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.
Mono-Blue Devotion
Tyler Wilkerson
1st Place at Star City Games Orlando Standard Open on 01/11/2014
Lands (25)
Creatures (28)
Planeswalkers (2)
Spells (5)
Sideboard
And again we find that devotion is such a powerful strategy in the current Standard meta. While we wait for some new power players to emerge with the release of Born of the Gods we still have three more weekends to go before they will be working to forge a new face of Standard.
This deck is aggro through and through but uses Thassa, her Bident and Jace to help the deck keep the pedal to the metal. It all starts curving out smoothly through the one drops with Cloudfin Raptor and Judge’s Familiar. Then we move through the two drops from Frostburn Weird and Tidebinder Mage into three drops Nightveil Specter and Thassa herself. That all works to push out max devotion to drop Master of Waves. There is just a tiny bid of support in one-ofs from Domestication, Cyclonic Rift and Rapid Hybridization. All together the deck is able to pack a formidable punch that shows why it has been so dominant the last few months.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com
Creatures (16)
Other Spells (18)
Sideboard
Owen Turtenwald takes down the first standard tourney of the year with what is becoming his stock Mono-Black Devotion. What an excellent way for him to start off 2014 after having such an incredible run last year! Owen won two GPs back 2 back in completely different formats last November, one of them here using a solid Mono-Black Devotion build. There were also two winners at the SCG LA in December here, one from the Standard Open and the other the Invitational mixed Legacy with Standard. When we compare Owen’s list with the last three we showcased, we see it’s mostly streamlining the list to fight the metagame. He removed Erebos, God of the Dead from the main and opted for 3 in the sideboard, which is strong card advantage against control decks and stops life gain from Sphinx’s revelation. Adding more Pharika’s Cure against aggro decks like White Weenie and RDW to both remove and heal back a few life points, and finally a full set of Devour Flesh which is supremely useful against Blood Baron of Vizkopa. Mono Black Devotion shows that it is still one of the biggest contenders in the current Standard meta. I can’t wait to see how it holds up and gets further tweaked once Born of the Gods is released.
Creatures (17)
Other Spells (17)
Sideboard
Creatures (17)
Other Spells (17)
This weekends premier tournament results came through huge for Mono-Black Devotion in Standard. Not only was the SCG Standard Open won by MBD but it was the SCG Invitational winner as well. The two decks were 72 of 75 the same list with identical main deck compositions, and only minor meta calls for sideboard tweaks. There’s nothing groundbreaking about the deck but it has matured into a solid fighting machine. The opening of Thoughtseize into Pack Rat has been said by many to be the strongest one-two punch in standard right now. Follow that up with Nightveil Specter or Underworld Connections into Desecration Demon then a backbreaking Gray Merchant and most games can be over before your opponent has even begun. Of course not all games play out quite that perfect so the deck is packed with removal wielding full sets of both Devour Flesh and Hero’s Downfall with a singleton Pharika’s Cure. Speaking of singletons there is also a one of Erebos which still catches opponents with the no life gain clause while also supplying a steady stream of card advantage. The deck can also go all in on the Pack Rat strategy which often is the last permanent you cast once dropped on turn two and is backed up by Mutavault which as rats themselves also take opponents by surprise and turn trades into chumps. Not that we didn’t already know it but this deck will definitely be top tier at least until Journey to Nykthos. Let’s not forget Owen Turtenwald took down the Grand Prix Albuquerque with MBD last month.
Creatures (14)
Spells (22)
Sideboard
Continuing along the devotion themed decks we have here one of the usual suspects with a little twist. While this deck is primarily a Black Devotion deck the Red splash does allow for some heavy extra action to be played. The creature package boasts some requisite faces with Specter into Demon into Merchant for the devastating life swings and a miser Erebos for value. The pair of Sire of Insanity can be a real beating especially against control decks when you can capitalize on a superior board presence and strip them of any answers they might have been holding back. A full set of Thoughtseize and a pair of Rakdos’s Return also work hard to restrict your opponent from having many good options left against you. The devotion count is supplemented by standard includes of Underworld Connections and Whip of Erebos which both work to boost your side with card advantage. The rest is a robust removal package geared heavily against both creatures and Planeswalkers with full sets of Hero’s Downfall and Dreadbore backed up with a pair of Mizzium Mortars. All in all this deck looks to have a very strong mid to late game plan and could slip in as an alternative to just straight MonoBlack lists that have been running amok.
Creatures (28)
Other Spells (5)
Planeswalkers (2)
Sideboard
Continuing on it’s path of dominance the Mono Blue Devotion deck has continued to show why it is one of the premier prevalant decks in the current standard metagame. Built on a solid curve from one through to four the goal of the deck is to drop a Master of Waves bringing with it seven elemental friends. The deck is built for aggression and that can been seen with the lack of permission despite being blue. What this deck really capitalizes on from the blue mana is the power of card draw from the Bident and Jace. Cyclonic Rift to clear away blockers allows you to build to a lethal alpha strike and power through for the kill.
WOW !!! A huge congrats to Owen T with his back to back GP titles in two wildly different formats. This deck that he used to win the Standard GP was a real beaut to watch him pilot. The true MVP of this deck is a card that most held as an overpowered limited card, but not a huge constructed powerhouse. Owen showed how crazy Pack Rat can really play. A typical opening of turn one Thoughtseize into turn two Pack Rat often meant you were going to face down a plethora of rats in the next few turns, and activating Mutavaults buffs them as they are also rats. Not that this was the only line of play as turn three would often see Specter, turn four Demon and then turn five could have a potential 8 devotion Gray Merchant. And the one of Erebos is good for some card advantage but amazing at stopping opponents from regaining lost life, especially in the mirror match from their Gray Merchants. A full set of Underworld Connections makes sure that there is a steady stream of cards flowing to your hands at the cost of some minimal life points. The rest of the deck is a very powerful removal suite with Hero’s Downfall, Devour Flesh, Doom Blade and Ultimate Price to ensure there isn’t heavy resistance against your heavy beaters.
Mono-black Devotion
Brian Braun-Duin
Champion Grand Prix Louisville – Standard
Main Deck
60 cards
25 lands
15 creatures
20 other spells
Sideboard
15 sideboard cards
