Thanks
I didn't activate raging ravine once that tournament. However it is a powerhouse against control and removal heavy decks. I'm playing it here because of Primeval Titan. Gruul me Harder pointed out the strength very well. You can still cast a primeval titan into a board wipe and stil set up a win condition on the following turn.
1) Wistful Selkie - Drawing cards and 3 devotion are great in almost any situation. Glad to have 4-of in the list.
1) RAGING RAVINE - card did so much work for me in a number of matchups. Even just being on the battlefield made the opponents fearful of it, which was great. Glad to have a 1-of.
3) Primeval Titan - card is great. Everyone knows it. Fetching Raging Ravine and Kessig is fantastic. Also a huge body stops much of the formats midrange threats.
All in all I had a lot of fun, and I was very happy to pilot a deck I enjoy to a decent record. One thing that I will be experimenting with is including the Ramunap Excavator and Azusa, Lost but Seeking combo with one or two Ghost Quarters for a mini land destruction package. I'll be doing some more testing to see how it feels, however I have a feeling that a singleton Ghost Quarter and Excavator may be all the deck needs. Time will tell.
Cheers all.
Nissa, Vital Force: I'm playing her because I tried to maximize the synergy with Courser, Primeval, Fetches. The 5/5 is really something, however if you dont play Primeval I wouldn't play her. Exposing your lands like that is a dangerous game. When you use her for ramping, the fact that it stays a creature until your next turn is a big downside.
However, the Emblem is sweet and out values anything. Primeval Titan: Draw two cards, Fetch land: Draw to cards. Very good in grindy matchups.
But because I think the classic devotion already has a good matchup against grindy decks I will take her out against some interaction. Interaction is the key for the deck to become stronger. Cards that help in the ramp/devotion setup and still offer a way to interact with the opponent (being board, hand, GY, spells). That's why I always came back to Primal Command. Once you can generate mana you need some way to not die. It's mostly that additional turn we would need to win.
Big shoutout to GarfieldKlon for that sweet sweet simic build. I like it a lot. Nissa, Steward of Elements and Walking Ballista is kind of a nonbo though. But still, Walking Ballista is that early game Interaction that I think we need so much.
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Modern: GNykthos Devotion - Eldrazi Tron - RW Boros Burn - UW UW Control
With my singleton Ballista, I've closed out a couple of games a turn or two earlier than having not had the card. Raging Ravine has also won me a few games. However, drawing it in your opener sucks. It's slowed me down a turn of ramp a few times. On Nissa, Vital force, is she really that good at 5 mana? How often are you ultimating her in the matches that matter?
Raging Ravine looks interesting. I don't know that it's much better than Treetop Village ever was: while it grows, it also costs a lot more mana to activate (including red mana). It also ETB tapped. But it could be handy in a pinch.
Nissa SoE looks interesting strictly for the blue builds. It's card advantage/selection, but that's not what I'm looking for in an early PW with no ability to protect itself. In the mid-late game, it's an extra free card per turn, which isn't that overpowering. Its "finisher" is kinda weak.
Nissa VoZ is still interesting for its ability to generate chump blockers and eventually power a win out. That said, it always felt a bit sluggish and easy to disrupt... it's a PW that is effectively answered by Wrath, which is not something we want.
Nissa VF is too high on the curve to be looked at for its survival or acceleration potential. That said, it is an amazing finisher: generating mana explosions with Nykthos, attacking creatures, ensuring card advantage forever, and recurring lost creatures.
I think if I find room for another PW, it will be Nissa VF.
Picked up this deck a week ago. Im noticing everyone seems to be off of tooth & nail now. Anyone still playing with it and the emrakul/xenagos combo?
What would an optimal list look like?
That list still certainly works, and lots of people are playing it. It just goes through phases where it is heavily or not heavily discussed, and because it basically wins via a single path, there is less room to custom brew it. I don't personally like it, but there is no denying its effectiveness.
Edit: Addendum: On another note, I think Lumbering Falls may have a lot of merit versus Treetop and Ravine. True, it's not as independently dangerous as Ravine or in the same color as Kessig, but that means its not a double-strain on red and there really isn't much that can kill it (whereas Treetop and Ravine both die to well-timed removal).
Half the people here are running blue already now. We splash surprisingly well: 4 BoP, 4 Sprawl, and 4-8 Shocks tend to make it almost trivial, even before Titans and tutors. I don't think 2GR is much harder than 2GU, even if it's just blue for this.
The real underlying question is: why are we playing such a land. As a 1x, it seems like it's designed to be a post-Titan threat. Yet if Titan didn't finish the job on its own, that means it was removed, so we're facing removal. While both are solid against sorcery-speed removal, instants still get Ravine (except for a late Bolt). Falls, on the other hand, doesn't care about any targeted removal.
To be quite honest, I think each of these manlands had their own benefits. The biggest reason why I think they are an important feature is that they can provide a lethal threat in combination with a Garruk overrun at all points of the game. With just two creatures and a manland, an overrun can oftentimes kill an opponent. For this scenario, I think each of the manlands are viable, with Treetop being the most so. As for entering tapped, they all do so I don't think there's much to debate there. For me personally, I find that fetching a Kessig and a Raging Ravine off of Prime time to be a dual threat, since Ravine can activate Kessig, and you probably already have a stomping ground.
All in all I think each is totally viable. I've never tried treetop village, but that might be worth testing since it has trample and cam activate more easily. I do believe that having a one-of in any Primeval Titan list is important as a hedge against board wipes.
That's really insightful. I had been looking at the threat of a lone land, not in conjunction with Garruk. This makes tons of sense. Moreover, this is also a fantastic answer to Wraths: Two Villages plus Garruk can threaten a 12 point smack-back. It makes me want to try to fit in two copies to fetch with Titan, rather than just one.
Manland enter tapped and aren't forest. Control have already been a favorable match-up. Vs fast aggro and combo forests are better than manlands. I remember you that are combo and too fast aggro the problem of this deck.
The deck does not generally require more than 14-15 Forests/fetches. Add in 4 Nykthos, and that's 19. Putting in a manland as a 20th or 21st will usually not affect our curve too much. Turn 2 tends to be a weak point in most builds, most games. And as Grull_Me_Harder pointed out, the impact with Garruk is amplified. A Treetop on turn 2 is one extra creature that might combine to make a Garruk-overrun lethal on turn 4.
Yes, we are weaker to combo and aggro than control. Yes, manlands boost our control matchup more. But they don't adversely impact our weak matchups so much that I wouldn't play 1-2.
Has anyone ever thought of shoe-horning the vizier of remedies combo in devotion? We can already easily splash a color and we could always use free wins. I'll get to work on a list
That's an interesting build. The devotion count is less than ideal but not bad, and you only really need to keep one Forest in play. The combo finish adds some punch too, and you still fit Primal Commands and Witnesses. It's not for me, as I prefer to keep the "big creatures" element of the finish, but I can see the appeal of a design like this.
Has anyone ever thought of shoe-horning the vizier of remedies combo in devotion? We can already easily splash a color and we could always use free wins. I'll get to work on a list
The idea was discussed a little bit when first spoiled; but I don't think anyone really tuned/tested a list. It is just a matter of if we can make it work and be just as good (if not better) than other Vizier lists. I'm excited to see what you come up with.
Picked up this deck a week ago. Im noticing everyone seems to be off of tooth & nail now. Anyone still playing with it and the emrakul/xenagos combo?
What would an optimal list look like?
I think Tooth and Nail sees a little less discussion here simply due to the fact that it is pretty much tuned. It has a very specific line of play and a lot of cards that need to be in the deck for it to perform the best. There just isn't a lot of room left to brew with the deck (in comparison to others). Having said that, funnily enough, there is far more room to brew in Tooth and Nail than many other decks in Modern...so it still is a VERY interesting deck that performs extremely well. It is absolutely a viable Devotion deck.
Edit: Oops, this post turned out a bit longer then expected Search for Closing Toughts if you want to skip it
Right, this is a bit silly. After my last tournament, I took the time to make a reddit post on my Tooth and Nail deck that came out in a 40 man PPTQ (It can be found here). But I kinda forgot to also check in here... I see you`ve mentioned the list a few times in the last posts, well for now I got a further update for you guys:
Last saturday my wife and I went to another competative tournament in our LGS. We ended up with only 10 players, so we are doing 4 rounds with a top 4.
The main 60 are nearly identical to the reddit post, I only took out the Harmonize and brought in a Inferno Titan (I was planning to take a 4th green titan, but no one around has one ). Sideboard was a bit more tailored for the local meta since I knew our affinity players where not around or playing something else. Batterskull was a little experiment which sadly did not do enough to keep on playing ;).
About the tournament:
Round 1: Burn.
Game 1 went on pretty good. Turn 2 Kiora with a Hope Tender down, counted the numbers in my head 2 times. "Yes, it should be 9". Turns out, I forgot the 1 mana that Hope Tender takes, and only ended up with 8 mana when executing everything. Since I couldn't unwind everything, I ended up playing T&N and dropped only an Emrakul from my hand on the field, basicly telling him to kill me from there (I was on 8). He had nothing and died the turn after.
Game 2 was less exciting and I was on 11ish life when I casted Emrakul in turn 4. So he had no chance to stay alive.
1 - 0
Round 2: Slivers.
Oh hey, I get to play against my wife. Like we did not play this at our kitchen table a million times...
Both games Slivers did what Slivers is supposed to do. Kill me exactly on the right time. Both times I had the mana but no T&N to play.
1 - 1
Round 3: Living end.
My first time playing against it and I really enjoyed it. Even though my opponent didnt really know what I was doing. Game 1 just did what my deck is supposed to do and combo on turn 4. Game 2 took a bit longer, but won it on a hardcasted Emrakul since my opponent gave me 3 mana elves back from a living end.
2 - 1
Round 4: Bant knightfall
Played against 1 of our best players at our LGS with a win-and-in for top 4. We practiced quite a bit the night before. Game 1, he mulls to 5, I stick a turn 2 blood moon. Game.
Game 2: He has his normal draw, and I got stuck with a bit akward Boseju, quickly dropping my life total. Got murdered by a knight.
Game 3: Both on 7. I stick a turn 2 Kiora + Garruk + Blood Moon after he played a fetch on turn 1. He fetches in response and draws a card. Then shows his hand and extends it. He fetched his basic Plains and had 5 more fetch lands in hand.
3 - 1.
Second seed into the top 4. First was my wife on Slivers. Third was Jund Death Shadow (with a blue splash) and fourth was a midrange jund deck.
Semifinals: Jund Death Shadow (with blue).
Those who read my reddit post know how the last finals went. This semifinal went the same. Both times mulligans into nothing. Shame it ended there, but it was the first bad mulligans I had all day.
So we ended up 3rd/4th after being 1st and 2nd after the swiss. Pretty good day for us.
Stats:
As a hobby, I kept some stats about the competitive matches. Compiled data over both described tournaments:
Match wins: 9
Match win %: 69.23%
Total matches: 13
Game wins: 18
Game win %: 62.07%
Total games: 29
The sample size might be low, but so far I like the stats. And I feel like I am currently piloting the deck pretty well. There are some players in our LGS who do not enjoy playing against me with this deck at the moment. Thats a good thing, right?
Going forward:
There are a few things i'll change:
First the thing that got me the most questions: Hope Tender. The first tournament it proved at least on-par with Voyaging Satyr. This tournament, she was (sadly) far below it. I have switched back to the Satyr. To often it makes math difficult, and when you got no enchanted lands, she is just not good enough.
Inferno Titan: Sadly didn't see it all day. Will keep it around to test it more. It looks like a fine addition to battle the knightfall deck that is picking up popularity locally.
Manabase: With the additional red, I am unsure about my manabase. Might change it around a bit.
Sideboard: The hardest part of the deck... Wasn't to happy with how it went, and I will be trying to make it a bit more simple. Currently going to try this and will report back after I did a tournament with that sideboard.
Closing toughts:
Well done! You made it to the end. Thanks for reading and I hope people can pick up some things from it. Feel free to shoot me any questions here or on Reddit.
Thanks for posting this! It did help because there was a good amount of discussion on Hope Tender...and this helps explain some of the play lines and likely that Satyr is just better in sum.
I have been focused recently essentially on the Walker List, but with the addition of Chord of Calling. I know it sounds a little funny, but:
a. The Walkers make a LOT of creature tokens
b. If you're not "all in" on the ramp (i.e. Tooth and Nail, Pact List, etc.) than you have to play a reasonable amount of disruption/interaction
The advantages thus far I've found to this style of Devotion are that:
a. Chord allows us to take advantage of the mana dorks, Visionary, and the creature tokens created by the walkers.
b. Chord also allows us to play 1-of creatures that are highly interactive while sticking to our main game plan (especially in games two and three).
c. The Walkers allow us the choice to interact when we need to or fill the board with more creatures when we want to overwhelm/keep pressure up.
d. The Walkers are good protection from board wipes. Most cost-effective wipes only kill creatures...so we are left with Walkers to quickly refill.
1. I know it has 21 lands...I've been trying out 61 total cards main and 21 lands...may end up going back down to 20 if I get flooded too much; but Horizon Canopy does help in this regard.
2. I'm not entirely certain of Maulfist Revolutionary. She does have a lot going for her though. She allows me to ultimate both Garruk Wildspeaker and Elspeth Tirel the turn I play them. She has trample so she goes well with all of the cards that pump up our creatures...and she goes well just generally in a deck with several planeswalkers and Walking Ballista's.
3. The Fertile Grounds we added just because they looked so darn good in the past few videos I've watched. They feel out of place on paper; but they really are performing well both in terms of ramping and fixing.
4. I know Xenagos, the Reveler would be really good in a deck like this...but I just don't want to go further down the rabbit hole
5. I wouldn't mind a Ranger of Eos to grab a few Ballista's and/or dorks....but may not be worth it.
5. I don't know if this is any better than a version that just plays a few more walkers in place of the Chords...Chord of Calling of course makes games 2 and 3 far more simple (as it gives you the ability to side in 1-ofs that are very powerful without diluting the deck). It will take some testing to find out how this compares.
Ranger seems a bit durdly, but it's an interesting idea. I don't think Revolutionary is strong enough for inclusion, and I don't think Fertile Ground is necessary either, since the deck doesn't play that many colors, and we have more midgame spells to cast. Chord is a great card to have, and you may be on to something. I think I dismissed it before.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Always wear protection kids, sleeve up your deck.
LEGACY: Soldier Stompy WW // Blue Stompy UU // Fit Variants BGRW // Sol Land Brews BGRUWC MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
I will lklikely replace Revolutionary with a single Eternal Witness. Witness becomes a great mana-sink when you can Chord for it, recurring the Chord all while adding a body and 2-Devotion to the board.
While in game one my only targets for Chord are really Elesh Norn, Acidic Slime, and Witness (although I have used Chord for both Arbor Elf and Elvish Visionary in a few scenarios) that is likely enough given the power it adds to the Sideboard. Also, tutors invariably "smooth out" a deck.
I have played Ajani Unyielding in the past. It is a very powerful card that will win the game outright over a couple turns of drawing multiple cards....I just honestly didn't have the room. There are too many good options for the deck :). I love Gideon, Ally of Zendikar as well...that can be the difficulty in Devotion decks...knowing what to edit and what works best out if so many good options.
Currently, Elspeth Sun's Champion has gone in and out of my Sideboard. It likely will end up finding a spot in the 75.
Great insights! I'll have to try some of these out.
Ive played a few games with a vizier combo shoehorned into devotion. I combo-ed out pretty easily and just happen to have devotion cards in my hand. It was weird. I gotta test some more. With fertile ground being added to the walker devotion list, I have to wonder if a chord shell is worth it. While chord is good, if you're going to run the slightly less efficient ramp spell, you might as well go ham with it and run xenagos, the reveler and nahiri, the harbinger and a singleton emrakul, the aeons torn instead of chord. I'll work on a list. But I agree. Devotion can go in so many directions, it's overwhelming. And we haven't even discussed doubling season.
Ranger seems a bit durdly, but it's an interesting idea. I don't think Revolutionary is strong enough for inclusion, and I don't think Fertile Ground is necessary either, since the deck doesn't play that many colors, and we have more midgame spells to cast. Chord is a great card to have, and you may be on to something. I think I dismissed it before.
Very good points...maybe I should just play Devoted Druid in place of Fertile Ground and add the Vizier combo in there :). Hyperchord is working on that I think. Talk about a lot of ideas in one deck!
If not, however, I could go with a pet card of mine in Nest Invader. Have to be careful though with that one; as MTGO allows you to tap both and sac the token for 3-mana towards Chord (which from what lengthy discussions I've seen on the topic is illegal in paper play. That's a portion of the reason I stopped playing the card.
Doubling Season is such an amazing card. I tried it for some time with a blue-splash walker deck (as well as literally years ago before Devotion was printed)...the only problem I see currently is if we can build a better version than the Doubling Walkers decks (like Doubling Stevens) that are already out there.
It's possible (as DS can work additionally with cards like Waljing Ballista, Genesis Hydra, Etc.) but (a) we run the risk of it just being "win-more" at that point, and (b) we would likely have to be a more "interactive" deck that just happens to have the "combo" in it rather than an all-in combo deck (as if you go "full ham" on the combo you may as well play other Doubling Walker decks.)
The shell is absolutely there...and it may be a good option for Walker decks. We just tend to play great "value" walkers rather than ones that are mediocre but win the game with Doubling Season..and without it essentially em being a 2-card "I win" combo...it becomes very difficult to play a 5-mana "do nothing when cast" permanent. Don't get me wrong; I love the idea and think it should be explored more...there a just a few hoops up front they have to be addressed.
Samut could be a funny happy medium. She can be very poor removal when need be and does have an amazing ultimate in a walker deck...I bet her double strike may even come into play here or there...it's too bad in sum that she is so underwhelming (as it would be quite feel bad when played into an empty board).
I do think the idea is worth looking into; as I have found that the best Walker decks I've played tend to be when the Walkers are also the win-condition.
I didn't activate raging ravine once that tournament. However it is a powerhouse against control and removal heavy decks. I'm playing it here because of Primeval Titan. Gruul me Harder pointed out the strength very well. You can still cast a primeval titan into a board wipe and stil set up a win condition on the following turn.
Nissa, Vital Force: I'm playing her because I tried to maximize the synergy with Courser, Primeval, Fetches. The 5/5 is really something, however if you dont play Primeval I wouldn't play her. Exposing your lands like that is a dangerous game. When you use her for ramping, the fact that it stays a creature until your next turn is a big downside.
However, the Emblem is sweet and out values anything. Primeval Titan: Draw two cards, Fetch land: Draw to cards. Very good in grindy matchups.
But because I think the classic devotion already has a good matchup against grindy decks I will take her out against some interaction.
Interaction is the key for the deck to become stronger. Cards that help in the ramp/devotion setup and still offer a way to interact with the opponent (being board, hand, GY, spells). That's why I always came back to Primal Command. Once you can generate mana you need some way to not die. It's mostly that additional turn we would need to win.
Big shoutout to GarfieldKlon for that sweet sweet simic build. I like it a lot.
Nissa, Steward of Elements and Walking Ballista is kind of a nonbo though. But still, Walking Ballista is that early game Interaction that I think we need so much.
Nissa SoE looks interesting strictly for the blue builds. It's card advantage/selection, but that's not what I'm looking for in an early PW with no ability to protect itself. In the mid-late game, it's an extra free card per turn, which isn't that overpowering. Its "finisher" is kinda weak.
Nissa VoZ is still interesting for its ability to generate chump blockers and eventually power a win out. That said, it always felt a bit sluggish and easy to disrupt... it's a PW that is effectively answered by Wrath, which is not something we want.
Nissa VF is too high on the curve to be looked at for its survival or acceleration potential. That said, it is an amazing finisher: generating mana explosions with Nykthos, attacking creatures, ensuring card advantage forever, and recurring lost creatures.
I think if I find room for another PW, it will be Nissa VF.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
What would an optimal list look like?
Edit: Addendum: On another note, I think Lumbering Falls may have a lot of merit versus Treetop and Ravine. True, it's not as independently dangerous as Ravine or in the same color as Kessig, but that means its not a double-strain on red and there really isn't much that can kill it (whereas Treetop and Ravine both die to well-timed removal).
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
The real underlying question is: why are we playing such a land. As a 1x, it seems like it's designed to be a post-Titan threat. Yet if Titan didn't finish the job on its own, that means it was removed, so we're facing removal. While both are solid against sorcery-speed removal, instants still get Ravine (except for a late Bolt). Falls, on the other hand, doesn't care about any targeted removal.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
All in all I think each is totally viable. I've never tried treetop village, but that might be worth testing since it has trample and cam activate more easily. I do believe that having a one-of in any Primeval Titan list is important as a hedge against board wipes.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
The deck does not generally require more than 14-15 Forests/fetches. Add in 4 Nykthos, and that's 19. Putting in a manland as a 20th or 21st will usually not affect our curve too much. Turn 2 tends to be a weak point in most builds, most games. And as Grull_Me_Harder pointed out, the impact with Garruk is amplified. A Treetop on turn 2 is one extra creature that might combine to make a Garruk-overrun lethal on turn 4.
Yes, we are weaker to combo and aggro than control. Yes, manlands boost our control matchup more. But they don't adversely impact our weak matchups so much that I wouldn't play 1-2.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
The idea was discussed a little bit when first spoiled; but I don't think anyone really tuned/tested a list. It is just a matter of if we can make it work and be just as good (if not better) than other Vizier lists. I'm excited to see what you come up with.
Here is a recent list that performed well:
https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/tooth-and-nail-decklist-by-ian-roberts-701916
UEGJO has been a pretty consistant Tooth and Nail player. The most recent list I can find for them is :
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/655662#paper
I think Tooth and Nail sees a little less discussion here simply due to the fact that it is pretty much tuned. It has a very specific line of play and a lot of cards that need to be in the deck for it to perform the best. There just isn't a lot of room left to brew with the deck (in comparison to others). Having said that, funnily enough, there is far more room to brew in Tooth and Nail than many other decks in Modern...so it still is a VERY interesting deck that performs extremely well. It is absolutely a viable Devotion deck.
Speaking Of...what a great post by Sabezu:
Thanks for posting this! It did help because there was a good amount of discussion on Hope Tender...and this helps explain some of the play lines and likely that Satyr is just better in sum.
Congrats on the great results as well!
I currently have Thragtusk as the 5-drop in my list and wonder if I can do better.
a. The Walkers make a LOT of creature tokens
b. If you're not "all in" on the ramp (i.e. Tooth and Nail, Pact List, etc.) than you have to play a reasonable amount of disruption/interaction
The advantages thus far I've found to this style of Devotion are that:
a. Chord allows us to take advantage of the mana dorks, Visionary, and the creature tokens created by the walkers.
b. Chord also allows us to play 1-of creatures that are highly interactive while sticking to our main game plan (especially in games two and three).
c. The Walkers allow us the choice to interact when we need to or fill the board with more creatures when we want to overwhelm/keep pressure up.
d. The Walkers are good protection from board wipes. Most cost-effective wipes only kill creatures...so we are left with Walkers to quickly refill.
The List I've been playing recently is:
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Elvish Visionary
1x Maulfist Revolutionary
1x Acidic Slime
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Genesis Hydra
3x Walking Ballista
Enchantment
4x Utopia Sprawl
3x Oath of Nissa
2x Fertile Ground
Planeswalker
2x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Elspeth Tirel
2x Gideon Jura
1x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3x Chord of Calling
Lands
4x Windswept Heath
3x Wooded Foothills
2x Temple Garden
6x Forest
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Gavony Township
1x Horizon Canopy
2x Eidolon of Rhetoric
2x Genesis Hydra
2x Beast Within
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Magus of the Moon
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Kataki, War's Wage
A few minor notes
1. I know it has 21 lands...I've been trying out 61 total cards main and 21 lands...may end up going back down to 20 if I get flooded too much; but Horizon Canopy does help in this regard.
2. I'm not entirely certain of Maulfist Revolutionary. She does have a lot going for her though. She allows me to ultimate both Garruk Wildspeaker and Elspeth Tirel the turn I play them. She has trample so she goes well with all of the cards that pump up our creatures...and she goes well just generally in a deck with several planeswalkers and Walking Ballista's.
3. The Fertile Grounds we added just because they looked so darn good in the past few videos I've watched. They feel out of place on paper; but they really are performing well both in terms of ramping and fixing.
4. I know Xenagos, the Reveler would be really good in a deck like this...but I just don't want to go further down the rabbit hole
5. I wouldn't mind a Ranger of Eos to grab a few Ballista's and/or dorks....but may not be worth it.
5. I don't know if this is any better than a version that just plays a few more walkers in place of the Chords...Chord of Calling of course makes games 2 and 3 far more simple (as it gives you the ability to side in 1-ofs that are very powerful without diluting the deck). It will take some testing to find out how this compares.
MODERN: Pure Pili-ness GU // Red Devotion RR // Green Devotion Variants GRWUG // U/G Emerge CGU // Lots and Lots of Brews BGRUWC
While in game one my only targets for Chord are really Elesh Norn, Acidic Slime, and Witness (although I have used Chord for both Arbor Elf and Elvish Visionary in a few scenarios) that is likely enough given the power it adds to the Sideboard. Also, tutors invariably "smooth out" a deck.
I have played Ajani Unyielding in the past. It is a very powerful card that will win the game outright over a couple turns of drawing multiple cards....I just honestly didn't have the room. There are too many good options for the deck :). I love Gideon, Ally of Zendikar as well...that can be the difficulty in Devotion decks...knowing what to edit and what works best out if so many good options.
Currently, Elspeth Sun's Champion has gone in and out of my Sideboard. It likely will end up finding a spot in the 75.
Great insights! I'll have to try some of these out.
Very good points...maybe I should just play Devoted Druid in place of Fertile Ground and add the Vizier combo in there :). Hyperchord is working on that I think. Talk about a lot of ideas in one deck!
If not, however, I could go with a pet card of mine in Nest Invader. Have to be careful though with that one; as MTGO allows you to tap both and sac the token for 3-mana towards Chord (which from what lengthy discussions I've seen on the topic is illegal in paper play. That's a portion of the reason I stopped playing the card.
It's possible (as DS can work additionally with cards like Waljing Ballista, Genesis Hydra, Etc.) but (a) we run the risk of it just being "win-more" at that point, and (b) we would likely have to be a more "interactive" deck that just happens to have the "combo" in it rather than an all-in combo deck (as if you go "full ham" on the combo you may as well play other Doubling Walker decks.)
The shell is absolutely there...and it may be a good option for Walker decks. We just tend to play great "value" walkers rather than ones that are mediocre but win the game with Doubling Season..and without it essentially em being a 2-card "I win" combo...it becomes very difficult to play a 5-mana "do nothing when cast" permanent. Don't get me wrong; I love the idea and think it should be explored more...there a just a few hoops up front they have to be addressed.
Samut could be a funny happy medium. She can be very poor removal when need be and does have an amazing ultimate in a walker deck...I bet her double strike may even come into play here or there...it's too bad in sum that she is so underwhelming (as it would be quite feel bad when played into an empty board).
I do think the idea is worth looking into; as I have found that the best Walker decks I've played tend to be when the Walkers are also the win-condition.