Tag: starcitygames-dallas

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - August 4, 2014

Mono-Blue Devotion by Collin Roundtree (1st at SCG Dallas Standard Ope...

Champion’s Deck

Master of Waves - mono-blue devotion

Mono-Blue Devotion by Collin Rountree

1st Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 8/2/2014
With what became an inevitable conclusion with a mirror match final Mono-Blue Devotion reared its ugly head again to take down the Open in Dallas this weekend. The deck was obviously well positioned against the field as four copies managed to eke into the top 8. The more telling story is that with nothing added from Magic 2015 it was clearly already at its pinnacle with this standard configuration having ravaged the meta since it appeared after the release of Theros.

 

Although this is a blue deck there is no real Control element and it is firmly entrenched in the Aggro camp. It uses a very efficient curve to clutter the board with threats building to a inevitable conclusion. We start up the curve with two one drop flyers in Cloudfin Raptor that is able to grow over the first few turns into a sizable machine and Judge’s Familiar who sits around unimposingly waiting for that moment your opponent forgets that he is there to ruin his casting of a non-creature spell. Next at two there is Frostburn Weird which pulls double duty as a great wall or efficient ground pounder and Tidebinder Mage which is integral to lockdown the large creatures from GR/Jund Monsters, both adding two Devotion to the count. The next creature we have is Nightveil Specter which can be very useful as a threat in the air and will very often be able to strip away useful cards that your opponent would like to draw after a Scry, while adding on its own a full three to your Devotion. All of this Devotion then comes into play first with the other three drop Thassa, God of the Sea to turn her on for attacking or blocking but having her Scry every turn goes miles in helping you close out the victory in a timely fashion. The last creature at four is also looking at the Devotion when Master of Waves enters the battlefield to see just how many friends it’s inviting to the party. As a mono-colored deck it is able to include a full set of Mutavault into the manabase to ensure even after sorcery speed sweepers there is still pressure against the enemies life total and as a bonus also receive the Masters pump. As additional devotion and as a pseudo-removal spell there is a pair of Domestication. As far as the other spells there is a trio of Rapid Hybridization to flip huge problems into manageable Frog Lizards and also a pair of Cyclonic Rift which can often just seal the game once you hit that seventh land you needed to end a stall by sweeping the other side of the board but can also just bounce back one pesky blocker preventing you from victory.

 

Mono-blue devotion has time and time again proven that it is a highly efficient weapon to ruin your opponents day. If you are looking for a deck to rock your WMCQ then this is definitely one that you should highly consider. And on the flip side, if you aren’t going to be playing this deck then be certain to get some reps against it as you’ll almost certainly be facing off against it in a non-zero amount of rounds.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
Email: ejseltzer@hotmail.com
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - April 16, 2014

Champion’s Deck – UWR Delver by Eddie Solis (1st at SCG Da...

Daze
U/W/R Delver
Eddie Solis
1st Place at StarCityGames Legacy Open on 4/13/2014
Where old meets new we find this highly efficient instrument of destruction. Delver strategies have been around in Legacy for quite some time in varied combinations and designs. And now with True-Name combined with equipment there is additional facets to the deck. The crux of the deck though is about efficiency in its creatures, disruption, removal and draw creating a true force to be reckoned with.

We start with the namesake creature Delver of Secrets which is one of the best one drop creatures, when build properly into its deck. With a 28 of the cards in the deck able to Transform him from the triggered ability you’re basically a 50/50 shot to be smashing in with a ‘flying lightning bolt’ every turn. He is paired up with the very tricky True-Name Nemesis which while not unbeatable demands an answer or will make short work of your opponent. They are both supported by Legacy staple Stoneforge Mystic which has options to tutor up either a Batterskull or an Umezawa’s Jitte to speed to victory. A heavy disruption package finds full sets of Force of Will, Daze and Spell Pierce to suppress any plans the enemy may try to push forward. There is also a set of Wasteland in the manabase to try and limit their access to crucial mana. For removal we have both Swords to Plowshares to exile any creature threats and Lightning Bolt which can go either to a creature or straight to the dome to finish opponents fast. Finally there is both Brainstorm and Ponder to ensure that there is no taking the foot of the pedal once we get up to speed by streaming constant gas directly to the hand, and fetchlands in the manabase help to reset the top of the library when necessary.

To me this epitomizes the efficiency of Legacy with an ultra-low curve but still encapsulating all the basic tenets of threats, answers and draw. This is a marquee Tempo deck and if you like to hold control of the board while constantly advancing your own plan then this is a great deck for you. It is doubtful that it will be outclassed in terms of efficiency and even in elegance.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - April 15, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Mono-Black Devotion by Nicolas Schoolcra...

Mono-Black Devotion
Nicholas Schoolcraft
1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 4/12/2014
Lifebane zombie
Yet again we have another victory notched into the belt of Mono-Black Devotion. It would seem at this point that people are hopeful that Journey Into Nyx will be able to offer some variety to a format which while mixed seems to cede in the end to this deck. And while this is a very similar deck to what has been played previously there are some interesting tweaks.

 

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.

So with what has been spoiled so far from Journey Into Nyx I’m not convinced that we’ve gotten anything new to bolster this deck. We could stretch and say as a possible 1 of that Hall of Triumph would additionally beef up your already pretty big Pack Rat swarm, but I’d expect it more in the Mono-Blue Devotion instead to ensure your MASTER tokens didn’t disappear along with their Master. There is still many more cards left to come and so we will wait to see if it gets more weapons or if the rest of the field gets a level up to push Mono-Black Devotion back to a more equal footing.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter