Nothing has really changed in the creature department with the requisite Pack Rat followed by Lifebane Zombie, Desecration Demon and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. The manabase also allows for the full set of Mutavault which have the added benefit of being rats as well to pump up the pack. This new version runs a one of planeswalker that hasn’t been seen for a while, Vraska the Unseen as a part of the dabble into Green. She is super versatile as she is able to remove almost any non-land permanent, and will often take down creatures trying to destroy her. Vraska compliments an already very strong removal package, which is extremely common for this style of deck. We start with Hero’s Downfall to rid the board of both creature and planeswalker threats, a trio of Devour Flesh which can skirt protection or hexproof, and with the foray into Green we find the other card added to the list Abrupt Decay which is just a good all around answer to a plethora of problem permanents. In order for the deck to keep ahead we have Underworld Connections for draw which also doubles as additional devotion count when you are draining with a Gray Merchant. The final piece of the puzzle comes with the discard powerhouse Thoughtseize that will not only strip your opponent of the most relevant card but also provide you invaluable information about his game plan.
The most apparent difference in this list from those past is the exclusion of Nightveil Specter for a very different evil in Lifebane Zombie. It looks like taking the extra precautions to hedge against Green Monsters and White Weenies paid off. His removal package, which is usually constructed for what you’re idea of the meta calls for, consisted of a full four Hero’s Downfall, a trio of Devour Flesh and two copies each of both Ultimate Price and Bile Blight. The other interesting point of note is that he went for two sets of Temples for the Scry power, which is very handy in conjunction with Underworld Connections when you’re low on life but absolutely need to find something specific.
The opening that this deck wants to see everytime it starts a new game is turn one Thoughtseize into turn two Pack Rat. So often this will rob the opponent of a key defensive piece which will allow the Pack Rat to get to work multiplying itself until it has gotten out of control, which tends to happen very quickly. The synergy with Mutavault which also happens to be a rat is another factor in boosting the lowly rats to monumental proportions. The secondary line of attack comes with a curve of threats starting at the three drop with Nightveil Specter a formidable Flying attacker which has the added value of not only stealing life from your opponent but also can steal cards from the top of their deck, which can even be played as long as the specter remains in play. Then at the four drop we have Desecration Demon which is quite simply a beat stick which you’ll use to grind the opponent to dust. Finally we get to Gray Merchant of Asphodel which has a very useful Devotion ability that will drain the life from your opponent and add that amount which is based on your total Devotion to Black mana. To help boost your Devotion count the deck also has Underworld Connections which provides a steady stream of cards at the price of some life and also a misers copy of Whip of Erebos that helps regain lost life point with Lifelink and will raise your dead creatures from the grave for a turn to fight for you again. As is typical with a Black deck removal is a key element and this deck is no different. There is a varied spread of spells but the key one is Hero’s Downfall which can deal with problem creatures and planeswalkers alike. This is complimented by Devour Flesh and Doom Blade to vanquish other creature problems. Then we round out the package with pseudo-sweeper Bile Blight which is capable of removing some very significant threads but you must be mindful of its use in the mirror. As mentioned before there is also Thoughtseize which not only takes care of any otherwise hard to handle problem but also provides very valuable information about the opponents plans.
Mono-Black Devotion
Owen Turtenwald
1st Place at Super Sunday Series Championship on 2/9/2014
The creatures all remain the same with Pack Rat into Nightveil Specter into Desecration Demon into Gray Merchant of Asphodel working up the curve. The manabase also remains entirely unchanging with full sets of Mutavault which double in the deck as rats to bolster Pack Rat and Temple of Deceit the chosen Scry land although the deck doesn’t run any blue spells per se. The draw/discard package again is no different with Underworld Connections to not only fuel the hand but also devotion count and Thoughtseize which is perhaps the most powerful turn one play in Standard at the moment. Now where we find the changes are in the removal suite that still has a full set of Hero’s Downfall but has eschewed Pharika’s Cure and scaled Devour Flesh down to two in order to squeeze in Born of the Gods new offering Bile Blight.
My favorite Born of the Gods cards that have been spoiled
While all the spoilers were unrolling the last couple of weeks my friends and I were looking at the new treats we would get to play with. Everyone had their own favorite…apart from Brimaz (aka the Lion King), because he’ll be ridiculously good and a standard all-star soon enough. I will go through my pick for best card for Mythic, Rare, uncommon and common slots . You may not agree, but as with anything in Magic, anyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Mythic of choice:
The first card that caught my eye was one of the minor gods. Mogis is cool. Xenagos could make G/R monsters absolutely insane and power out bananas monsters that crush EVERYTHING. However, neither of these got me excited. One of the gods fit exactly into a deck I already have built, but is missing something…and the fact that she was staring right back, like an answer to a prayer, was tremendous. What caught my eye was Ephara, God of the Polis. While her ability looks a little underwhelming, for the casual player, she is a bomb and a can’t miss all star. Here’s what got me excited.
A little over a year ago I wrote an article detailing what is in essence an Azorius deck where I push the detain ability just about as far as I can go. The deck list is as follows:
Azorius Detain (casual)
Now, this deck list wants to do exactly what Ephara is looking for: play lots of dudes! And with this deck, everytime you do, you’ll be detaining a creature and slowing down your opponent. The problem that this deck runs into is the need to replenish your hand and while it has ways to this, Ephara is the perfect card draw engine to make things work for you even faster. You’ll cast your guys, slow down your opponent, and then refill your hand with new weapons to tie up your opponent.
Now, people will tell me “Wait! This deck isn’t standard! What are you doing!”. True…this is not a standard legal deck, but at its heart Magic is game designed to be fun and this casual deck is exactly that. It is also a deck that I routinely run in a multiplayer free-for-all environment and can be very effective and can shut down the whole table for turns on end. Also, it could certainly be adjusted to be Standard playable and the detain ability is still perfectly valid. So, for those Standard players out there, with little adjustment, Ephara could play a role for you too.
Basically, at its simplest, this becomes a solid addition to simple decks looking to drop lots of creatures to turn sideways and smash your opponent. However, it combos really well with Heliod in the Standard environment, or any Bant populate deck (which could totally become a thing with Advent of the Wurm still running around). The quiet ability of drawing extra cards for playing creatures is terrific. It rewards you for doing exactly what we all want to do: play dudes and let them fight.
Rare of choice:
So, while I was at excited, the sheer fact that this card is printed it amazing. However, couple it with Springleaf Drum now you are a) able to ramp b) tap your Pain Seer without combat and c) get yourself cards. Imagine this in a Mono-Black Devotion deck. Turn 1: play a Swamp, cast Springleaf Drum – Turn 2: play a Swamp, cast Pain Seer, tap Pain Seer, play Thoughtseize – Turn 3: untap Pain Seer, draw your card, play a Swamp, tap Pain Seer, tap your Swamps, cast Desecration Demon Turn 4: untap Pain Seer, draw your card, play a Swamp, tap Pain Seer, tap your Swamps, cast Gray Merchant…and you’re off to the races. I’m sorry…Mono-Black just got one more way to accelerate into stuff, draw more cards and frankly, be even scarier than it already was. If this excites me for the impact it could have in a game just imagine what someone who LIKES to play Black will do with it. One word comes to mind: Gross.
Uncommon of choice:
This fits nicely in G or G/R creature heavy decks and games where the board state has stalled a little. This can happen in a multiplayer game because people just can’t force through enough damage to finish off an opponent. Little Noble Quarry will quickly result in a blow out. Bestow it on your Sedge Scorpion, or some other innocuous creature (although Deathtouchers are always the most fun!) and watch the rest of your army punch through to your opponent and blow them out. Sadly, your Scorpion dies, but guess what? Noble Quarry, because it is now a creature allows you to untap, reload, and take out opponent number 2 with exactly the same maneuver. This cute little unicorn is a game breaker and I love it!
Common of choice:
We learned from Theros that cheap Heroic triggers are the way to go in order to take maximum advantage of the mechanic. So, Epiphany Storm being only one red mana is efficient and triggers Heroic on a creature. A great example is my Akroan Crusader that acts like a little mini Assemble the Legion in a aggressive W/R deck. I don’t REALLY want to attack with my Crusader, but I do want the tokens, so this is perfect and it can then be used to help me rummage through my deck to accelerate my aggressive deck.
The other ability is finding cheap ways to trigger the Inspired mechanic on…you guessed it…Pain Seer. In a Rakdos B/R build this is the perfect enabler on a Pain Seer to get him to tap without forcing combat. So, you’d rummage with the Epiphany Storm (to discard a card you don’t need), and then when Pain Seer untaps draw a card and then take your draw step. So, for little investment you’ve just dug three cards deeper in your deck and hopefully found the gas you needed to continue to beat down…or find an answer to slow down your opponent. Either way, this card is huge boon and something anyone looking to play Red should be looking to pick up in order to trigger Heroic or Inspired abilities.
Those are my picks for top cards for each of the four slots. You may have different picks on your own, but the bottom line is that Born of the Gods looks like it could a very interesting set with lots of neat new tricks, fun choices, and things that continue to make Magic enjoyable and fresh.
Thanks,
Bruce Gray
@bgray8791 on Twitter
Creatures (16)
Spells (18)
Sideboard
And so with the final SCG Tournament for Theros Standard we have the usual suspect taking down the tournament with Mono-Black Devotion. This was a forgone conclusion by the end of the semi-final round as the last two wizards left battling were both devotees on The Path of the Pack Rat. And while we wait to see if Born of the Gods will shake up a new Standard format we are left to enjoy what was with this weeks offering.
