Alright, over the past few weeks I've been brewing and testing and brewing again and I think I've come up with what the big contenders will look like post BNG. Lets do this:
1.) Mostly Black Devotion (red splash)
Coming off of last standard it should be no suprise to anyone that monoblack will do well. But the Gods gave us a gift for this season: Temple of Malice. The Rakdos goodies from Ravnica have taunted many a monoblack player to make a splash, only to be disappointed by Guildgates. The red splash is now much more viable because of this new mana fixing land. Rakdos's Return may not be a card name you have uttered recently, but there it is, and it is excellent in the monoblack shell. It is incredible in the life loss mirror, and remains the great anti-revelation.
The red splash offers just two other notable tools: Dreadbore and Mizzium Mortars. Running a split of Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall lets our curve relax quite a bit. Our 3CMC slot is stacked and turning 2 Downfalls into 3 Dreadbores eases it up nicely.
My most skeptical prediction for today is a great piece of tech I've been finding this deck really wants. Liliana of the Dark Realms. Liliana is an excellent, toolboxy card that adds two non creature devotion to black. She esures you hit every land drop for maximum Rakdos's Returns. She's a powerful kill spell, or a game ending pump spell. She also fixes our mana by grabbing Blood Crypts. And best of all, she lets me drop the land count to 24.
2.) GW Watchwolf
White weenie gets beefy. All of you are familiar with the GW aggressive decks that have seen moderate success at events in the past. The number one complaint? The mana. Well look no further, Temple of Plenty is here! This deck is the Brimaz' home. For the most part he goes in the place of Loxodon Smiter. I haven't done too much testing with this archetype, so I don't know exactly where the deck is headed. I'm thinking that the deck will play less one drops and move up the curve to maybe Archangel of Thune. However the list pans out, this deck is sure to be a doozy.
3.) Mostly Blue Devotion (white splash)
Oh you who devote themselves to Thassa, pray to Ephara, she will grant you victory! Blue looks great coming into the next format, and we can finally take advantage of the excellent Azorius gold due to Temple of Enlightenment. The main things we gain from the white splash are Detention Sphere and of course Ephara herself. Ephara seems stronger in everyway than Jace in this deck. She draws cards just like Jace does but she also is a 6/5, win the game machine whereas Jace is great at durdling. The other Azorius card that has a home here is Deputy of Aquittals. She can save important creatures like Nightveil Specter and Master of Waves from the ravages of removal, and does double duty with Ephara to draw more cards.
4.) UWx Control
You can have a good time all season playing control as long as you like playing blue and white! UWR, UWB, UWG, and straight UW all look like great ways to build a control deck for the upcoming season. They won't be changing much, if at all, the main thing will be paying attention to the meta.
5.) UG Monsters
Colossal Gruul drops red for blue. You may find this shocking seeing as Xenagod is in BNG, but rest assured, the blue stuff is that much better. We can also play noncreature things like Cyclonic Rift and Simic Charm without Domri putting his works on the deck. This is Kiora, the Crashing Wave's home, and also the place to workout your Kiora's Follower and Courser of Kruphix. If you want to play BNG cards, this is where its at.
6.) BW Humans
You should be familiar with this deck. I believe it was Channel Fireball's flagship deck for an event once. It's good, and it is also the home for Pain Seer. Not-so-Bob is no-so-bad in this deck. He isn't powerful enough on his own to warrant an inclusion in say monoblack, but he is powerful enough when you take advantage of his Human creature type. The rest of the deck is mostly untouched, though I've been playing around with Nyxborn Shieldmate recently. A vanilla 1/2 beater is nothing to write home about neither is a Holy Strength, but choices are good here. Pain Seer with this bestowed onto it can attack through Sylvan Caryatids and survive Bile Blights. It's also a one-drop for Orzhov Charm and a Human for our favorite Necromancer.
The main note of why I discuss this deck and not the Boros weenie decks is because Necromancer beats Drown in Sorrow, whereas Boros Charm doesn't.
So there you have it. Six decks to expect to be seeing on feature matches. There are likely more of them, talk to me about your winners here!
Have to disagree with your mono-black predictions.
DreadBore can not replace hero's. Sure it costs one less... But it is also multi colored and is sorcery speed
there was a guy at my fnm last fri that splashed white into the monoblue for detention spheres and sphinx rev and supreme verdict in the side. it worked really well. he was able to empty his hand and at your end step activate nyxthos and rev for 6 at the least, most of the time for 8 or 9. pretty much every game he ended the game with his life well over 20.
As for mono U. De-Sphere fits here. It is permanent devotion granting removal. Between turns 2 and 3 you should easily have enough devotiong to turn thassa on. (Nightveil + Wierd//Tidebinder)
I think Mono-Black splashing white will be really good since people are cutting back on Devour Flesh for other pieces of removal, so Blood Baron will be more insane. Also, white now has Revoke Existence, which answers obnoxious things like Assemble and opposing Underworld Connections.
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The only good thing about this post is the edible chocolate roaches they gave out! Mmm mmm!
*crawl crawl*
Wait a minute, edible roaches don't crawl! EDIBLE ROACHES DON'T CRAWL!
Mono with no splash seems stronger than ever to me. Assemble is only a problem because it doesn't let your demons get the killing blow, but Bile Blight solves that. Gods? Gild is a little slow but also hits other threats.
Bg and Bw both kill opposing Connections, so the main question will be how absurdly dominant MBD becomes and whether it gets to the point that everyone is gunning for the mirror match. We already see a decent amount of that effect.
The reason I'm putting monoblack on the red splash is because I think the meta will become more warped towards monoblack and UWx. And Rakdos's Return is gamebreaking in both of those matchups.
On the Hero's Downfall point, Dreadbore lets you play 5-8 universal planeswalker/creature removal spells. What's bad about that?
Mizzium Mortars is also better than Devour Flesh and deals with Blood Baron very well.
Just crushed 3 monoblack decks with green white at my last FNM, went on to split the winnings. Main board with skylashers and miscutters and control and mono blue hate is well rounded. Worst match up was against midrange decks.
I think the aggro decks are going to have to become for midrange-y, or play bigger creatures. I feel like the RDW blitz deck will have a harder time now that Drown in Sorrow is around and Bile Blight is around. If blitz decks see less play then the format will slow down.
The straight mono-white WW will also have to make changes, maybe become GW or BW.
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Current Decks:
Standard-
Modern (Semi-retired)- RBudget GoblinsR WBudget Death and TaxesW
Just crushed 3 monoblack decks with green white at my last FNM, went on to split the winnings. Main board with skylashers and miscutters and control and mono blue hate is well rounded. Worst match up was against midrange decks.
Great work FNM hero!
Now play somewhere competitive.
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I never understood why MUD players keep playing a straight aggro deck against control (UWx) and midrange (MBD), when tempo is better against these archetypes. Cut some weaker creatures, put in some more counters and protect the main creatures that win the game. At least that should be the sideboard plan. Ya Underworld Connections and Pack Rat and Gary wins games. Then why did you let them resolve in the first place?
I know counters right now are nowhere near what we've had before. But what we do have are actually pretty solid. Despite that, people are under-utilizing blue's unique mechanic.
The problem is it does nothing on an empty board, can be essentially countered by killing the creature you want to copy, it's a tap out deck so leaving mana open doesn't really bluff a counterspell much. Plus the only good target is Master of Waves which your either going to win with anyway, will get kill so this spell gets countered, or Supreme Verdict.
The problem is it does nothing on an empty board, can be essentially countered by killing the creature you want to copy, it's a tap out deck so leaving mana open doesn't really bluff a counterspell much. Plus the only good target is Master of Waves which your either going to win with anyway, will get kill so this spell gets countered, or Supreme Verdict.
I guess you could make a case for copying a Nightveil or something and accumulating card advantage that way, but it still seems like a win-more kind of card.
I guess you could make a case for copying a Nightveil or something and accumulating card advantage that way, but it still seems like a win-more kind of card.
It's very winmore. The only time I'd copy a Master of Waves with it is when it is only for 1 or 2. Any bigger than that I already have a legion of doom. It's not like it saves it from a Supreme Verdict.
It's very winmore. The only time I'd copy a Master of Waves with it is when it is only for 1 or 2. Any bigger than that I already have a legion of doom. It's not like it saves it from a Supreme Verdict.
I wouldn't say it is win-more. It allows you to save all your tokens (via cast in response to removal on MoW). Since most players will save their removal for MoW, it certainly is not bad, though you have to ask yourself, if you're going to be able to untap before MoW dies (this is where Familiar can help), and/or if you have 7 mana.
That's just one application, mind you. Copying Nightveil is not bad. If I'm not mistaken the copies also go towards your devotion. I could see it being played as a 2-of at least out of the SB. I think Unravel the Aether and Revoke Existence will be seeing quite a bit of play, so it can also help in giving you another Thassa. It's certainly not a win-more card, anymore than having another creature in your hand is.
Honestly, most of the times I don't think players know what win-more means.
I feel like BW Midrange will work since they have the power of Black Devotion but also have amazing cards in Blood Baron of Vizkopa and Revoke Existence.
While it wasn't on your list, a Tier 1 RG Devotion/Monsters list will pop up likely using Fanatic of Xenagos and Xenagos, God of Revels. If any color pairing can easily turn on their god, it's GR and they have their own relevent removal (Unravel the Aether which also serves to screw up good scrying/manipulated top-decks).
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1.) Mostly Black Devotion (red splash)
Coming off of last standard it should be no suprise to anyone that monoblack will do well. But the Gods gave us a gift for this season: Temple of Malice. The Rakdos goodies from Ravnica have taunted many a monoblack player to make a splash, only to be disappointed by Guildgates. The red splash is now much more viable because of this new mana fixing land. Rakdos's Return may not be a card name you have uttered recently, but there it is, and it is excellent in the monoblack shell. It is incredible in the life loss mirror, and remains the great anti-revelation.
The red splash offers just two other notable tools: Dreadbore and Mizzium Mortars. Running a split of Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall lets our curve relax quite a bit. Our 3CMC slot is stacked and turning 2 Downfalls into 3 Dreadbores eases it up nicely.
My most skeptical prediction for today is a great piece of tech I've been finding this deck really wants. Liliana of the Dark Realms. Liliana is an excellent, toolboxy card that adds two non creature devotion to black. She esures you hit every land drop for maximum Rakdos's Returns. She's a powerful kill spell, or a game ending pump spell. She also fixes our mana by grabbing Blood Crypts. And best of all, she lets me drop the land count to 24.
2.) GW Watchwolf
White weenie gets beefy. All of you are familiar with the GW aggressive decks that have seen moderate success at events in the past. The number one complaint? The mana. Well look no further, Temple of Plenty is here! This deck is the Brimaz' home. For the most part he goes in the place of Loxodon Smiter. I haven't done too much testing with this archetype, so I don't know exactly where the deck is headed. I'm thinking that the deck will play less one drops and move up the curve to maybe Archangel of Thune. However the list pans out, this deck is sure to be a doozy.
3.) Mostly Blue Devotion (white splash)
Oh you who devote themselves to Thassa, pray to Ephara, she will grant you victory! Blue looks great coming into the next format, and we can finally take advantage of the excellent Azorius gold due to Temple of Enlightenment. The main things we gain from the white splash are Detention Sphere and of course Ephara herself. Ephara seems stronger in everyway than Jace in this deck. She draws cards just like Jace does but she also is a 6/5, win the game machine whereas Jace is great at durdling. The other Azorius card that has a home here is Deputy of Aquittals. She can save important creatures like Nightveil Specter and Master of Waves from the ravages of removal, and does double duty with Ephara to draw more cards.
4.) UWx Control
You can have a good time all season playing control as long as you like playing blue and white! UWR, UWB, UWG, and straight UW all look like great ways to build a control deck for the upcoming season. They won't be changing much, if at all, the main thing will be paying attention to the meta.
5.) UG Monsters
Colossal Gruul drops red for blue. You may find this shocking seeing as Xenagod is in BNG, but rest assured, the blue stuff is that much better. We can also play noncreature things like Cyclonic Rift and Simic Charm without Domri putting his works on the deck. This is Kiora, the Crashing Wave's home, and also the place to workout your Kiora's Follower and Courser of Kruphix. If you want to play BNG cards, this is where its at.
6.) BW Humans
You should be familiar with this deck. I believe it was Channel Fireball's flagship deck for an event once. It's good, and it is also the home for Pain Seer. Not-so-Bob is no-so-bad in this deck. He isn't powerful enough on his own to warrant an inclusion in say monoblack, but he is powerful enough when you take advantage of his Human creature type. The rest of the deck is mostly untouched, though I've been playing around with Nyxborn Shieldmate recently. A vanilla 1/2 beater is nothing to write home about neither is a Holy Strength, but choices are good here. Pain Seer with this bestowed onto it can attack through Sylvan Caryatids and survive Bile Blights. It's also a one-drop for Orzhov Charm and a Human for our favorite Necromancer.
The main note of why I discuss this deck and not the Boros weenie decks is because Necromancer beats Drown in Sorrow, whereas Boros Charm doesn't.
So there you have it. Six decks to expect to be seeing on feature matches. There are likely more of them, talk to me about your winners here!
[THS|SOM|5TH] Devotion to Black
DreadBore can not replace hero's. Sure it costs one less... But it is also multi colored and is sorcery speed
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Current Decks
Modern: Affinity
Standard: BW Control
Legacy: Death and Taxes :symw::symr:
Vintage: NA
Twitter: twitter.com/axmanonline
Stream: twitch.tv/axman
Current Decks
Modern: Affinity
Standard: BW Control
Legacy: Death and Taxes :symw::symr:
Vintage: NA
Bident and Ephara cannot
Just something to think about
Your mana base dictates how playable your 75 are way more often than the seemingly powerful cards you run in it.
Ahem..
There are multiple reasons to want red.
As for mono U. De-Sphere fits here. It is permanent devotion granting removal. Between turns 2 and 3 you should easily have enough devotiong to turn thassa on. (Nightveil + Wierd//Tidebinder)
BEEEES!
Rabble Red
Modern
Burn
Infect
*crawl crawl*
Wait a minute, edible roaches don't crawl! EDIBLE ROACHES DON'T CRAWL!
Bg and Bw both kill opposing Connections, so the main question will be how absurdly dominant MBD becomes and whether it gets to the point that everyone is gunning for the mirror match. We already see a decent amount of that effect.
Black
U/W
Bant
Red devot.
Esper humans and b/w midrange.
-MH
Modern
BUGLantern ControlBUG
On the Hero's Downfall point, Dreadbore lets you play 5-8 universal planeswalker/creature removal spells. What's bad about that?
Mizzium Mortars is also better than Devour Flesh and deals with Blood Baron very well.
[THS|SOM|5TH] Devotion to Black
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Just crushed 3 monoblack decks with green white at my last FNM, went on to split the winnings. Main board with skylashers and miscutters and control and mono blue hate is well rounded. Worst match up was against midrange decks.
The straight mono-white WW will also have to make changes, maybe become GW or BW.
Standard-
Modern (Semi-retired)-
RBudget GoblinsR
WBudget Death and TaxesW
EDH-
RWBAlesha, Who Smiles At DeathRWB
GGGFreyalise, Llanowar's FuryGGG
UBW$100 Sharuum the HegemonUBW
Great work FNM hero!
Now play somewhere competitive.
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
I know counters right now are nowhere near what we've had before. But what we do have are actually pretty solid. Despite that, people are under-utilizing blue's unique mechanic.
........................
The normal strategy in both matchups is to cut some number of creatures for counterspells and planeswalkers.
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
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The problem is it does nothing on an empty board, can be essentially countered by killing the creature you want to copy, it's a tap out deck so leaving mana open doesn't really bluff a counterspell much. Plus the only good target is Master of Waves which your either going to win with anyway, will get kill so this spell gets countered, or Supreme Verdict.
I guess you could make a case for copying a Nightveil or something and accumulating card advantage that way, but it still seems like a win-more kind of card.
It's very winmore. The only time I'd copy a Master of Waves with it is when it is only for 1 or 2. Any bigger than that I already have a legion of doom. It's not like it saves it from a Supreme Verdict.
[THS|SOM|5TH] Devotion to Black
I wouldn't say it is win-more. It allows you to save all your tokens (via cast in response to removal on MoW). Since most players will save their removal for MoW, it certainly is not bad, though you have to ask yourself, if you're going to be able to untap before MoW dies (this is where Familiar can help), and/or if you have 7 mana.
That's just one application, mind you. Copying Nightveil is not bad. If I'm not mistaken the copies also go towards your devotion. I could see it being played as a 2-of at least out of the SB. I think Unravel the Aether and Revoke Existence will be seeing quite a bit of play, so it can also help in giving you another Thassa. It's certainly not a win-more card, anymore than having another creature in your hand is.
Honestly, most of the times I don't think players know what win-more means.
Mono-blue gained nothing from BNG so I think it will fade away, especially with Bile Blight and Drown in Sorrow around.
Colossal Gruul got so many new good toys that it will be #2 or #3, and will be the deck i personally am using.
Esper control still has its ridiculous cards from RtR so it will remain top 5.
As for the rest it remains to be seen which archetypes will emerge, but I think that Wx Aggro is well-positioned if someone can perfect it.
Username: Cabz
Standard: UBR Grixis Control
Modern: U Merfolk
Commander: UB Wydwen, the biting gale
While it wasn't on your list, a Tier 1 RG Devotion/Monsters list will pop up likely using Fanatic of Xenagos and Xenagos, God of Revels. If any color pairing can easily turn on their god, it's GR and they have their own relevent removal (Unravel the Aether which also serves to screw up good scrying/manipulated top-decks).