- claims a deck running 8 terrors is poorly positioned against aggro (that's what the lifebane's are for as well, they nab a creature out of all the green creature decks, which is MUCH better than spectre)
It is poor against aggro, really. Thoughtseize eats at his life total, Connections does nothing the turn it comes down and eats at his life total to make use of, and he lacks any notable board presence until T4 Demon (especially against nongreen decks where Zombie is just a Peek that trades). There is good reason he has four Cure and four Necro in the sideboard. :/
I do question running Temples without even wanting the splash color but I recognize Pack Rat as a good card and I don't even run it. Particularly when you're packing a boatload of nonpermanent spells, Pack Rat turns spells otherwise worthless for the given matchup into devotion-enabling threats. Minor synergy with Whip and single-handedly beating GW are really minor bonuses compared to the simple fact it effectively prevents dead draws.
I do question running Temples without even wanting the splash color but I recognize Pack Rat as a good card and I don't even run it. Particularly when you're packing a boatload of nonpermanent spells, Pack Rat turns spells otherwise worthless for the given matchup into devotion-enabling threats. Minor synergy with Whip and single-handedly beating GW are really minor bonuses compared to the simple fact it effectively prevents dead draws.
I guess that's the main strength of Pack Rat in this deck: it turns dead cards into fuel. You can run 4x Doom Blade, Pharika's Cure and Devour Flesh against every deck and still be able to turn them into value, and the same applies for lategame Thoughtseizes, your second Erebos, God of the Dead, and obviously extra lands. This is the main reason why I'm thinking about playing 2-3x maindeck, the deck just loses to dead draws.
What people dont get , is that Pack rat is a card that give us option. Oh ok , it dies to removal. And what? I dont even bother when they kill my rat with removal . If im without options , i can discard and the copies continues. If i have options in hand , One less card for them , one less removal, and sometimes one less turn burning my rat (if we drop it in the 2 turn) . Sometimes all we need , is more time to drop our bombs , and pack rat gives that especially in turn 2 , where we lack options. It isnt a card to end games ( although a few times it does ) , is just a card to keep you going.
1- It make dead draws in tokens.
2- The tokens contribute to devotion
3- We dont have good 2cmc drops
4- It goes well whit the whip
I like them , but i understand people who dont. Im just telling you , at least , the rat deserves a chance
I think clearly no because Anger of the Gods costs double red, I guess it becomes more viable with RB scrylands but you would still need blood crypts, scrylands an 2-4 guildgates and Merciless Eviction 6cmc, what other mass removal could there be for black?
The answer to many creatures is
a) Desecration Demon forcing them so sac.
b) running 4 Thoughtseize, 4 Hero's Downfall, 4-6 Dreadbore, Doomblade, Ultimate Price, Devour Flesh, Mizzium Mortars
c) removing Thoughtseizes for more spot removal can help
d) ratchet bomb
e) illness in the ranks
d+e
Rakdos scrylands would also make Chandra viable as a splash.
The biggest concern I have is specifically Mono Blue devotion, post board I have 12 targeted removal spells (4x cure, downfall, and doom blade) plus 4 demons and 3 devours and still have difficulty keeping multiple master draws contained through judge's familiars. 6cmc on eviction isn't as much of a drawback since that's about the time it get's really out of hand. I'm also considering Gaze of Granite from green and possibly even cyclonic rift from blue (synergy with thoughtseize vs Thassa is at least decent). The issue I have with Ratchet Bomb and Hythonia the cruel is that the deck runs 4-5 bounce spells, making the permanent-based wipes more difficult to rely on.
Going against an unknown meta (this is my first standard tourney since OG-Ravnica). Has been playing very nicely so far against random decks and tonight it'll be put to the test! I feel like I might be looking at my Agent of the Fates, Nighthowlers, and Baleful Eidolons wishing they were better cards - but we'll see.
My plan is to achieve early board presence/control and ride that to victory.
As a follow-up: Agent of the Fates & co. were not worth it - but Lifebane Zombie is HUGE against GW. Throwing the cutesy stuff out and debating on whether or not to stick with MB-Devotion or BW-Midrange.
I think the only way you play agent of fates is if you are splashing White and have a couple of Orzhov charms for extra removal and to return Merchant/Overlord to abuse them. Though even then Lifebane still just seems like a much more solid option
^ Agreed. At least Lifebane has an effect on cards in your opponent’s hand. The Agent requires you to spend more cards on him to gain an advantage, which does not enhance the strength of the deck.
Guess i notice a serious problem with mono black..
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THASSA ONCE ITS ON THE BOARD?
We have no targeted exile and im not sure if pithing needle stops her scry.
Someone help me with how to deal with this ***** besides saying thoughtseize it because it just isn't always possible.
This has been pointed out multiple times in the thread already but, Liliana of the Dark Realms kills gods. Alternatively if you are that worried about it, Quag Sickness can kill it, and just keeping them off devotion shouldn't be too hard in this deck.
Guess i notice a serious problem with mono black..
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THASSA ONCE ITS ON THE BOARD?
We have no targeted exile and im not sure if pithing needle stops her scry.
Someone help me with how to deal with this ***** besides saying thoughtseize it because it just isn't always possible.
If Thassa is out, you kill the creatures supporting her. I am considering running Quag Sickness as a countermeasure, but I am not sure if I want to devote any SB slots for it.
And Thoughtseize is a likely counter to her, too. Although if she is already out, then that is a problem.
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looks like liliana + corrupt combo is going to be a thing then.
ive seen deathrite shaman with packrat discard lands to ramp mana.
...I forgot DRS even existed. Well, time to go get a playset and use them as my 1-drops until I am satisfied that Thoughtseize will be more powerful than it currently is.
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The best way to deal with thassa is thoughtseize and LILIANA. The -x/-x takes the gods out.
Neither of those are good solutions. Liliana especially.
That being said, I don't think Thassa is that big of a problem, provided you keep her off being a creature. If you're really, really worried, about that matchup, you could always consider Profit//Loss.
-1/-1 wrecks all of blue's fliers, and kills Master of Waves and all tokens. The +1/+1 portion of the card probably isn't going to be very relevant very often though.
Neither of those are good solutions. Liliana especially.
That being said, I don't think Thassa is that big of a problem, provided you keep her off being a creature. If you're really, really worried, about that matchup, you could always consider Profit//Loss.
-1/-1 wrecks all of blue's fliers, and kills Master of Waves and all tokens. The +1/+1 portion of the card probably isn't going to be very relevant very often though.
Well , thats your opinion. I ve killed purphoros and thassas thanks to her.
And in MY OPINION , Profit//loss is terrible. Why should i use this instead of other removals ? To kill a judges familiar too? lol
Well , thats your opinion. I ve killed purphoros and thassas thanks to her.
And in MY OPINION , Profit//loss is terrible. Why should i use this instead of other removals ? To kill a judges familiar too? lol
Just because you've happened upon being lucky enough to kill a few gods with Liliana (probably because it is a pretty bad card and most players ignore her) doesn't mean it is a "good" solution.
And Profit//Loss *IS* pretty bad if you can't use the white. The point was that it is a one-sided sweeper that just happens to kill a decent portion of their creatures and helps keep devotion down.
Liliana is what can best be called "a desperation solution." i.e. not reliable, nor profitable. Sometimes, if you're desperate enough, you can waste her loyalty on gods. Doesn't make it good.
Think this belongs more into the black aggro thread?
Seems very much build on Xathrid Necromancer plus a lot of Humans.
Maybe does not even need Gray Merchant or Devotion.
Not sure how this deals with Master of Waves or other creature aggro decks with so little removal.
It's not looking to really remove anything when it can just get by everything with Marauder and finish things off with Gary without having to attack. Plus there's a lot of life gain, something other aggro decks don't have.
I've secretly been working on a version of this deck and I didn't even know it at first. I started out building a B/G Midrange/Rock variant and it slowly started to become more and more black heavy. Now I'm playing basically Mono Black splashing Green for some options. I noticed that you guys were talking about how Profit // Loss was not good if you weren't running white. Well, Golgari Charm does the same thing, but also has 2 other VERY relevant abilities, and that's what I have been using. Here's my current list.
Temple of Mysterys are in there because they are green sources that don't mess up being able to cast Nightveil Specter. The lands have been changing around a decent amount. I may want another Temple in there instead of the Golgari Guildgate. This will be much easier when I get the B/G Temple =( I hate guildgates.
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I've secretly been working on a version of this deck and I didn't even know it at first. I started out building a B/G Midrange/Rock variant and it slowly started to become more and more black heavy. Now I'm playing basically Mono Black splashing Green for some options. I noticed that you guys were talking about how Profit // Loss was not good if you weren't running white. Well, Golgari Charm does the same thing, but also has 2 other VERY relevant abilities, and that's what I have been using. Here's my current list.
Temple of Mysterys are in there because they are green sources that don't mess up being able to cast Nightveil Specter. The lands have been changing around a decent amount. I may want another Temple in there instead of the Golgari Guildgate. This will be much easier when I get the B/G Temple =( I hate guildgates.
To be honest, I really, really like this list. I think it might be 1 Underworld Connections too many...but other than that, I'm a fan. I'd probably run 1x Mistcutter Hydra maindeck in its place.
So I ended up going 3-2 tonight for my decks maiden voyage for a standard event. I'm pretty happy with how it worked out considering my losses were to mono red and esper control, both for very stupid reasons.
Round 1 I went 2-0 verse a Mono B mirror
He wasn't running pack rat, I was, he was running 4 doom blade 4 Heros's Downfall game 1 to my 2 Doom Blades, 3 Dreadbore, 3 Downfall, 2 Mortars. He got me down to 3 game 1 and I stabilized with a whipped back pack rat discarding to make a pack rat token into Gray Merchant.
Game 2 He got me to 3 life but then just ran over him with Lili pumped Demon and a Whip in play (24 point life swings are back breaking, I also Slaughter Games'd his merchants).
Round 2 I went 2-0 verse another Mirror this time splashing blue
Game 1 Lili was an all star savior here as she let me whipped back demon swing for 12 (again) and stabilize me into double merchants to finish out the game.
Game 2 was a bit grueling, but was able to stick a whipped back pack rat token and a lili to start feeding the rat into an unstoppable force. I also Slaughter Games'd his Far//Away when he tapped out to play a specter so that I could protect my whipped back rats after Thoughtseizing him to take out a dissolve and then seeing the Far//Away off of a Lifebane Zombie
Round 3 I went 0-2 against RDW
Game 1 he got a god draw I only saw Doom Blade for removal and couldn't stabilize in time against his board.
Game 2 I wrathed his board with turn 3 Anger of the gods with Mountain, Nykthos, Blood Crypt, Swamp in play. He played hammer with a mutavault in play. I had no instant speed removal, I played a demon and he swung in for 3 with a hammer token, I was reading lightning strike (I was right), so I took it, dropped down to 9. On my turn I drew into a second Nykthos with a Merchant in hand, and instead of cycling out my Nykthos's to play merchant I played whip, he tapped down demon by saccing a mutavault, he swung and showed double lightning strikes. If I had played Merchant I probably would have won this game (and he even admitted to this as well as we talked after the game, he feels this is a terrible matchup for him and feels he got very very lucky).
Round 4 was against Domri Naya
Game 1 we both started kind of slow. I killed his turn 2 Lion with a dreadbore. Turn 3 I played Lifebane Zombie into Turn 4 Lifebane Zombie. Turn 5 I Rakdos'd his hand away. Turn 6 he conceded.
Game 2 I mulled to 5 but I kept a dreadbore/mortars heavy hand with two land but he just beat face with a mutavault for a few turns because he realized there was nothing I could do about it. I eventually stabilized with a whip and pack rat. Lili really did some work in letting me grab two cards a turn to be able to fuel the pack rat while still keeping up removal for his other creatures.
Round 5 was against Esper Control.
Game 1 I got stuck on 4 lands with double merchant in hand and he had just enough disruption to take out all my other threats and ended up losing to Aetherling. Very annoying.
Game 2 I forced him to use Verdict on 3 Rats, then a Dsphere on my second Rat from hand, then I whipped back rat and made a token and it just went the distance. Lili also let me keep hitting lands and let me Rakdos his hand away after he tried to stabilize with a Sphinx's Rev.
Game 3 I got stuck on 3 land and didn't see my 4th until turn 9. A resolved Obzedat on turn 10 with dissolve back up did work as I never saw a Hero's Downfall or either of my Erebos's. I also didn't see any side boarded cards this game in addition to the mana screw. A thoughtseize or Slaughter Games would have gone the distance.
I feel as though this match is easily winnable but it requires seeing the right part of the deck in addition to hitting your first few land drops.
We played a couple of more post-board games for fun and I just stomped him.
Overall I really enjoyed playing the deck and I really appreciate now how good pack rat is. I'm also much less worried about Blood Baron between Erebos, Slaughter Games, Thoughtseize, and Mizzium Mortars. There's another Standard event tomorrow and I think I'll keep the decklist as is. Moving the Anger of the Gods to the board and having the Lifebane Zombies main was really good since even if Zombie missed it was still usually a 3/1 unblockable that got to peek at their hand and add 2 devotion.
I'm still unsure about the sideboard. I feel like I have too many cards devoted to control, but I feel the aggro matchup is already so well shored up that it doesn't matter since I just bring in Cure's and Angers over Thoughtseizes and Rakdos's Returns against RDW and Angers over thoughtseizes against Naya and GW, while against control (depending on the build) I get to take out some combination of Doom Blades, Zombies, Mortars, and possibly pack rats to put in more returns, Slaughter Games, Thoughtseizes, Durresses, etc... I don't know if I like running 4 returns in the 75 as they did seem to clog my hand when I missed land drops, but then again it's been a very small sample size in an actual event and I really need to buckle down and test the deck a bunch more.
I also tested about 15 game 1s against Mono U devotion and I feel that matchup is easily in our favor. So much removal that it's hard for them to turn on devotion, and then additionally I've Lili'd away Thassa enough times to prevent a lethal attack next turn into stabilizing of Merchants that I'm not too worried about it.
I'm debating cutting 2 Returns in the board for 2 Rakdos Charms. There have been so many times where I can just kill a Mono U player because of his Master of Waves tokens, or a Young P deck, and I have no current answers to Hammer, Whip, Bident, Ratchet Bomb, and Pithing Needle. But I'll make that decision based on how the meta at my shop turns out. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of GY based stuff running around outside of whip and scooze that the GY ability seems irrelevant (since it's usually a better play to just destroy the whip or kill the scooze). I might cut down on the Slaughter Games in the board too, but I just really want to see that every game against control and especially multiple copies.
Also considering going up to 4 Hero's Downfall and down to 3 Dreadbore, simply to have more answers to Obzedat and Hasty Creatures as well as more outs to Soldier of the Pantheon, Master of Waves, and whipped creatures.
To be honest, I really, really like this list. I think it might be 1 Underworld Connections too many...but other than that, I'm a fan. I'd probably run 1x Mistcutter Hydra maindeck in its place.
4 does seem like a lot, but 3 felt like I was never seeing them when I wanted them. I was on 3 Connections and 2 Read the Bones, but I absolutely hate seeing Read the Bones when I am playing against anything aggressive. At least Underworld Connections adds 2 to my Gray Merchant drain against Aggro.
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Just because you've happened upon being lucky enough to kill a few gods with Liliana (probably because it is a pretty bad card and most players ignore her) doesn't mean it is a "good" solution.
And Profit//Loss *IS* pretty bad if you can't use the white. The point was that it is a one-sided sweeper that just happens to kill a decent portion of their creatures and helps keep devotion down.
Liliana is what can best be called "a desperation solution." i.e. not reliable, nor profitable. Sometimes, if you're desperate enough, you can waste her loyalty on gods. Doesn't make it good.
I agree , its some how "desperation solution" but its the only way to kill them.
Idk , im testing liliana instead of erebos. I like her , but im not convinced that she deserve a spot.
And sorry for my english , im better with portuguese
Liliana is fine and the more mono black u run the better she gets.
I wouldn't run more than 2 main and 1 mb and 1 sb is probably better especially if you aren't playing corrupt which I'm not sure why you wouldn't play at least 1 corrupt in mono black
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It is poor against aggro, really. Thoughtseize eats at his life total, Connections does nothing the turn it comes down and eats at his life total to make use of, and he lacks any notable board presence until T4 Demon (especially against nongreen decks where Zombie is just a Peek that trades). There is good reason he has four Cure and four Necro in the sideboard. :/
I do question running Temples without even wanting the splash color but I recognize Pack Rat as a good card and I don't even run it. Particularly when you're packing a boatload of nonpermanent spells, Pack Rat turns spells otherwise worthless for the given matchup into devotion-enabling threats. Minor synergy with Whip and single-handedly beating GW are really minor bonuses compared to the simple fact it effectively prevents dead draws.
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Mogis's Marauder
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
3 Thrill-Kill Assassin
4 Tormented Hero
4 Xathrid Necromancer
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Whip of Erebos
2 Doom Blade
2 Duress
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Hero's Downfall
4 Lifebane Zombie
3 Pack Rat
I guess that's the main strength of Pack Rat in this deck: it turns dead cards into fuel. You can run 4x Doom Blade, Pharika's Cure and Devour Flesh against every deck and still be able to turn them into value, and the same applies for lategame Thoughtseizes, your second Erebos, God of the Dead, and obviously extra lands. This is the main reason why I'm thinking about playing 2-3x maindeck, the deck just loses to dead draws.
1- It make dead draws in tokens.
2- The tokens contribute to devotion
3- We dont have good 2cmc drops
4- It goes well whit the whip
I like them , but i understand people who dont. Im just telling you , at least , the rat deserves a chance
The biggest concern I have is specifically Mono Blue devotion, post board I have 12 targeted removal spells (4x cure, downfall, and doom blade) plus 4 demons and 3 devours and still have difficulty keeping multiple master draws contained through judge's familiars. 6cmc on eviction isn't as much of a drawback since that's about the time it get's really out of hand. I'm also considering Gaze of Granite from green and possibly even cyclonic rift from blue (synergy with thoughtseize vs Thassa is at least decent). The issue I have with Ratchet Bomb and Hythonia the cruel is that the deck runs 4-5 bounce spells, making the permanent-based wipes more difficult to rely on.
WURMiraclesRWU
UBRCruel ControlRBU
If you're having fun, I'm not.
As a follow-up: Agent of the Fates & co. were not worth it - but Lifebane Zombie is HUGE against GW. Throwing the cutesy stuff out and debating on whether or not to stick with MB-Devotion or BW-Midrange.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THASSA ONCE ITS ON THE BOARD?
We have no targeted exile and im not sure if pithing needle stops her scry.
Someone help me with how to deal with this ***** besides saying thoughtseize it because it just isn't always possible.
This has been pointed out multiple times in the thread already but, Liliana of the Dark Realms kills gods. Alternatively if you are that worried about it, Quag Sickness can kill it, and just keeping them off devotion shouldn't be too hard in this deck.
If Thassa is out, you kill the creatures supporting her. I am considering running Quag Sickness as a countermeasure, but I am not sure if I want to devote any SB slots for it.
And Thoughtseize is a likely counter to her, too. Although if she is already out, then that is a problem.
Currently Running:
Nothing, I have just gotten back after a long hiatus, and am just now starting to rebuild my collection.
ive seen deathrite shaman with packrat discard lands to ramp mana.
...I forgot DRS even existed. Well, time to go get a playset and use them as my 1-drops until I am satisfied that Thoughtseize will be more powerful than it currently is.
Currently Running:
Nothing, I have just gotten back after a long hiatus, and am just now starting to rebuild my collection.
Neither of those are good solutions. Liliana especially.
That being said, I don't think Thassa is that big of a problem, provided you keep her off being a creature. If you're really, really worried, about that matchup, you could always consider Profit//Loss.
-1/-1 wrecks all of blue's fliers, and kills Master of Waves and all tokens. The +1/+1 portion of the card probably isn't going to be very relevant very often though.
Well , thats your opinion. I ve killed purphoros and thassas thanks to her.
And in MY OPINION , Profit//loss is terrible. Why should i use this instead of other removals ? To kill a judges familiar too? lol
Just because you've happened upon being lucky enough to kill a few gods with Liliana (probably because it is a pretty bad card and most players ignore her) doesn't mean it is a "good" solution.
And Profit//Loss *IS* pretty bad if you can't use the white. The point was that it is a one-sided sweeper that just happens to kill a decent portion of their creatures and helps keep devotion down.
Liliana is what can best be called "a desperation solution." i.e. not reliable, nor profitable. Sometimes, if you're desperate enough, you can waste her loyalty on gods. Doesn't make it good.
It's not looking to really remove anything when it can just get by everything with Marauder and finish things off with Gary without having to attack. Plus there's a lot of life gain, something other aggro decks don't have.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Nightveil Specter
3 Lifebane Zombie
1 Abhorrent Overlord
//Permanents
4 Underworld Connections
2 Whip of Erebos
//Spells
3 Thoughtseize
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Doom Blade
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Golgari Charm
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Devour Flesh
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Golgari Guildgate
2 Temple of Mystery
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Mutavault
13 Swamp
4 Pharika's Cure
2 Duress
2 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Pithing Needle
1 Fade into Antiquity
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Golgari Charm
1 Devour Flesh
Powering up a huge Gaze of Granite or Mistcutter Hydra off of Nykthos is so much fun it should be illegal.
Temple of Mysterys are in there because they are green sources that don't mess up being able to cast Nightveil Specter. The lands have been changing around a decent amount. I may want another Temple in there instead of the Golgari Guildgate. This will be much easier when I get the B/G Temple =( I hate guildgates.
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To be honest, I really, really like this list. I think it might be 1 Underworld Connections too many...but other than that, I'm a fan. I'd probably run 1x Mistcutter Hydra maindeck in its place.
The deck I ended up running was
4x Desecration Demon
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
2x Pack Rat
3x Lifebane Zombie
Sorcery (10)
2x Thoughtseize
4x Dreadbore
2x Mizzium Mortars
2x Rakdos's Return
3x Hero's Downfall
2x Doom Blade
Enchantments(5)
2x Whip of Erebos
3x Underworld Connections
Planeswalkers(2)
2x Liliana of the Dark Realms
Lands (24)
4x Blood Crypt
4x Rakdos Guildgate
2x Mountain
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
12x Swamp
2x Duress
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Rakdos's Return
2x Thoughtseize
2x Pherika's Cure
4x Slaughter Games
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
Round 1 I went 2-0 verse a Mono B mirror
He wasn't running pack rat, I was, he was running 4 doom blade 4 Heros's Downfall game 1 to my 2 Doom Blades, 3 Dreadbore, 3 Downfall, 2 Mortars. He got me down to 3 game 1 and I stabilized with a whipped back pack rat discarding to make a pack rat token into Gray Merchant.
Game 2 He got me to 3 life but then just ran over him with Lili pumped Demon and a Whip in play (24 point life swings are back breaking, I also Slaughter Games'd his merchants).
Round 2 I went 2-0 verse another Mirror this time splashing blue
Game 1 Lili was an all star savior here as she let me whipped back demon swing for 12 (again) and stabilize me into double merchants to finish out the game.
Game 2 was a bit grueling, but was able to stick a whipped back pack rat token and a lili to start feeding the rat into an unstoppable force. I also Slaughter Games'd his Far//Away when he tapped out to play a specter so that I could protect my whipped back rats after Thoughtseizing him to take out a dissolve and then seeing the Far//Away off of a Lifebane Zombie
Round 3 I went 0-2 against RDW
Game 1 he got a god draw I only saw Doom Blade for removal and couldn't stabilize in time against his board.
Game 2 I wrathed his board with turn 3 Anger of the gods with Mountain, Nykthos, Blood Crypt, Swamp in play. He played hammer with a mutavault in play. I had no instant speed removal, I played a demon and he swung in for 3 with a hammer token, I was reading lightning strike (I was right), so I took it, dropped down to 9. On my turn I drew into a second Nykthos with a Merchant in hand, and instead of cycling out my Nykthos's to play merchant I played whip, he tapped down demon by saccing a mutavault, he swung and showed double lightning strikes. If I had played Merchant I probably would have won this game (and he even admitted to this as well as we talked after the game, he feels this is a terrible matchup for him and feels he got very very lucky).
Round 4 was against Domri Naya
Game 1 we both started kind of slow. I killed his turn 2 Lion with a dreadbore. Turn 3 I played Lifebane Zombie into Turn 4 Lifebane Zombie. Turn 5 I Rakdos'd his hand away. Turn 6 he conceded.
Game 2 I mulled to 5 but I kept a dreadbore/mortars heavy hand with two land but he just beat face with a mutavault for a few turns because he realized there was nothing I could do about it. I eventually stabilized with a whip and pack rat. Lili really did some work in letting me grab two cards a turn to be able to fuel the pack rat while still keeping up removal for his other creatures.
Round 5 was against Esper Control.
Game 1 I got stuck on 4 lands with double merchant in hand and he had just enough disruption to take out all my other threats and ended up losing to Aetherling. Very annoying.
Game 2 I forced him to use Verdict on 3 Rats, then a Dsphere on my second Rat from hand, then I whipped back rat and made a token and it just went the distance. Lili also let me keep hitting lands and let me Rakdos his hand away after he tried to stabilize with a Sphinx's Rev.
Game 3 I got stuck on 3 land and didn't see my 4th until turn 9. A resolved Obzedat on turn 10 with dissolve back up did work as I never saw a Hero's Downfall or either of my Erebos's. I also didn't see any side boarded cards this game in addition to the mana screw. A thoughtseize or Slaughter Games would have gone the distance.
I feel as though this match is easily winnable but it requires seeing the right part of the deck in addition to hitting your first few land drops.
We played a couple of more post-board games for fun and I just stomped him.
Overall I really enjoyed playing the deck and I really appreciate now how good pack rat is. I'm also much less worried about Blood Baron between Erebos, Slaughter Games, Thoughtseize, and Mizzium Mortars. There's another Standard event tomorrow and I think I'll keep the decklist as is. Moving the Anger of the Gods to the board and having the Lifebane Zombies main was really good since even if Zombie missed it was still usually a 3/1 unblockable that got to peek at their hand and add 2 devotion.
I'm still unsure about the sideboard. I feel like I have too many cards devoted to control, but I feel the aggro matchup is already so well shored up that it doesn't matter since I just bring in Cure's and Angers over Thoughtseizes and Rakdos's Returns against RDW and Angers over thoughtseizes against Naya and GW, while against control (depending on the build) I get to take out some combination of Doom Blades, Zombies, Mortars, and possibly pack rats to put in more returns, Slaughter Games, Thoughtseizes, Durresses, etc... I don't know if I like running 4 returns in the 75 as they did seem to clog my hand when I missed land drops, but then again it's been a very small sample size in an actual event and I really need to buckle down and test the deck a bunch more.
I also tested about 15 game 1s against Mono U devotion and I feel that matchup is easily in our favor. So much removal that it's hard for them to turn on devotion, and then additionally I've Lili'd away Thassa enough times to prevent a lethal attack next turn into stabilizing of Merchants that I'm not too worried about it.
I'm debating cutting 2 Returns in the board for 2 Rakdos Charms. There have been so many times where I can just kill a Mono U player because of his Master of Waves tokens, or a Young P deck, and I have no current answers to Hammer, Whip, Bident, Ratchet Bomb, and Pithing Needle. But I'll make that decision based on how the meta at my shop turns out. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of GY based stuff running around outside of whip and scooze that the GY ability seems irrelevant (since it's usually a better play to just destroy the whip or kill the scooze). I might cut down on the Slaughter Games in the board too, but I just really want to see that every game against control and especially multiple copies.
Also considering going up to 4 Hero's Downfall and down to 3 Dreadbore, simply to have more answers to Obzedat and Hasty Creatures as well as more outs to Soldier of the Pantheon, Master of Waves, and whipped creatures.
4 does seem like a lot, but 3 felt like I was never seeing them when I wanted them. I was on 3 Connections and 2 Read the Bones, but I absolutely hate seeing Read the Bones when I am playing against anything aggressive. At least Underworld Connections adds 2 to my Gray Merchant drain against Aggro.
Standard: B/x Devotion
Modern: Death & Taxes
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I agree , its some how "desperation solution" but its the only way to kill them.
Idk , im testing liliana instead of erebos. I like her , but im not convinced that she deserve a spot.
And sorry for my english , im better with portuguese
I wouldn't run more than 2 main and 1 mb and 1 sb is probably better especially if you aren't playing corrupt which I'm not sure why you wouldn't play at least 1 corrupt in mono black