Popping into this thread to share a random finding of mine.
It's not really exclusively mono black devotion, but if you want to splash green, it turns out that turns out bloodghast -> geralf's messenger -> murderous redcap -> gray merchant is a really strong birthing pod chain without any cards that are individually "bad".
It also allows you to play deathrite shaman & birds of paradise to speed your overall gameplan up a bit. It turns more into a birthing pod deck, but hey, gray merchant pod is pretty powerful, and pretty lethal overall.
This is insane! *starts brewing*
I hope your idea becomes a breakout deck. Then I could say that I was there when it all started.
I hope your idea becomes a breakout deck. Then I could say that I was there when it all started.
To be fair, I was the first poster on here to suggest Kiki Pod (proof), prior to any tournament or mtgo results :cool:. But it would be stupid to take any credit for it, since it was a fairly obvious deck, and there are lots of players who were thinking of similar ideas.
I do think Merchant pod can be decent however, but it would lack the ability to combo out (unless you consider hitting an opponent for 8-12 damage off a merchant a combo).
I may tinker around with it and make an independent thread for it.
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Find me online - I'm on Cockatrice * Tag - Badd B - Or on MTGO - Tag - Cbus05
Has anyone ever considered playing the deck with smallpox. Combined with Nykthos, its ok the sac the land, then bloodghast and geralf's messenger are even more effective.
I play it, and i must say that's it fun to play and effective
Popping into this thread to share a random finding of mine.
It's not really exclusively mono black devotion, but if you want to splash green, it turns out that turns out bloodghast -> geralf's messenger -> murderous redcap -> gray merchant is a really strong birthing pod chain without any cards that are individually "bad".
It also allows you to play deathrite shaman & birds of paradise to speed your overall gameplan up a bit. It turns more into a birthing pod deck, but hey, gray merchant pod is pretty powerful, and pretty lethal overall.
I was considering something similar. You could run a lot of toolbox creatures at the four slot like Redcap, Skinrender, Disciple of Phenax, Phyrexian Obliterator...seems like a legit strategy.
Has anyone ever considered playing the deck with smallpox. Combined with Nykthos, its ok the sac the land, then bloodghast and geralf's messenger are even more effective.
I play it, and i must say that's it fun to play and effective
Nykthos is only value late in the game and if you have a secure board and you still have to sac something that is powering it. I don't see it, but then I don't like Nykthos outside of EDH.
Still trying to figure out if it's worth running Avatar of discord. I have 3 different creatures all of which are pitchable to her. The downside is that she gets hit by bolt and Abrupt decay. Also unsure if 24 lands is the right amount. I don't have to necessarily hit 5 lands to play gray merchant, but with urborg nykthos is very reliant on what's on the battlefield. Haven't worked on the sideboard much, trying to find a 60 I like first.
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Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
Popping into this thread to share a random finding of mine.
It's not really exclusively mono black devotion, but if you want to splash green, it turns out that turns out bloodghast -> geralf's messenger -> murderous redcap -> gray merchant is a really strong birthing pod chain without any cards that are individually "bad".
It also allows you to play deathrite shaman & birds of paradise to speed your overall gameplan up a bit. It turns more into a birthing pod deck, but hey, gray merchant pod is pretty powerful, and pretty lethal overall.
That's similar to what I was envisioning in my head. Could use a few more toolbox critters though. I think four Messengers is one too many. I really like Erebos as a one-of. Doesn't die to Dismember which is huge.
I like the list, I will probably end up using something similar.
Why use Blood Crypt? You're not using the red for anything and it would seem like an unnecessary loss of life.
How's the Demigod of Revenge working? It seems like it's a bit too cute with Lilliana. I realise it's there to power out a massive devotion, I'm genuinely curious if it works. Perhaps either Profane Command and/or move some Phyrexian Arenas to the mainboard? This will help some card advantage and help with permanents with devotion.
Why use Grafdigger's Cage in the sideboard? It seems like it shuts off your Bloodghast, Geralf's Messenger and Demigod. I realise it shuts off (part of) Melira Pod and makes Kiki Pod work for it's combo but that's it. Why not try Leyline of the Void? It'll nuke theirs, keep yours and up your devotion. Plus it'll also stop Living End (Graf diggers cage does not, due to living end bringing them from the exile).
I'll be doing something similar and testing this Friday at my local.
I like the list, I will probably end up using something similar.
Why use Blood Crypt? You're not using the red for anything and it would seem like an unnecessary loss of life.
How's the Demigod of Revenge working? It seems like it's a bit too cute with Lilliana. I realise it's there to power out a massive devotion, I'm genuinely curious if it works. Perhaps either Profane Command and/or move some Phyrexian Arenas to the mainboard? This will help some card advantage and help with permanents with devotion.
Why use Grafdigger's Cage in the sideboard? It seems like it shuts off your Bloodghast, Geralf's Messenger and Demigod. I realise it shuts off (part of) Melira Pod and makes Kiki Pod work for it's combo but that's it. Why not try Leyline of the Void? It'll nuke theirs, keep yours and up your devotion. Plus it'll also stop Living End (Graf diggers cage does not, due to living end bringing them from the exile).
I'll be doing something similar and testing this Friday at my local.
You make valid points. I'm going to try the list with 4 ofs of both Messenger and Obliterator, and go for the 3rd Grey merchant. Leyline is a much better sideboard option as well.
Not a fan of demigod. Boosting the devotion seems like it would be mostly irrelevant by the time you get to play it and we really don't want more GY dependence with already DRS (somewhat), bloodghast and messenger weak to GY-hate.
I think you're putting too much weight on Demigod with respect to devotion. While he is good at adding to devotion, he also works on his own as a finisher. Think of the devotion as a bonus to what he already does.
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Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
A 5/4 hasty evading beater is fantastic, in this deck its -fairly- easy to cast and it recurs! Also if your opponent isn't smart and doesnt wait for the recur trigger to finish resolving (Always goes on stack) and counters, you get it back with the trigger.
So the green splash seems like the standard for DRS and removal it provides. I was thinking about maybe small splash of white as well for Ghostway. Provides protection from removal and sweepers as well as resetting Geralf's Messenger and getting a second trigger off of Gary.
Is this just cute or worth looking into? Is there anything else to gain from a white splash?
Gatekeeper of Malakir: 2 drop (as a 3 is better), but a way of getting more edict effects as well as boosting devotion
Liliana of the Veil: Only 3 as it starts to feel bad in early game when you see more of them. Based on goldfishing only at this point.
Hero's Downfall: I picked this as a catch all, dealing with man lands and potential other planeswalkers as well as problematic black creatures. I've mainly got this there for it's instant speed applications.
Deadly Allure: I've got this as a one of. I thought it was kind of a cool idea with Phyrexian Obliterator, but I do like it with Bloodghast and the other smaller stuff. It is a bit of a nonbo with the Sword, but it's potential discard fodder as well for Liliana.
The split between Thoughseize and Inquisition was mainly due not wanting to completely kill myself with the fetches and shocks.
Phyrexian Arena: Can enable devotion as well as draw some precious cards. I've found a bit in testing that it helps set up a better late game. I simply don't have Bob, so he might be worth a shot. If so I would replace Hero's downfall or maybe a few other things.
Sword of Light and Shadow: Potentially it draws you a card (well gets a creature from your graveyard) and gets life back. It also provided protection from path whilst making the smaller creatures in the deck just that much scarier.
My meta usually comprises of:
G(r) Tron
UWR Midrange
Jund (splash white)
Splinter Twin
Living End (only one guy)
Naya (because one man is in love with it)
Random homebrew deck
Occasional Melira or Kiki Pod.
While the idea seems fun and you get access to powerful cards, I don't see why we want to play mono black over Jund. Obliterator and demigod are powerful, but are we really sticking to mostly 1 color just for the sake of Merchant?
If we get great devotion abusers in BNG or JOU I could maybe see why we would go mono-colored, but until then I think this is just limiting your options for the sake of a single 5-drop that doesn't win the game.
I feel like this deck has little chance against Robots, Jund, Scapeshift, Tron, or a number of control variants
The BUG pod posted by AutumnLily looks good, and I will be interested to see how it does competitively, but it's not really mono-black aggro/midrange, it's really just a Pod variant.
Match 1: Through the Breach/Reanimator
Game 1:
Turn 3 Emrakul, kinda hard to come back from.
I had a turn 1 Thoughtseize after he thoughtseized me (taking a deathrite shaman), I saw Emrakul, Izzet Charm, Pentad Prism, Fury of the Horde, and I think a land or two. I took the Izzet charm thinking that he wouldn't have card draw/discard. He top decks the through the breach.
Game 2:
-2 Maelstrom Pulse -1 Deadly Allure +3 Surgical Extraction
I have IoK taking Thoughtseize. I proceed to curve out with Bloodghast, Gatekeeper, Geralf's Messenger and Gray Merchant.
Game 3:
I honestly can't remember the hand I kept. I had a turn 4 Obliterator. Turn 5 with his board empty and 3 Griselbrands in the graveyard. I have a choice between Nykthos and Arena in my hand with another Obliterator, Hero's Downfall in hand. I play the Nykthos, thinking to keep mana up for Hero's Downfall. He then drops Emrakul again Through the Breach.
That game I realised now I should have dropped Arena as it would have had the same options open, but not dying to Emrakul.
Match 2: Jund
Game 1: Kept a somewhat loose hand. Get buried by Dark Confidant, Lilliana, Tarmogoyfs and a Huntmaster.
Game 2:
+3 Disfigure -2 Maelstrom Pulse -1 Hero's Downfall.
(I brought in disfigure as it would kill Bob, Deathrite and Huntmaster.)
Turn 1 Deathrite, into a Turn 2 Liliana pitching a Bloodghast, into a turn 3 Nykthos with Obliterator and Bloodghast on the field, making him sac with Lili, with Phyrexian Arena and Gray Merchant in hand.
He then burns two Liliana's to make me sac two creatures.
I resolve Phyrexian Arena. Proceed to rip 6 lands over 3 turns and get face smashed by Tarmogoyf.
Match 3:
Bye
Match 4:
Mono Red Goblins thing.
Game 1:
Keep a bloodghast, sword, and deathrite. Proceeded to get slowly buried with too many goblins and bolt at every opportunity.
Again kept a loose hand (really should learn to mulligan better), with Abrupt Decay, Deathrite, Vampire Nighthawk and 3 lands. Proceed to get face smashed in again with him bolting Nighthawk, 2 Deathrites. Dropping Goblin Wardriver and Goblin Chieftan.
So after all that. I definitely want Infest within the 75. I'm not sure if I should give away the mono-red match up or if I want to see if I can make it better by adding maybe a Whip of Erebos.
The biggest issue I've found is that you HAVE to keep a 3 land hand. Otherwise you get stuck with a handful of 3 drops and no way to cast it.
This is insane! *starts brewing*
I hope your idea becomes a breakout deck. Then I could say that I was there when it all started.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
To be fair, I was the first poster on here to suggest Kiki Pod (proof), prior to any tournament or mtgo results :cool:. But it would be stupid to take any credit for it, since it was a fairly obvious deck, and there are lots of players who were thinking of similar ideas.
I do think Merchant pod can be decent however, but it would lack the ability to combo out (unless you consider hitting an opponent for 8-12 damage off a merchant a combo).
I may tinker around with it and make an independent thread for it.
I play it, and i must say that's it fun to play and effective
BSmallpoxB
Edh
I was considering something similar. You could run a lot of toolbox creatures at the four slot like Redcap, Skinrender, Disciple of Phenax, Phyrexian Obliterator...seems like a legit strategy.
Nykthos is only value late in the game and if you have a secure board and you still have to sac something that is powering it. I don't see it, but then I don't like Nykthos outside of EDH.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Gravecrawler
4 Bloodghast
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Avatar of Discord
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Profane Command
Non-Creat-Perm
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Whip of Erebos
Lands - 24
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Overgrown Tomb
5 Swamp
Still trying to figure out if it's worth running Avatar of discord. I have 3 different creatures all of which are pitchable to her. The downside is that she gets hit by bolt and Abrupt decay. Also unsure if 24 lands is the right amount. I don't have to necessarily hit 5 lands to play gray merchant, but with urborg nykthos is very reliant on what's on the battlefield. Haven't worked on the sideboard much, trying to find a 60 I like first.
Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
4 Dark Confidant
3 Siege Rhino
1 Thrun, The Last Troll
Spells - 20
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 abrupt decay
2 maelstrom pulse
1 slaughter pact
1 path to exile
1 Disfigure
1 damnation
3 lingering souls
NCP - 4
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bow of Nylea
4 verdant Catacombs
2 marsh flats
2 windswept heath
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 overgrown tomb
1 godless shrine
1 temple garden
1 Treetop Village
2 stirring wildwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Thrun, the last troll
2 Duress
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Stony Silence
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Back to nature
1 Utter End
1 Golgari Charm
I've been doing this on cockatrice (robs116 on cockatrice if you see me say hi) for the past week or so. Here's my list:
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Overgrown Tomb
8 Swamp
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Cavern of Souls
Creatures:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
4 Geralf's Messenger
2 Phyrexian Obliterator
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Murderous Redcap
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Dismember
4 Birthing Pod
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Infest
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Thoughtseize
2 Disfigure
1 Gaze of Granite
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Mindslicer
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Withered Wretch
I don't think it's ready for primetime yet, but there are certainly some powerful draws.
Creatures:21
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
3 Demigod of Revenge
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Spells:15
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Go for the Throat
4 Liliana of the Veil
Lands:24
4 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
4 Marsh Flats
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Overgrown Tomb
5 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
Sideboard:15
3 Disfigure
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Consume Spirit
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Phyrexian Arena
I like the list, I will probably end up using something similar.
Why use Blood Crypt? You're not using the red for anything and it would seem like an unnecessary loss of life.
How's the Demigod of Revenge working? It seems like it's a bit too cute with Lilliana. I realise it's there to power out a massive devotion, I'm genuinely curious if it works. Perhaps either Profane Command and/or move some Phyrexian Arenas to the mainboard? This will help some card advantage and help with permanents with devotion.
Why use Grafdigger's Cage in the sideboard? It seems like it shuts off your Bloodghast, Geralf's Messenger and Demigod. I realise it shuts off (part of) Melira Pod and makes Kiki Pod work for it's combo but that's it. Why not try Leyline of the Void? It'll nuke theirs, keep yours and up your devotion. Plus it'll also stop Living End (Graf diggers cage does not, due to living end bringing them from the exile).
I'll be doing something similar and testing this Friday at my local.
You make valid points. I'm going to try the list with 4 ofs of both Messenger and Obliterator, and go for the 3rd Grey merchant. Leyline is a much better sideboard option as well.
I think you're putting too much weight on Demigod with respect to devotion. While he is good at adding to devotion, he also works on his own as a finisher. Think of the devotion as a bonus to what he already does.
Legacy:
combo elves
Modern:
White Rock (41-24-4 in matches. Beginning 10/14/14. Last updated 1/2/15)
List:
4 Dark Confidant
3 Siege Rhino
1 Thrun, The Last Troll
Spells - 20
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 abrupt decay
2 maelstrom pulse
1 slaughter pact
1 path to exile
1 Disfigure
1 damnation
3 lingering souls
NCP - 4
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bow of Nylea
4 verdant Catacombs
2 marsh flats
2 windswept heath
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 overgrown tomb
1 godless shrine
1 temple garden
1 Treetop Village
2 stirring wildwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Thrun, the last troll
2 Duress
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Stony Silence
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Back to nature
1 Utter End
1 Golgari Charm
Is this just cute or worth looking into? Is there anything else to gain from a white splash?
6 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Arena
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Planeswalkers:
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Hero's Downfall
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Deadly Allure
Disruption:
2 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
Card Draw/Advantage:
3 Phyrexian Arena
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
Just to go over card choices:
Arena: My thinking is that it can use bloodghast in a pinch, but mainly there for Phyrexian Obliterator shenanigans.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: Mainly for mana fixing the Nykthos and Arena, as well as the fetches.
Gatekeeper of Malakir: 2 drop (as a 3 is better), but a way of getting more edict effects as well as boosting devotion
Liliana of the Veil: Only 3 as it starts to feel bad in early game when you see more of them. Based on goldfishing only at this point.
Hero's Downfall: I picked this as a catch all, dealing with man lands and potential other planeswalkers as well as problematic black creatures. I've mainly got this there for it's instant speed applications.
Deadly Allure: I've got this as a one of. I thought it was kind of a cool idea with Phyrexian Obliterator, but I do like it with Bloodghast and the other smaller stuff. It is a bit of a nonbo with the Sword, but it's potential discard fodder as well for Liliana.
The split between Thoughseize and Inquisition was mainly due not wanting to completely kill myself with the fetches and shocks.
Phyrexian Arena: Can enable devotion as well as draw some precious cards. I've found a bit in testing that it helps set up a better late game. I simply don't have Bob, so he might be worth a shot. If so I would replace Hero's downfall or maybe a few other things.
Sword of Light and Shadow: Potentially it draws you a card (well gets a creature from your graveyard) and gets life back. It also provided protection from path whilst making the smaller creatures in the deck just that much scarier.
My meta usually comprises of:
G(r) Tron
UWR Midrange
Jund (splash white)
Splinter Twin
Living End (only one guy)
Naya (because one man is in love with it)
Random homebrew deck
Occasional Melira or Kiki Pod.
My sideboard (from rough memory):
I'll post up something afterwards to see how the matchups go.
If we get great devotion abusers in BNG or JOU I could maybe see why we would go mono-colored, but until then I think this is just limiting your options for the sake of a single 5-drop that doesn't win the game.
I feel like this deck has little chance against Robots, Jund, Scapeshift, Tron, or a number of control variants
The BUG pod posted by AutumnLily looks good, and I will be interested to see how it does competitively, but it's not really mono-black aggro/midrange, it's really just a Pod variant.
6 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Arena
Creatures
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Thoughtseize
1 Hero's Downfall
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Deadly Allure
3 Disfigure
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Fulminator Mage
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Dismember
2 Contaminated Ground
Match 1: Through the Breach/Reanimator
Game 1:
Turn 3 Emrakul, kinda hard to come back from.
I had a turn 1 Thoughtseize after he thoughtseized me (taking a deathrite shaman), I saw Emrakul, Izzet Charm, Pentad Prism, Fury of the Horde, and I think a land or two. I took the Izzet charm thinking that he wouldn't have card draw/discard. He top decks the through the breach.
Game 2:
-2 Maelstrom Pulse -1 Deadly Allure +3 Surgical Extraction
I have IoK taking Thoughtseize. I proceed to curve out with Bloodghast, Gatekeeper, Geralf's Messenger and Gray Merchant.
Game 3:
I honestly can't remember the hand I kept. I had a turn 4 Obliterator. Turn 5 with his board empty and 3 Griselbrands in the graveyard. I have a choice between Nykthos and Arena in my hand with another Obliterator, Hero's Downfall in hand. I play the Nykthos, thinking to keep mana up for Hero's Downfall. He then drops Emrakul again Through the Breach.
That game I realised now I should have dropped Arena as it would have had the same options open, but not dying to Emrakul.
Match 2: Jund
Game 1: Kept a somewhat loose hand. Get buried by Dark Confidant, Lilliana, Tarmogoyfs and a Huntmaster.
Game 2:
+3 Disfigure -2 Maelstrom Pulse -1 Hero's Downfall.
(I brought in disfigure as it would kill Bob, Deathrite and Huntmaster.)
Turn 1 Deathrite, into a Turn 2 Liliana pitching a Bloodghast, into a turn 3 Nykthos with Obliterator and Bloodghast on the field, making him sac with Lili, with Phyrexian Arena and Gray Merchant in hand.
He then burns two Liliana's to make me sac two creatures.
I resolve Phyrexian Arena. Proceed to rip 6 lands over 3 turns and get face smashed by Tarmogoyf.
Match 3:
Bye
Match 4:
Mono Red Goblins thing.
Game 1:
Keep a bloodghast, sword, and deathrite. Proceeded to get slowly buried with too many goblins and bolt at every opportunity.
Game 2:
-3 Phyrexian Arena, -3 Geralf's Messenger, +3 Disfigure, +3 Vampire Nighthawk
Again kept a loose hand (really should learn to mulligan better), with Abrupt Decay, Deathrite, Vampire Nighthawk and 3 lands. Proceed to get face smashed in again with him bolting Nighthawk, 2 Deathrites. Dropping Goblin Wardriver and Goblin Chieftan.
So after all that. I definitely want Infest within the 75. I'm not sure if I should give away the mono-red match up or if I want to see if I can make it better by adding maybe a Whip of Erebos.
The biggest issue I've found is that you HAVE to keep a 3 land hand. Otherwise you get stuck with a handful of 3 drops and no way to cast it.