Thanks for the write up. I played a more Stax version of Derevi that has royally pissed off my play group. I'm going to sleeve this up and see how it works for me.
Deck looks sweet. What is the best way to justify a stax deck to a casual play group? Should I just stay away if I feel like my group will dislike it?
I personally feel like this is no worse than someone powering out a Craterhoof and winning it. I have had issues explaining that lockouts and LD are just as viable as creatures.
I like these lists a lot, my only problem / question is: What do we do if they Stormbreath and we don't have a counter? I feel like this is a glaring weakness of UWR, and i'm not sure what we do about it.
Yes, I do believe that there is value to faith. Faith brings hope and a sense of community to people who need it.
A great example of this is in The Life of Pi.
SPOILER!
At the end of the movie Pi asks the atheist "Which do you prefer" to which the Atheist replies "The one with the tiger" Pi then replies "and so it is with God" What he is saying is that you have the reality of what happened, but the reality is terrible, and causes pain. Then you have the alternative which is bearable, and an overall triumphant experience.
I feel like the deck isn't fast enough to be aggro, and doesn't go big enough to beat a midrange. That being said, I have no good suggestions.... sorry =(
I'm looking to build a deck like this, just hoping that a couple more usable cards are printed from Theros.
That being said, I feel like building around activating devotion is a bad idea. The mechanic is too fickle for that. If devotion didn't exist, would you play Thassa? Would you play Nightveil Spectre?
Also, do you feel like your curve might be too heavy at the 4 drop slot? What do you feel are the most important cards at this slot?
Clockwork, I'd like to start off by saying that I like your overall idea here for the deck, and it inspired me to make mine.
Can you explain your reasoning for why you find scry to be of little value in conjunction with this deck?
What would make this deck viable now, since it wasn't before?
I'm sure you can see the path I'm leading you down..... I played a lot of Duskmantle Brews last standard, and I always found that first, he was hard to stick and keep in play, and second, you take way too much damage from your own. I feel like scry helps solve the second problem, and I'm hoping that removal is low enough that we can get value from him.
I do not see Thassa, or any God, as a creature. I feel that in most cases, Devotion is a trap. I want Thassa for the scry, and to make sure I can get in there with my creatures. Emphasis on the scry.
Thank you for breaking down your thought process, as well as sharing the updates of your deck. I am an avid UWR player, but this deck is certainly tempting to win that sexy game day mat. The only negative is that it stops me from trading my angels for ridiculous value!
Keep updating!
I personally feel like this is no worse than someone powering out a Craterhoof and winning it. I have had issues explaining that lockouts and LD are just as viable as creatures.
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27032_The-Choice-Is-Clear-America.html
I feel like we might want one more dsphere for a chained, but that is a spectacular article for us to build off of.
A great example of this is in The Life of Pi.
SPOILER!
I feel like the deck isn't fast enough to be aggro, and doesn't go big enough to beat a midrange. That being said, I have no good suggestions.... sorry =(
That being said, I feel like building around activating devotion is a bad idea. The mechanic is too fickle for that. If devotion didn't exist, would you play Thassa? Would you play Nightveil Spectre?
Also, do you feel like your curve might be too heavy at the 4 drop slot? What do you feel are the most important cards at this slot?
Can you explain your reasoning for why you find scry to be of little value in conjunction with this deck?
What would make this deck viable now, since it wasn't before?
I'm sure you can see the path I'm leading you down..... I played a lot of Duskmantle Brews last standard, and I always found that first, he was hard to stick and keep in play, and second, you take way too much damage from your own. I feel like scry helps solve the second problem, and I'm hoping that removal is low enough that we can get value from him.
1 Lifebane Zombie
4 Duskmantle Seer
2 Blood Baron of Vikopa
Instants:
4 Azorius Charm
2 Voyage's End
3 Doom Blade
2 Essence Scatter
3 Syncopate
2 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Thoughtseize
Enchantments:
2 Blind Obedience
2 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Detention Sphere
Land:
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Mutavault
3 Swamp
3 Island
Its very possible that after testing, Blood Baron will become Obzedat.
Please keep it up!