It's at literally almost no cost at all if you choose to run Primeval Titan. There's no way it's correct to run Titan and just fetch Forests every time. This deck will have the same problem the standard devotion deck has - even worse really. If someone kills all of your mana guys via Pyroclasm, Electrolyze, multiple 1-for-1 removal spells, etc...you're going to be left with a bunch of 6-8 mana cards and a Nykthos that does nothing. I like that this deck has cards that fight against this to some degree like Strangleroot Geist, Ram-Gang, and Vengevine, but Wolf Run seems like a reasonable hedge in that direction as well.
With how huge tec edge, ghost quarter, and fulminator mage have been lately Im hesitant to get on the kessig train.
I like that it makes dorks worth drawing late game... but thats all it really does.
Well, I'm pretty scrub at this format. Take what I say for now with a grain of salt
Wouldn't you be happy they Tec edge your Kessig over your Nykthos??? That seems completely okay with me if they kill my Kessig instead of your other, better lands. Not running things because they are nonbasics only matters if
1) Your deck currently has no nonbasics, so you are Tec Edge proof (not the case)
2) You are playing against a deck that has recurring Tec Edges and you are playing a control deck (not the case)
3) You are afraid of Blood Moon (not the case)
4) You really need the land to make colored mana that it doesn't (I highly doubt this is the case)
By adding just a couple of those cards you are taking away from creatures that make the deck go. On top of that, this format does not allow for that many shenanigans to go off.
Greater Good could be good because it allows me to discard the vengevines then cast two creatures I drew off of Greater good to get the vengevines back and might be tested, in fact I think it will be tested. But the other cards need not apply
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If I were to run this deck, these are the choices that I would make.
Some interesting ones are:
1. Khalni Hydra- On a good game, this usually comes down on turn 4. Whats nice is that after the first one, multiples in your hand are free.
2. Chameleon Colossus- My four drop of choice, as the only removal it doesn't dodge is Path. Also is a great mana sink with Nykthos.
3. Omnath- Another big guy that should work well. Not sure if it's better than Primalcrux in the slot though.
Lightning bolt is the biggest piece of removal but the best aggro decks all run smaller toughness creatures.
What makes the list I have resistant is that it does not solely rely on the mana creatures, just the mana creatures help make your draws a little more explosive. Its the Strangleroot Geist, the Boggarts, and the Vengevines which push this deck to something kind of scary. They recur and they have haste.
leatherback Baloth has a higher toughness, but you do not get a profit out of him as soon as your drop him. After a wipe such as a pyroclasm it is just a 4/5, Boggart, Geist and Vengevine all can attack the turn after a wipe, a lot of time can survive a wipe, and are a lot tougher to get rid of late on.
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"Some call it a Habit, Cardboard Crack Addict
Tried to pull away, but now I'm Back At it
Love is Emphatic, cards need to be played
Hailing from the BA, accumulating CA"
Yea, those are MTG Bars. What can I say, I am a dork
I have been testing this list on MODO, and have scored over 50%, which I consider pretty remarkable. About 20 matches have shown me that the deck is fast enough to profitably race the combo decks, even Bogle, and cards like Rancor and Craterhoof Behemoth give you decent chances in games that go a bit longer. Scapeshift matchup feels fairly bad (between Pyroclasm, Izzet Charm, and Cryptic Command it feels like they have enough interaction to make it to 7 mana), and the Jund matchup seems close, maybe slightly unfavorable.
I have basically never brought in the Fecundity - it feels bad in a deck that wants to get out of the gates so quickly - it's possible it should be something else. Thrun or Swords maybe.
I also had Dungrove Elders in the Leatherback Baloth slots and liked them as well. Sweet against UWR and Jund. Not sure which is better - Baloth is harder to cast if you have an early Nykthos, but is generally bigger.
This list focuses more on the beatdown, using the Nykthos for basically Garruk or a hardcast Behemoth, but this also makes it a bit more resilient if you don't draw it or they remove enough creatures that Nykthos isn't effective. You also just occasionally go nuts with a Burning-Tree Emissary draw and puke your entire hand out by T2 or T3. Not sure where to go from here, but I think with a little work this deck could be something real.
I've tried making one of these sorts of decks, and I find that mana sinks are important. Nykthos gives you a ton of mana if everything goes according to plan, but if you have nothing to spend that mana on, why bother?
Something I've tried (but without any success) was to splash white for Gavony Township and Selesnya Guildmage as mana sinks. That version is glacially slow, though. Nevertheless, if you're looking into token makers as your mana sinks, Jade Mage is also an option.
I had forgotten about this card but I just stumbled back across it and I thought about this thread. You guys should try Magus of the Candelabra. Paying 1 to untap Nythos could be good....
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Modern xWBreakfast at Urza'sxW UWGBantUWG GWRNaya ZooRWG
Basically, you just crank out a dumptruck full of mana. Your garbage dump sites would then be 4 Gen Waves and Wolf Run. I feel like it could use more though.
Here is the list I am toying with that splashes red for removal and extra answers for combo. I went with a 2 of Lotus Cobra, but I feel it might be right to play more.
I wanted to make a RUG Ramp Version as well, but I feel like two colors (the red splash for removal and wolf run) makes it to difficult to add the third color and makes Nykthos way worse. The one of Banefire is there for the control matchups, plus as a mana sink. Raging Ravine was my choice for on board mana sinks.
I debated on Gaea's Herald in the sideboard for the control matchup, or maybe Mistcutter Hydras. I feel like the Elvish Mystic (mana dorks) are the worst cards in the deck, just because I feel like red sweeping is really powerful.
I feel like Lotus cobra with the Farseek's/Search for Tomorrow/Primeval Titan effects is going to be bonkers. I also thought it might be right to put in a thundermaw hellkite or two.
I am nervous about farseek because it only grabs Stomping Ground or Mountain. I might be looking for a replacement. Maybe going with the mana dork strategy is better. I feel like that would make the deck faster.
Hi,
I have been pondering an idea of running green Leylines alongside the Nykthos, so you have 12 free GG cards. I am not sure, if the idea has any merit, but I thought I'd put it out there.
Here a test build with this idea. By the way, I think that Karamer's Acolite is insane.
one thing about leyline of vitality is with cloudstone curio and 2 burning-tree emissary, you get infinite life. It might be cool if decks could'nt kill you with infinite damage (twin,pod)
non the less, they are probably too weak on their own to warrant merit.
You also seem to have too much going on with both tooth and nail and genesis wave. Its an either/ or thing.
Lastly, arbor elf , Garuk Wildspeaker work amazingly well with utopia sprawl, which is important if you never draw nykthos
Anyone considered Oversoul of Dusk, Kodama of the North Tree or Vorapede?
Some removal-resistent Beaters/Protectors, which enable lots of devotion could be really good for a more ramp orientated deck, i guess.
Hi,
I have been pondering an idea of running green Leylines alongside the Nykthos, so you have 12 free GG cards. I am not sure, if the idea has any merit, but I thought I'd put it out there.
Here a test build with this idea. By the way, I think that Karamer's Acolite is insane.
While I'm not in love with the green leylines, I think it's a very clever idea. The blue leylines seem pretty strong, and of course the black one is all kinds of good. Consider me inspired.
I don't think leylines are the way to go. I mean the idea sounds really great, but besides Leyline of the Void and Leyline of Sanctity, which can be really useful in sb, all others are not really playable, in my opinion. To get them in your starting hand, you would have to play them as 4 ofs, but you usually don't want more than one of each. Their effects just aren't good enough to waste 8 Slots for cards that are really bad topdecks and don't have enough impact.
Don't get me wrong, i think the idea in itself is really good. I just think our leylines are too weak. But I'd love to be proven wrong, because more 'free' devotion cards like Burning-Tree Emissary for more explosive starts would be really great. Utopia Sprawl can be used the same way (if you don't cast it at turn 1) and synergizes really good with Garruk Wildspeaker.
Any other 'free' devotion cards I'm missing?
I don't think leylines are the way to go. I mean the idea sounds really great, but besides Leyline of the Void and Leyline of Sanctity, which can be really useful in sb, all others are not really playable, in my opinion. To get them in your starting hand, you would have to play them as 4 ofs, but you usually don't want more than one of each. Their effects just aren't good enough to waste 8 Slots for cards that are really bad topdecks and don't have enough impact.
Don't get me wrong, i think the idea in itself is really good. I just think our leylines are too weak. But I'd love to be proven wrong, because more 'free' devotion cards like Burning-Tree Emissary for more explosive starts would be really great. Utopia Sprawl can be used the same way (if you don't cast it at turn 1) and synergizes really good with Garruk Wildspeaker.
Any other 'free' devotion cards I'm missing?
just throwing ideas out there. umbra would involve an attack step, but would add gg to devotion.
a revane that lasts a full turn (magic Christmas land) would provide gx6
just throwing ideas out there. umbra would involve an attack step, but would add gg to devotion.
a revane that lasts a full turn (magic Christmas land) would provide gx6
I think Garruk Wildspeaker fits way better with in a green Nykthos deck than Nissa Revane with Nissa's Chosen. But Bear Umbra sounds interesting, thanks for that one. You only need to attack and not to make any damage or anything, which is clearly way better. Downside is that we can't keep any mana from our first main phase, but it could be really good in aggroish builds.
Here's my decklist i threw together a few days ago. It's more a ramp build with Tooth and Nail, Ulamog and even Emrakul as curvetoppers.
The unusual stuff:
Besides the 2x Nobles Hierarchs I play Utopia Sprawls and even Abundant Growth over creature-mana-dorks like elves.
Upsides of that are that I'm less vulnerable to creature hate and boardsweepers (I played some elves last Standard season and in Modern aswell and the feeling when your whole first 3 turns are destroyed by one single Supreme Verdict is just meh).
Also Utopia Sprawl is a 'free' devotion card after turn 1 (And by 'free' I mean the card gives me back her costs in the same turn) that synergizes perfectly with Garruk Wildspeaker. Abundant Growth is cantripping with adding 1 to the devotion count (the mana fixing part can be also neat).
Speaking of cantripping, this deck bases on Sebastian Knorr's GP Antwerp deck. He found Abundant Grove to be better than Dorks and although I was skeptical I think so too after some testing. The thing is that cantripping is just sooo good for this deck and it's consistency. Good enough that i added blue for some Serum Visions and Coiling Oracle as a pseudo mana dork. During Goldfishing he hit the land surprisingly often and Serum Visions helps with that, too. And if he doesn't, at least he cantrips. Also i don't care about him dying as a chump blocker or due to boardsweepers as i would care about an llanowarelf.
Splashing blue also lets me play Minamo, School at Water's Edge which can push your mana really over the edge (Hardcasted Emrakul on turn 4 with it once, not even Tron can give you that). It's a solid 1 of and tutorable with Primeval Titan and Sylvan Scrying (if you already have your Nykthos).
Polukranos fits really good, because this decks tends to produce 4-5 Mana on turn 3 and then explodes on turn 4 into 7, 8 or even more mana, for which Polukranos offers great use.
If you have any questions about this decklist feel free to ask. I definitely have to do some more playtesting, because i think theres a lot of potencial here. Sadly i really don't have much time at the moment.
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Well, I'm pretty scrub at this format. Take what I say for now with a grain of salt
1) Your deck currently has no nonbasics, so you are Tec Edge proof (not the case)
2) You are playing against a deck that has recurring Tec Edges and you are playing a control deck (not the case)
3) You are afraid of Blood Moon (not the case)
4) You really need the land to make colored mana that it doesn't (I highly doubt this is the case)
By adding just a couple of those cards you are taking away from creatures that make the deck go. On top of that, this format does not allow for that many shenanigans to go off.
Greater Good could be good because it allows me to discard the vengevines then cast two creatures I drew off of Greater good to get the vengevines back and might be tested, in fact I think it will be tested. But the other cards need not apply
Tried to pull away, but now I'm Back At it
Love is Emphatic, cards need to be played
Hailing from the BA, accumulating CA"
4x Copperline Gorge
12x Forest
2x Stomping Ground
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Kessig Wolf Run
Creatures: 35
4x Boggart Ram-Gang
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
4x Chameleon Colossus
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Khalni Hydra
4x Llanowar Elves
2x Omnath, Locus of Mana
2x Primeval Titan
2x Stomping Ground
3x Strangleroot Geist
4x Voyaging Satyr
2x Genesis Wave
2x Beast Within
2x Creeping Corrosion
2x Eternal Witness
2x Thrun, the Last Troll
2x Nature's Claim
2x Obstinate Baloth
3x Scavenging Ooze
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
If I were to run this deck, these are the choices that I would make.
Some interesting ones are:
1. Khalni Hydra- On a good game, this usually comes down on turn 4. Whats nice is that after the first one, multiples in your hand are free.
2. Chameleon Colossus- My four drop of choice, as the only removal it doesn't dodge is Path. Also is a great mana sink with Nykthos.
3. Omnath- Another big guy that should work well. Not sure if it's better than Primalcrux in the slot though.
Any other comments are appreciated.
Lightning bolt is the biggest piece of removal but the best aggro decks all run smaller toughness creatures.
What makes the list I have resistant is that it does not solely rely on the mana creatures, just the mana creatures help make your draws a little more explosive. Its the Strangleroot Geist, the Boggarts, and the Vengevines which push this deck to something kind of scary. They recur and they have haste.
leatherback Baloth has a higher toughness, but you do not get a profit out of him as soon as your drop him. After a wipe such as a pyroclasm it is just a 4/5, Boggart, Geist and Vengevine all can attack the turn after a wipe, a lot of time can survive a wipe, and are a lot tougher to get rid of late on.
Tried to pull away, but now I'm Back At it
Love is Emphatic, cards need to be played
Hailing from the BA, accumulating CA"
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
19 Forest
Spells (8)
4 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
4 Rancor
Creatures (29)
2 Llanowar Elves
2 Elvish Mystic
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
3 Leatherback Baloth
4 Vengevine
2 Craterhoof Behemoth
3 Torpor Orb
3 Deglamer
2 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Fecundity
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Batterskull
1 Witchbane Orb
I have basically never brought in the Fecundity - it feels bad in a deck that wants to get out of the gates so quickly - it's possible it should be something else. Thrun or Swords maybe.
I also had Dungrove Elders in the Leatherback Baloth slots and liked them as well. Sweet against UWR and Jund. Not sure which is better - Baloth is harder to cast if you have an early Nykthos, but is generally bigger.
This list focuses more on the beatdown, using the Nykthos for basically Garruk or a hardcast Behemoth, but this also makes it a bit more resilient if you don't draw it or they remove enough creatures that Nykthos isn't effective. You also just occasionally go nuts with a Burning-Tree Emissary draw and puke your entire hand out by T2 or T3. Not sure where to go from here, but I think with a little work this deck could be something real.
Sig by DNC/HotP Studios
Thus, I agree with the inclusion of Kessig Wolf Run and Polukranos, World Eater. Primeval Titan is also valuable, since it can tutor Wolf Run. Deadbridge Goliath could be used if you're feeling charitable.
Something I've tried (but without any success) was to splash white for Gavony Township and Selesnya Guildmage as mana sinks. That version is glacially slow, though. Nevertheless, if you're looking into token makers as your mana sinks, Jade Mage is also an option.
Here's my combo build of "Mono"-Green Devotion:
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Stomping Ground
1 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
10 Forest
4 Voyaging Satyr
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Abundant Growth
4 Fertile Ground
4 Overgrowth
3 Verdant Haven
4 Chancellor of the Tangle
1 Primal Surge
The focus here is on enchanting lands, and stuff to untap them.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Modern
xWBreakfast at Urza'sxW
UWGBantUWG
GWRNaya ZooRWG
Sig by DNC/HotP Studios
I guess that shows how much attention I've paid to Theros.
Modern
xWBreakfast at Urza'sxW
UWGBantUWG
GWRNaya ZooRWG
Basically, you just crank out a dumptruck full of mana. Your garbage dump sites would then be 4 Gen Waves and Wolf Run. I feel like it could use more though.
I wanted to make a RUG Ramp Version as well, but I feel like two colors (the red splash for removal and wolf run) makes it to difficult to add the third color and makes Nykthos way worse. The one of Banefire is there for the control matchups, plus as a mana sink. Raging Ravine was my choice for on board mana sinks.
I debated on Gaea's Herald in the sideboard for the control matchup, or maybe Mistcutter Hydras. I feel like the Elvish Mystic (mana dorks) are the worst cards in the deck, just because I feel like red sweeping is really powerful.
I feel like Lotus cobra with the Farseek's/Search for Tomorrow/Primeval Titan effects is going to be bonkers. I also thought it might be right to put in a thundermaw hellkite or two.
I am nervous about farseek because it only grabs Stomping Ground or Mountain. I might be looking for a replacement. Maybe going with the mana dork strategy is better. I feel like that would make the deck faster.
Combo seems like it would own this deck.
CREATURES:
[3] Elvish Mystic
[2] Leatherback Baloth
[2] Lotus Cobra
[4] Primeval Titan
[4] Sakura Tribe Elder
[4] Strangleroot Geist
REMOVAL:
[2] Anger of the Gods
[1] Banefire
[4] Lightning Bolt
RAMP:
[4] Farseek
[2] Garuk Wildspeaker
[4] Search for Tomorrow
LANDS:
[4] Copperline Gorge
[3] Forest
[4] Nykthos **might want less
[3] Mountain
[4] Raging Ravine
[4] Stomping Ground
[2] Wolf Run
SIDEBOARD:
[3] Ancient Grude
[3] Choke *Blue hate
[2] Defense Grid *Combo/control matchup
[2] Pilar of Flames *extra removal (Answer to Voice of Resurgence)
[2] Pyroclasm *Swarm creature matchup
[3] Relic of Progenitus
one thing about leyline of vitality is with cloudstone curio and 2 burning-tree emissary, you get infinite life. It might be cool if decks could'nt kill you with infinite damage (twin,pod)
non the less, they are probably too weak on their own to warrant merit.
You also seem to have too much going on with both tooth and nail and genesis wave. Its an either/ or thing.
Lastly, arbor elf , Garuk Wildspeaker work amazingly well with utopia sprawl, which is important if you never draw nykthos
Some removal-resistent Beaters/Protectors, which enable lots of devotion could be really good for a more ramp orientated deck, i guess.
While I'm not in love with the green leylines, I think it's a very clever idea. The blue leylines seem pretty strong, and of course the black one is all kinds of good. Consider me inspired.
Don't get me wrong, i think the idea in itself is really good. I just think our leylines are too weak. But I'd love to be proven wrong, because more 'free' devotion cards like Burning-Tree Emissary for more explosive starts would be really great.
Utopia Sprawl can be used the same way (if you don't cast it at turn 1) and synergizes really good with Garruk Wildspeaker.
Any other 'free' devotion cards I'm missing?
Other options for devotion include:
just throwing ideas out there. umbra would involve an attack step, but would add gg to devotion.
a revane that lasts a full turn (magic Christmas land) would provide gx6
I think Garruk Wildspeaker fits way better with in a green Nykthos deck than Nissa Revane with Nissa's Chosen. But Bear Umbra sounds interesting, thanks for that one. You only need to attack and not to make any damage or anything, which is clearly way better. Downside is that we can't keep any mana from our first main phase, but it could be really good in aggroish builds.
Here's my decklist i threw together a few days ago. It's more a ramp build with Tooth and Nail, Ulamog and even Emrakul as curvetoppers.
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Breeding Pool
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
8x Forest
Ramp:
4x Abundant Growth
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Noble Hierarch
4x Coiling Oracle
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
3x Polukranos, World Eater
2x Vorapede
2x Primeval Titan
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2x Sylvan Scrying
2x Summoner's Pact
2x Tooth and Nail
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
The unusual stuff:
Besides the 2x Nobles Hierarchs I play Utopia Sprawls and even Abundant Growth over creature-mana-dorks like elves.
Upsides of that are that I'm less vulnerable to creature hate and boardsweepers (I played some elves last Standard season and in Modern aswell and the feeling when your whole first 3 turns are destroyed by one single Supreme Verdict is just meh).
Also Utopia Sprawl is a 'free' devotion card after turn 1 (And by 'free' I mean the card gives me back her costs in the same turn) that synergizes perfectly with Garruk Wildspeaker.
Abundant Growth is cantripping with adding 1 to the devotion count (the mana fixing part can be also neat).
Speaking of cantripping, this deck bases on Sebastian Knorr's GP Antwerp deck. He found Abundant Grove to be better than Dorks and although I was skeptical I think so too after some testing. The thing is that cantripping is just sooo good for this deck and it's consistency. Good enough that i added blue for some Serum Visions and Coiling Oracle as a pseudo mana dork. During Goldfishing he hit the land surprisingly often and Serum Visions helps with that, too. And if he doesn't, at least he cantrips. Also i don't care about him dying as a chump blocker or due to boardsweepers as i would care about an llanowarelf.
Splashing blue also lets me play Minamo, School at Water's Edge which can push your mana really over the edge (Hardcasted Emrakul on turn 4 with it once, not even Tron can give you that). It's a solid 1 of and tutorable with Primeval Titan and Sylvan Scrying (if you already have your Nykthos).
Polukranos fits really good, because this decks tends to produce 4-5 Mana on turn 3 and then explodes on turn 4 into 7, 8 or even more mana, for which Polukranos offers great use.
If you have any questions about this decklist feel free to ask. I definitely have to do some more playtesting, because i think theres a lot of potencial here. Sadly i really don't have much time at the moment.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=553067
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=554312
Sig by DNC/HotP Studios