't you?)
Round 4. GW Reliquary 2-1
Game 1. I close it with a 11 mana Wolfbriar on T5.
Game 2. Can't draw a single fatty or Ballista. He plays 5 ghost quarter (5th he draw right after i shuffled his gy with command) with an Avion Mindcensor played on T2.
Game 3. I mull to 5 with arbor, double Garruk, Forest and Witness. I play Withness, 2 Garruk tokens, Arbor, 2 Bop and overrun with 2nd Garruk.
Round 5&6 Intentional Draw for Top 8.
Top 8 Death Shadow 0-2
Game 1. Mull to 6. Mana screw at 2 lands, he plays Inquisition of Kozilek, Death Shadow, and counter on my win-the-game Command.
Game 2. I go mana screw in a different way.4 forest and 2 elves. Nothing else to play other than Relic and RIP. He goes with Thoughtseize, Death Shadow, counter on my game winning command. I was stuck at 6 mana with a Hornet Queen in hand.
Cloudthresher was never played and was 1 of the reasons i had to mull my hand on game 1 in top 8.
Genesis hydra was played once for 6 to land an amazing Utopia Sprawl
Genesis wave was played once for 7 to land a Forest and Garruk (useless in that moment. Game i lost)
Thats why i decided to replace them with 3 Nissa. Useful source of blockers. If left unchecked her ultimate is not bad. Gives nice devotion. Cost only 3 mana, so it lowers the curve a little.
What are your thoughts?
Anything better than Nissa to replace those cards? (Already tried Stranglrroot Geist, BTE (horrible card), Courser (does nothing, gives opponent a nice view of my hand).
This was a cool report and deck. I don't know how it slipped my mind that we can play RiP now, which is better than ScOoze against anything except Goblins and Burn. What's the Grace for? And is Bonfire really that good for you?
I personally found that BTE lent explosivity, but it really is a terrible top-deck. I think the Nissa are a good choice lacking anything else. The 3-cc slot is kinda weak in general. You might just add another Oath and some useful 2- or 4-cc creatures, like the last Ballista or Polukranos.
Banefire has been greatly useful as a spot removal and in getting around counters. I played it for 6 once to kill elspeth.
Angel grace is the side vs ad nauseam and storm. Against the first is a i-win card. Against the second buys you more turns.
Oath os a 1-of cos too many times it put my Banefire, Command or side card at the bottom. And BTE is good only in your starting hand. Rest of the game is dead. And if you draw it middle-late game....part of you dies with him.
Polukranos...i tried it but..
As a finisher i always hoped he was some1 else
I guess I'll test Nissa then...lacking better options
I reached top 8s and finals pretty steadly with this deck...only yday i lost in top 8 in a 58ppl tourney, so i'm pretty happy with it.
I'll add a quick report of yday then add some considerations/questions at the bottom.
Round 1. Mono-red 2-0
Game 1. He send me to 7. No command on the horizon so i play Ruric Thar and close the game with him.
Game 2. 1 Command. I recur it 3 times with witness. Need to say more?
Round 2 Affinity 2-0
Game 1. He attacks with nexus and lifelink guy. 1 dmg and 1 poison each turn for 3 attacks. Then he plays the Overseer. I go to 9 life and 7 poison. I play Hornet queen. He pass. I play Behemoth.
Game 2. He overextend to T3 Creeping corrosion.
Round 3 Dredge 2-1
Game 1. I see no ooze, command, garruk or biggie. I lose with only Ballistae and elves
Game 2. Pretty close one i manage to win with a timely command to shuffle his gy and kill with Behemoth.
Game 3. Rest in peace on T2. (Love the decks who lose to a single card don't you?)
Round 4. GW Reliquary 2-1
Game 1. I close it with a 11 mana Wolfbriar on T5.
Game 2. Can't draw a single fatty or Ballista. He plays 5 ghost quarter (5th he draw right after i shuffled his gy with command) with an Avion Mindcensor played on T2.
Game 3. I mull to 5 with arbor, double Garruk, Forest and Witness. I play Withness, 2 Garruk tokens, Arbor, 2 Bop and overrun with 2nd Garruk.
Round 5&6 Intentional Draw for Top 8.
Top 8 Death Shadow 0-2
Game 1. Mull to 6. Mana screw at 2 lands, he plays Inquisition of Kozilek, Death Shadow, and counter on my win-the-game Command.
Game 2. I go mana screw in a different way.4 forest and 2 elves. Nothing else to play other than Relic and RIP. He goes with Thoughtseize, Death Shadow, counter on my game winning command. I was stuck at 6 mana with a Hornet Queen in hand.
Cloudthresher was never played and was 1 of the reasons i had to mull my hand on game 1 in top 8.
Genesis hydra was played once for 6 to land an amazing Utopia Sprawl
Genesis wave was played once for 7 to land a Forest and Garruk (useless in that moment. Game i lost)
Thats why i decided to replace them with 3 Nissa. Useful source of blockers. If left unchecked her ultimate is not bad. Gives nice devotion. Cost only 3 mana, so it lowers the curve a little.
What are your thoughts?
Anything better than Nissa to replace those cards? (Already tried Stranglrroot Geist, BTE (horrible card), Courser (does nothing, gives opponent a nice view of my hand).
Thanks for the report. I noticed 1 thing in your list and your report.
In Round 1 you said you couldn't get past the opponent tokens. Then i noticed why...you have 0 pump spells. Not even Blossoming defense to defend your own creatures (something that should be 4-of MD not in side.)
Your strategy was to attack your opponent with your creatures and killing theirs with your 6 "removals". That basically leaves you open to every deck who can play your same amount of creatures, or has a high number of removals.
I think that was the main issue you had with your deck.
P.S. Aether Hub (with Servant of the Conduit) Is also used to get Blue mana on G2, and side in blue cards (negate in my case) to handle control decks.
I agree with what Kevin said BUT i have a question for everyone.
I saw, in many lists, the new card Greenbelt Rampager. Now...i've never been a fan of Longtusk Cub, cos it doesn't add any energy, being it a dead drop middle late game top deck, and i see the same issue with the Rampager. It is NOT a 1-drop, since u cannot play it on T1, and on T2 it cost GG. When you manage to play it, it sucks you 2 Energy giving you a 3/4 body with no abilities in return.
Can anyone explain me the reasoning behind playing it??
And on a side note, why so few play Hanweir Garrison. It is a great middle/late game creature if things don't go as planned and you cant close the game fast enough. Plus it gives your 2 tokens on each attack in case u need blockers later on, or you need creatures to survive opponent removals.
I've been a bit away from magic recently, you know...the world going to hell and such
Now trying to get back and reading recent tournaments results.....I saw no kind of devotion/ramp deck in any top-something.
Checking top decks I found that most of them pack 4x of card like
Fire//Ice
Lava Dart
together with the usual bolts and crap like that.
Now..I played devotion a looooooong time, and the hardest matches I had (and often lost) were the ones where the opponent targeted my mana dorks, slowing my ramp down, giving him the time to set up his board.
Cards like these (again together with bolts and such) will simply wreck my opening...and destroy a good hand I kept with maybe 2 dorks for a T3 combo out, or big guy, leaving me with like....2-3 mana, a 6-cmc in hand and nothing on the board
So, I ask you...is my view on the current situation correct? Or maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel I'm not seeing?
Oh, and making a devotion with enchantments could be a good idea but...the problem of mana dorks still remain, and if we rely too much on enchantments I can see game 2 and 3 with the opponent doing target practice with us....kill dork, kill enchant, kill dork, kill enchant
The deck is losing very little....we lose 1/2 fogs, so the deck will go from 8/6 to 4, but we can replace them with hard removals
Here's an article i found regarding this deck post-ravnica
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=14857&writer=Brian Braun-Duin&articledate=9-14-2018
I tried the Tooth and Nail variant for a w hile, but got extremely annoyed when i kept having a mono-emrakul in my hand every time without being able to cast it.
I'm also interested in the 4 Primeval Titan. In devotion decks i've seen people going for 2 titans max, while you're going with a full set. Considering it doens't rly do much by itself in this deck, and that with the same mana cost you could have a Woodland Wellower that with so many 3-drops could be rly great...why the choice?
Just a small consideration
If you look top-8 decks, you see mostly other T1 Decks, and very rarely devotion ones.
Considering most of those events are hundreds of people strong, if you have a 100 ppl event with 30 Jund and 1 Devotion, chances to see a Jund in Top 8 are "a bit" higher than seeing the lone devotion deck.
Speaking out of personal experience...i've been playing Green Devotion..starting from Wave devotion to my latest list you can see few pages back, for quite a few years, and by playing 30-60 people events, i've played against a mirror only ONCE (in at least 3 years).
That means opponents usually are not prepared to face your deck, have no particular hate against it....but still....seeing top 8 results when there are like 1-2 Devo decks out of 200 people is very hard
Ya, but..Angel grace against ANT will win you the game. Rule of Law will slow them down, true, but i will still need to work to win.
The side is the ONLY thing i'm pretty sure about. Even after checking mtgtop8 i think i'm pretty good. Here's the details
3x Stony Silence: I-WIN button against Affinity, Helps against Tron
1x Creeping Corrosion: I-WIN button against Affinity. I'm using it together with Stony Silence in case i draw the enchantment too far into the game
3x Angel's Grace: I-WIN button against Ab Nauseam deck. Can buy you a turn against Storm/kiki-Jiki/Valakut. I started using it because it is the ONLY option against Ab Nauseam. Without it...i have an auto-lose against that deck unless i manage to kill him by turn 4...and thats not very reliable
2x Rest In Peace/Relic of Progenitus: I-WIN against Dredge AND Living End. Can use it against control to negate their Snapcaster Mage
4x Crumble to Dust: I-WIN button against Valakut, and helps a lot against Tron. It's a 4-of cos if Valakut combo out before i draw it..i'm dead, and same thing goes for Tron. Drawing it after he has a Karn or Ugin in play is pointless
So, every card i have in my side has the Auto-Win option against a certain deck. I don't really like to use cards that "may help" but will not win you the game right away.
As for the rest of the field..let's see
Death's Shadow. Primal Command can kill their shadows. A well placed Nissa can lock them out forever, and a Hornet Queen win me the game. So i have options
Eldrazi Aggro/Jund. These are the decks i struggle more, but it mostly depends on their opening hands. If they start destroying my hand with 2-3 discards by turn 2-3..then i'm in trouble. If they keep it normal...i can manage.
RDW. If i manage to reach 5 mana i have the command. Before that, Caryatids are a nightmare for them. Plus Ballista can kill almost anything they play.
Control. If they get into control-mode with 7 cards in hand, 7 lands in play...GG. Before that happens i have a total of 10 PW, 1 Tyrant, and a lot of fingers to cross
Now...i built my side so not to have a deck that is auto-lose on the spot. I can play my game against every deck on the field.
Never bothered to check the win %, but i tried to make it so it is not 0% against any deck on the field
Ruric and tyrant are great even in aggro decks, ad i don't know what to take out from the side to make space for anything
As for blue, if i take Nissa away, i have 2 free spots i'll probably fill with witness/Caryatid or something, dropping blue altogether.
1. Primeval Titan, ok it was a 2-of in a list that made a Top 8, but i would say that it made a top 8 "despite" of it. When we have 6 mana to cast a titan..we don't really need 2 more lands. And the Kessig Wolf Run """combo""" doesn't work most of the times, since they will just kill the targeted creature. Woodland Bellower for the same mana cost of Titan is A LOT better
2. Wistful Selkie. I tried her, tried the Courser, and finally settled with Carven Caryatid. it is a GREAT blocker, gives u a card like selkie..only downside is 1 less devotion.
I have a big tournament on saturday and this is my actual list. I'd like to hear what are your thoguhts. What i can replace, remove, add, and so on, thank you
7 Forest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
1 Stomping Ground
3 Breeding Pool
Mana (15)
4 Arbor Elf
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
Support (14)
2 Eternal Witness
3 Primal Command
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Garruck Relentless
2 Carven Caryatid
1 Acidic Slime
1 Polukanos, World Eater
1 Hornet Queen
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
2 Walking Ballista
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Karn Liberated
1 Woodland Bellower
1 Carnage Tyrant
2 Nissa, Steward of elements
3 Stony Silence
1 Creeping Corrosion
3 Angel Grace
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Rest in Peace
4 Crumble to Dust
I haven't been impressed with Nissa, Steward of Elements so i'm thinking of replacing her, considering also that the blue splash is ONLY for her...taking her out will help the mana base.
P.S.
Forgot to add regarding Oath of Nissa. Revealing 3 finishers with it, having to put 2 of them at the bottom. Revealing a Primal command and having to put it to the bottom, being forced to take a land or elf instead...makes that card extremely bad in many situations...and very good in others....s i thin it is too risky to play it and hoping it wont screw you up.
Banefire has been greatly useful as a spot removal and in getting around counters. I played it for 6 once to kill elspeth.
Angel grace is the side vs ad nauseam and storm. Against the first is a i-win card. Against the second buys you more turns.
Oath os a 1-of cos too many times it put my Banefire, Command or side card at the bottom. And BTE is good only in your starting hand. Rest of the game is dead. And if you draw it middle-late game....part of you dies with him.
Polukranos...i tried it but..
As a finisher i always hoped he was some1 else
I guess I'll test Nissa then...lacking better options
Here's my current list:
9 Forest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
2 Stomping Ground
Mana (15)
4 Arbor Elf
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
Support (14)
3 Eternal Witness
2 Abundant Growth
1 Oath of Nissa
4 Primal Command
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Hornet Queen
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
2 Banefire
3 Walking Ballista
1 Wolfbriar Elemental
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Karn Liberated
2 Pithing Needle
3 Stony Silence
1 Creeping Corrosion
3 Angel Grace
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 arest in Peace
2 Crumble to Dust
I reached top 8s and finals pretty steadly with this deck...only yday i lost in top 8 in a 58ppl tourney, so i'm pretty happy with it.
I'll add a quick report of yday then add some considerations/questions at the bottom.
Round 1. Mono-red 2-0
Game 1. He send me to 7. No command on the horizon so i play Ruric Thar and close the game with him.
Game 2. 1 Command. I recur it 3 times with witness. Need to say more?
Round 2 Affinity 2-0
Game 1. He attacks with nexus and lifelink guy. 1 dmg and 1 poison each turn for 3 attacks. Then he plays the Overseer. I go to 9 life and 7 poison. I play Hornet queen. He pass. I play Behemoth.
Game 2. He overextend to T3 Creeping corrosion.
Round 3 Dredge 2-1
Game 1. I see no ooze, command, garruk or biggie. I lose with only Ballistae and elves
Game 2. Pretty close one i manage to win with a timely command to shuffle his gy and kill with Behemoth.
Game 3. Rest in peace on T2. (Love the decks who lose to a single card don't you?)
Round 4. GW Reliquary 2-1
Game 1. I close it with a 11 mana Wolfbriar on T5.
Game 2. Can't draw a single fatty or Ballista. He plays 5 ghost quarter (5th he draw right after i shuffled his gy with command) with an Avion Mindcensor played on T2.
Game 3. I mull to 5 with arbor, double Garruk, Forest and Witness. I play Withness, 2 Garruk tokens, Arbor, 2 Bop and overrun with 2nd Garruk.
Round 5&6 Intentional Draw for Top 8.
Top 8 Death Shadow 0-2
Game 1. Mull to 6. Mana screw at 2 lands, he plays Inquisition of Kozilek, Death Shadow, and counter on my win-the-game Command.
Game 2. I go mana screw in a different way.4 forest and 2 elves. Nothing else to play other than Relic and RIP. He goes with Thoughtseize, Death Shadow, counter on my game winning command. I was stuck at 6 mana with a Hornet Queen in hand.
So conclusions. I had
1 Genesis Wave
1 Genesis Hydra
Cloudthresher was never played and was 1 of the reasons i had to mull my hand on game 1 in top 8.
Genesis hydra was played once for 6 to land an amazing Utopia Sprawl
Genesis wave was played once for 7 to land a Forest and Garruk (useless in that moment. Game i lost)
Thats why i decided to replace them with 3 Nissa. Useful source of blockers. If left unchecked her ultimate is not bad. Gives nice devotion. Cost only 3 mana, so it lowers the curve a little.
What are your thoughts?
Anything better than Nissa to replace those cards? (Already tried Stranglrroot Geist, BTE (horrible card), Courser (does nothing, gives opponent a nice view of my hand).
In Round 1 you said you couldn't get past the opponent tokens. Then i noticed why...you have 0 pump spells. Not even Blossoming defense to defend your own creatures (something that should be 4-of MD not in side.)
Your strategy was to attack your opponent with your creatures and killing theirs with your 6 "removals". That basically leaves you open to every deck who can play your same amount of creatures, or has a high number of removals.
I think that was the main issue you had with your deck.
P.S.
Aether Hub (with Servant of the Conduit) Is also used to get Blue mana on G2, and side in blue cards (negate in my case) to handle control decks.
Quoting Kevinsera list cos i'm too lazy to make my own, and cos 99% of my list is that. I use Lathnu Hellions, Hanweir Garrison and Rush of Adrenaline but stil woking the numbers.
I agree with what Kevin said BUT i have a question for everyone.
I saw, in many lists, the new card Greenbelt Rampager. Now...i've never been a fan of Longtusk Cub, cos it doesn't add any energy, being it a dead drop middle late game top deck, and i see the same issue with the Rampager. It is NOT a 1-drop, since u cannot play it on T1, and on T2 it cost GG. When you manage to play it, it sucks you 2 Energy giving you a 3/4 body with no abilities in return.
Can anyone explain me the reasoning behind playing it??
And on a side note, why so few play Hanweir Garrison. It is a great middle/late game creature if things don't go as planned and you cant close the game fast enough. Plus it gives your 2 tokens on each attack in case u need blockers later on, or you need creatures to survive opponent removals.