It looks like he took the best parts of both of the splashes (Reflector Mage and Tireless Tracker) and added collected company for some value. It doesn't play Always Watching, so the deck looks really reliant upon drawing Thalia's Lieutenant and Tireless Tracker to make the creatures threats bigger.
In addition having Collected Company seems a nice way to dig for specific creatures, and Tireless Tracker, turns every draw into gas. I may be giving this build a try, if I can find my some Tireless Trackers.
Knee jerk reaction? No. Indeed white is the favored color in every format.
Not even close. Legacy is a Blue format were outside of Swords to Plowshares and Stoneforge Mystic white is largely unplayed. Similarly in Modern, Path to Exile and Lingering Spirits are the main reasons to be running white. White in eternal formats is mostly a support color that lacks powerful quality, outside of hate cards.
In Standard recently, white has been a very average color, maybe even underused color. Outside of Crackling Doom, Siege Rhino, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and a few other fringe cards, it hasn't been played a ton. Heck it was pretty much non-played in RTR Theros block because of Life Bane Zombie.
All colors in standard fluxuate and swing. Red happens to be on the low end right now, while White has proven to be very strong due to Declaration in Stone.
I had a couple of things I've noted from testing in general and how the deck feels.
1.) Westvale Abbey, isn't that good in our deck. A lot of people are claiming this card will be played in every deck, and every time I drew it I was disappointed with it. Creatures don't benefit from Always Watching and five mana is a lot to pay for a 1/1. We'll almost never flip this guy also. So I'll end up cutting this card most likely.
2.) Thraben Inspector is a lot better than he seems. A 1/2 for W doesn't sound the best, but his ability to quickly become a 2/3 puts him out of range of Kozliek's Return and Flaying Tendrils quickly. In addition his clue token, makes for a decent top deck lategame as he replaces himself. I think every Human deck should be running 4 of this guy.
3.) Declaration in Stone is an insane in this deck. Combined with Reflector Mage (Insane as well) it makes it difficult for our opponents to stick threats that can block well against our creatures. I want to play more copies over Silkwrap, but Silkwrap helps protect our Always Watching from Dromoka's Command, and vice versa. I want to play at least one more copy, so I may drop down to 23 lands to fit the other one in.
4.) Kytheon may not be the one drop we want to play. Now I know it seems almost ridiculous to even consider that, he literally does amazing things, and is probably one of the best Savannah Lions ever printed in MtG. He doesn't play nice however with Gidoen, Ally of Zendikar which could be a huge component in the deck moving forward, specifically in the Sideboard.
Soldier of the Pantheon is still in Standard, but hasn't seen play in about a year. Pound for pound, not counting the flip ability, I'd say the Soldier is a better aggro 1-drop than Kytheon (A three-mana activated ability that doesn't block Bile Blight is probably not as good as pro-multicolored and incidental lifegain).
The idea that Kytheon is playable even pre-flip doesn't quite hold water in the current metagame. That could change, of course, but it's worth noting. So, essentially, we're all-in on the Gideon-flip in a timely fashion to make Kytheon worthwhile. Battalion isn't easy to reach, even with bad sweepers.
I still think Kytheon is good, but I'm starting to pull back from a glowing endorsement. The Weenie player will inevitably be attempting sub-optimal plays to flip him as early as possible, like dashing a Lightning Berserker without being able to pump and such. This will allow for the defending player to interfere with Kytheon's trigger in a profitable manner, since if the attacker wasn't worried about flipping Kyth, they'd be playing more efficiently.
Eh, I'm rambling a bit. Point is, it occurs to me that Kytheon may be a trap, and actually seeing Gideon won't happen often.
Actually Solider has been in several sideboards in order to combat Abzan Aggro (He blocks every creature minus Siege Rhino). Also there are plenty of one drops seeing play in fringe decks like Warriors were the play 2/1s and 2/2s.
I think he'll fit nicely in standard in decks like Abzan Aggro, and maybe even B/W Warriors (He's still a 2/1 with a huge upside if he flips). Though I most likely see him at home in a G/W Collected Company deck.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos (Though the kitty he puts into play doesn't count and attacker, the turn it comes down attacking with Brimaz).
I'm not 100% sure what you're saying, but I believe what you're saying is that the cat token Brimaz puts into play doesn't count towards triggering Kitheon's spark, which is not true. His only requirement is that 2 other creatures attacked. The cat token is attacking.
It's a weird ruling. Gideon is looking for creatures that are declared as attackers. The Cat token isn't actually declared as an attacker, he's simply attacking.
Liliana, while relying upon a removal spell or sacrifice outlet, shouldn't be too hard to turn on.
Nissa would take far too long to get flipped without the help of a Rampant Growth reprint (We are headed to Zendkiar so maybe?) or the help of Kiora.
Chandra really is asking for a lot to flip. It doesn't seem terribly unreasonable to tap Ping 1, Dragonic Roar/Lighting Strike a blocker and than attack for two. At the same time, flipping and dealing two, after exhausting several cards isn't what my Red Deck wants to be doing. So she might see play as a one or two of in a midrange deck, but I'm having trouble finding out if we want to put her in any of the decks in the current format.
Jace, doesn't seem awful as a digger inn the Jeskai decks (especially combo), but at the same time his only useful mode to that deck is the -2. The Control decks may want him as an early game blocker and to slow down the aggressive decks, but putting 5 cards into your graveyard is a big price for a control deck to use against an aggressive deck in a format littered with 2/1s for 1 mana.
Gideon and Liliana seem to be the two cards I would keep an eye out on for standard. White Weenie might get some toys, but like I said it could easily fit into an Abzan Collected company (Maybe even a Naya one until Rabblemaster rotates?). Lilana seems like it would play nicely in a Warrior shell (Think about it, throw away your Bloodsoaked Champion, get a 2/2 buy him back), but will probably just see play in a lot of other decks (Maybe Mardu With Butcher of the Horde?).
Horrible card unless white weenie decks get some serious support.
Going to get eaten by Fleecemane Lion or a Goblin Token all the time.
Sideboard tech against control decks.
Simply because a creature is on the board doesn't' mean you have to attack with it. Also what's stopping someone from EoTing Collected Company? He may take the spot of Warden of the First Tree in Abzan Collected Company, simply because his manna sinks are cheaper, and flipping him isn't an unreasonable request.
Hey there! I saw your post and was really interseted in the deck. Prior to Fate Reforged, I was playing a B/W Midrange deck that faired pretty well against a lot of the meta. Between the mass amount of removal spells, Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Soul of Theros (seriously that guy won me so many games) it was a pretty solid deck. That being said walking into Fate Reforged, the meta shifted and it didn't have enough of an early game presences against a lot of decks.
With Dragons of Takir I feel we got a few more tools to help us solidify the gameplan. Here's my initial list.
Like your deck the main goal is Black removal spells with efficient white creatures to back it up. The biggest change though is the addition of Myth Realized and Monastery Mentor. We have a total of 22 non-creature spells to trigger both of them. Thus allowing us to play our removal, and adding board presence at the same time. Myth Realized also gives us a mana dump later on in the game when we don't want to over extend.
The Sideboard is pretty standard with a few new additions from Dragons of Takir. Drown in Sorrow to kill off swarm or green devotion's mana producers, Duress against control paired with Thoughtseize keeps our path to victory clean. Erase removes problematic enchantments like Jeskai Ascendancy, Outpost Siege, and Mastery of the Unseen. Glare of Heresy is mostly against Abzan Control decks in order to deal with enemy Elspeth's and Siege Rhinos. Read the bones gives us gas against control.
There are two not-so-common cards in the sideboard however. The first is Archfiend of Depravity (Which you have in your first list) against matchups that threat board stalls like Abzan Aggro, Green based Devotion decks, ect. The second is Surge of Righteousness is to kill the aggressive decks in the format. Killing off Rabblemaster, Zurgo, or any of red's threats (sans Stormbreath Dragon) should be pretty effective.
What do you think of Acolyte's Reward as a combat trick, maybe in the sideboard?
I think it would be much better if it was prevent damage dealt from target X creature. That being said my sideboard plan doesn't seem to need Acolyte's Reward. I actually just changed my sideboard for 3 End Hostilities due to the fact that deck struggles against the Green Devotion decks, and Mass Calcify usually comes down too late in that match up.
why not go for more devotion with vanguard of Brimaz and/or phalanx leader. If your gonna play on perks of devotion like gods and nykthos than play devotion.
Just because we're playing devotion, doesn't mean we have to subject ourselves to playing cards that don't mesh with our strategy. None of the build listed have a way of triggering heroic, so Phalanx Leader would be sitting as a 1/1. That doesn't seem good to me. While Vanguard of Brimaz may hold merit due to the fact that he's on curve and has vigilance, he doesn't really add much to the table either. So while they're both double devotion, neither improves the gameplan, or even fights well against what people are playing at the moment.
Looks similar to the list I'm running. I have a black splash for Sorin and Whip, and am running seeker of the way insead of ram.
I like the use of Whip, Sorin and Seeker of the way (This card is probably one of my favorite in all of KTK). How has Dictate of Heliod been working for you?
So you hate Combo because its uninteractive and you just sit and watch the other player goldfish and you can't respond to his play, but you want land destruction to return that causes you to play Magic while the opponent sits and watches you play. Sound logic.
The deck isn't that great (I'm playing it for fun because fun combo deck is the bee's knees to me). It's easily hated, needs 3-4 cards to go off, and needs four colors. But it's the best most viable combo in Standard in years. Just let it be. It's not that degenerate by any stretch.
I don't think you can call it "not degenerate" because of one creature, Sylvan Caryatid. Without any edict effects, or ways to remove hexproof, it becomes a lot easier to combo off.
I'm sure you're going but, You could just kill one of the enchantments Kirby! Correct you could. However if you were to kill the creature as they're comboing off, you've bought yourself at least two turns, due to the fact they have to play a new mana dork, that doesn't have haste. Meanwhile if you kill of the Ascendancy/Helix/0 Drop Artifact, it's just a matter of drawing and killing you the following turn.
I agree the combo is fragile, but Sylcan Caryatid, is what could cause problems (in terms of banning) for the card in standard as well as modern.
I thought that outside of Green Devotion, Devotion decks where dead in the ground with RTR rotating out. Then Jerry Thomspon on SCG.com found a White based devotion deck. I decided to sleeve it up and give it a shot at FNM. Here's the 75 I played...
Game 1: This game was close. But landing a Nyx-Fleece Ram as well as Wingmate Roc, kept my life healthy and managed to stabilize long enough to cast Elspeth and win the game.
- 1 Godsend
- 1 Suspension Field
- 1 Celestial Archon
+ 3 Last Breath
Game 2: Very easy. Managed to land two rams, as well as last breath away his early threats.
Round 2 Sultai Re-Animator 2-1
Game 1: I lost. I kept an awful hand he was allowed to throw stuff in his Graveyard and kill me with it.
Game 2: We get into a board stall with similar power creatures. I manage to land a Mass Calicfy which ruins his board, and then Banishing Light Away his Whip of Erebos to stop any more graveyard stuff.
Game 3: I land a turn 3 Hushwing Gryff in response to him casting Saytr Wayfinder. Stopped a ton of his digging and made a lot of his creatures suddenly subpar. Hushwing Gryff and Wingmate Roc rode to victory while Brimaz locked down the board on the ground.
Round 3 Abzan Reanimator 1-2
Game 1: I lose due to drawing no creatures. I did however run a turn 1 Soldier of the pantheon to bring him down to 6 life. Little guy did a lot of work.
- 2 Mass Calcify
+ 2 Suspension Field
Game 2: This game was a blow out by me. I went T1 Soldier of the Pantheon, T2 Soldier of the Panteon x2, and T3 Brimaz. He landed a Courser of Cruphix which was quickly removed via Banishing Light.
Game 3: We ran into a huge board stall. He manages to use Ajani Mentor of Heroes to make his Siege Rhino a huge problem for me. Eventually he rides siege rhino and Ajani to victory.
Round 4 Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I lose to double Mantis Rider. I did land a turn 5 Wingmate roc, but I foolishly played into Jeskai Charm losing my Aerial defense.
Game 2: He makes a major misplay by not activating his Chandra's +1 allowing me to block and kill off his creatures. I resolve Elspeth, kill his planeswalkers and run away with the game.
- 1 Suspension Field
- 2 Mass Calcify
+ 3 Last Breath
Game 3: Turns out Nyx-Fleece ram is really good. Turn two ram into turn 3 banishing light on his Rabble Master. I resolve Brimaz, into Archtype of Courage and game goes down hill from there for him.
Overall I really liked how the deck played but there were a lot of cards I was constantly side boarding out. I also noticed that between Wingmate Roc, Soldier of the Pantheon, and Nyx Fleece Ram I had a lot of gain life triggers. Ajani's Pridmate is begging to be in the deck. In addition Heliod almost seemed lack luster when I played him. While he did help keep my guys on offense as well as defense, I often didn't make creatures with him and sometimes had trouble keeping my devotion up.
Also Soul of Theros was actually an insane card. He dug me out of holes, made combat completely unfavorable for my opponent, and caused Huge life swings.
The next time I play this deck it would probably look like this.
Hey guys I was thinking of swithcing to this deck since I was getting bodied at FNM by green devotion while playing Abzan. I've been toying with a list but I wanted to ask a few questions.
1. Stormbreath Dragon vs. Windmate Roc. While Playing Abzan I played 2 Windmate Rocs and that thing was house. I feel that both of them are fighting for the same position in this deck. Which has performed better overall for people?
2.) Thoughtseize. Currently I'm not a huge fan of Thougthseize in standard. Outside of ripping removal from people's hands, I feel that Despise dose the job better, without losing life. Now if I were to run a more life heavy list like Siregar's, I doubt the life loss would be relevant.
I like your list. I don't think that this deck can do Elvish Mystic any justice.
The card I'm curious about in your list is Abzan Ascendancy. How has that been working out for you?
So far it's been nice mostly with Caryatid against Aggro lists. Suddenly the 0/3 is a 1/4 that's killing their creatures. It might become two Sorrin, but I'm not sure yet.
Hey guys! This is the list I've been working on for the last two weeks. I had a list that I began reworking due to the fact that I found I needed to be playing things earlier, as well as having threats that mattered in the early game. I was playing a list that was 4 Elvish Mystic, 4 Courser of Cruphix, 4 Sylvan Caryatid, but it didn't pan out so well, due to the fact that Caryatid and Courser seemed to quickly get out classed, and it was awkward attempting to play Elvish Mystic Turn 1.
And for the most part they are not played in heavily different deck-types. This fellow seems like he wants to be played in a BW wheenie aggro-shell, while Xenagos fits best into either mid-range or aggro.
To be honest you have a solid B/W Tokens shell at the moment for standard without using much more spoiled cards in Khans. All you really need is a better two mana kill spell the than Bileblight. Throw in Brimaz, Elspeth, Ajani Steadfast, Thoughtseize, Brain Maggot, Hero's Downfall, Banishing Light, and man have we got a less powerful version of B/W tokens in modern.
4 Knight of the White Orchid
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Reflector Mage
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Town Gossipmonger
4 Declaration in Stone
4 Collected Company
2 Dromoka's Command
Land: 23
4 Canopy Vista
4 Fortified Village
10 Plains
4 Port Town
1 Prairie Stream
2 Dromoka's Command
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Den Protector
2 Hidden Dragonslayer
2 Clip Wings
3 Negate
1 Yavimaya Coast
It looks like he took the best parts of both of the splashes (Reflector Mage and Tireless Tracker) and added collected company for some value. It doesn't play Always Watching, so the deck looks really reliant upon drawing Thalia's Lieutenant and Tireless Tracker to make the creatures threats bigger.
In addition having Collected Company seems a nice way to dig for specific creatures, and Tireless Tracker, turns every draw into gas. I may be giving this build a try, if I can find my some Tireless Trackers.
Not even close. Legacy is a Blue format were outside of Swords to Plowshares and Stoneforge Mystic white is largely unplayed. Similarly in Modern, Path to Exile and Lingering Spirits are the main reasons to be running white. White in eternal formats is mostly a support color that lacks powerful quality, outside of hate cards.
In Standard recently, white has been a very average color, maybe even underused color. Outside of Crackling Doom, Siege Rhino, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and a few other fringe cards, it hasn't been played a ton. Heck it was pretty much non-played in RTR Theros block because of Life Bane Zombie.
All colors in standard fluxuate and swing. Red happens to be on the low end right now, while White has proven to be very strong due to Declaration in Stone.
4 Archangel of Tithes
4 Consul's Lieutenant
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
4 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Reflector Mage
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
3 Always Watching
3 Silkwrap
2 Declaration in Stone
Lands: 24
2 Island
2 Meandering River
11 Plains
4 Port Town
4 Prairie Stream
1 Westvale Abbey
I had a couple of things I've noted from testing in general and how the deck feels.
1.) Westvale Abbey, isn't that good in our deck. A lot of people are claiming this card will be played in every deck, and every time I drew it I was disappointed with it. Creatures don't benefit from Always Watching and five mana is a lot to pay for a 1/1. We'll almost never flip this guy also. So I'll end up cutting this card most likely.
2.) Thraben Inspector is a lot better than he seems. A 1/2 for W doesn't sound the best, but his ability to quickly become a 2/3 puts him out of range of Kozliek's Return and Flaying Tendrils quickly. In addition his clue token, makes for a decent top deck lategame as he replaces himself. I think every Human deck should be running 4 of this guy.
3.) Declaration in Stone is an insane in this deck. Combined with Reflector Mage (Insane as well) it makes it difficult for our opponents to stick threats that can block well against our creatures. I want to play more copies over Silkwrap, but Silkwrap helps protect our Always Watching from Dromoka's Command, and vice versa. I want to play at least one more copy, so I may drop down to 23 lands to fit the other one in.
4.) Kytheon may not be the one drop we want to play. Now I know it seems almost ridiculous to even consider that, he literally does amazing things, and is probably one of the best Savannah Lions ever printed in MtG. He doesn't play nice however with Gidoen, Ally of Zendikar which could be a huge component in the deck moving forward, specifically in the Sideboard.
Actually Solider has been in several sideboards in order to combat Abzan Aggro (He blocks every creature minus Siege Rhino). Also there are plenty of one drops seeing play in fringe decks like Warriors were the play 2/1s and 2/2s.
I think he'll fit nicely in standard in decks like Abzan Aggro, and maybe even B/W Warriors (He's still a 2/1 with a huge upside if he flips). Though I most likely see him at home in a G/W Collected Company deck.
It's a weird ruling. Gideon is looking for creatures that are declared as attackers. The Cat token isn't actually declared as an attacker, he's simply attacking.
Gideon's effect is a stupid easy trigger to activate in this format with cards like Goblin Rabblemaster, Raise the Alarm, Dragon Fodder, Collected Company, and of course Brimaz, King of Oreskos (Though the kitty he puts into play doesn't count and attacker, the turn it comes down attacking with Brimaz).
Liliana, while relying upon a removal spell or sacrifice outlet, shouldn't be too hard to turn on.
Nissa would take far too long to get flipped without the help of a Rampant Growth reprint (We are headed to Zendkiar so maybe?) or the help of Kiora.
Chandra really is asking for a lot to flip. It doesn't seem terribly unreasonable to tap Ping 1, Dragonic Roar/Lighting Strike a blocker and than attack for two. At the same time, flipping and dealing two, after exhausting several cards isn't what my Red Deck wants to be doing. So she might see play as a one or two of in a midrange deck, but I'm having trouble finding out if we want to put her in any of the decks in the current format.
Jace, doesn't seem awful as a digger inn the Jeskai decks (especially combo), but at the same time his only useful mode to that deck is the -2. The Control decks may want him as an early game blocker and to slow down the aggressive decks, but putting 5 cards into your graveyard is a big price for a control deck to use against an aggressive deck in a format littered with 2/1s for 1 mana.
Gideon and Liliana seem to be the two cards I would keep an eye out on for standard. White Weenie might get some toys, but like I said it could easily fit into an Abzan Collected company (Maybe even a Naya one until Rabblemaster rotates?). Lilana seems like it would play nicely in a Warrior shell (Think about it, throw away your Bloodsoaked Champion, get a 2/2 buy him back), but will probably just see play in a lot of other decks (Maybe Mardu With Butcher of the Horde?).
Simply because a creature is on the board doesn't' mean you have to attack with it. Also what's stopping someone from EoTing Collected Company? He may take the spot of Warden of the First Tree in Abzan Collected Company, simply because his manna sinks are cheaper, and flipping him isn't an unreasonable request.
With Dragons of Takir I feel we got a few more tools to help us solidify the gameplan. Here's my initial list.
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Hidden Dragonslayer
3 Monastery Mentor
4 Seeker of the Way
2 Wingmate Roc
Spells: 18
3 Bile Blight
2 Hero's Downfall
3 Ultimate Price
1 Valorous Stance
2 Citadel Siege
3 Myth Realized
4 Thoughtseize
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands: 24
4x Caves of Koilos
7x Plains
4x Scoured Barrens
4x Swamp
4x Temple of Silence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Archfiend of Depravity
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Duress
2 Erase
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Read the Bones
3 Surge of Righteousness
Like your deck the main goal is Black removal spells with efficient white creatures to back it up. The biggest change though is the addition of Myth Realized and Monastery Mentor. We have a total of 22 non-creature spells to trigger both of them. Thus allowing us to play our removal, and adding board presence at the same time. Myth Realized also gives us a mana dump later on in the game when we don't want to over extend.
The Sideboard is pretty standard with a few new additions from Dragons of Takir. Drown in Sorrow to kill off swarm or green devotion's mana producers, Duress against control paired with Thoughtseize keeps our path to victory clean. Erase removes problematic enchantments like Jeskai Ascendancy, Outpost Siege, and Mastery of the Unseen. Glare of Heresy is mostly against Abzan Control decks in order to deal with enemy Elspeth's and Siege Rhinos. Read the bones gives us gas against control.
There are two not-so-common cards in the sideboard however. The first is Archfiend of Depravity (Which you have in your first list) against matchups that threat board stalls like Abzan Aggro, Green based Devotion decks, ect. The second is Surge of Righteousness is to kill the aggressive decks in the format. Killing off Rabblemaster, Zurgo, or any of red's threats (sans Stormbreath Dragon) should be pretty effective.
I think it would be much better if it was prevent damage dealt from target X creature. That being said my sideboard plan doesn't seem to need Acolyte's Reward. I actually just changed my sideboard for 3 End Hostilities due to the fact that deck struggles against the Green Devotion decks, and Mass Calcify usually comes down too late in that match up.
Just because we're playing devotion, doesn't mean we have to subject ourselves to playing cards that don't mesh with our strategy. None of the build listed have a way of triggering heroic, so Phalanx Leader would be sitting as a 1/1. That doesn't seem good to me. While Vanguard of Brimaz may hold merit due to the fact that he's on curve and has vigilance, he doesn't really add much to the table either. So while they're both double devotion, neither improves the gameplan, or even fights well against what people are playing at the moment.
I like the use of Whip, Sorin and Seeker of the way (This card is probably one of my favorite in all of KTK). How has Dictate of Heliod been working for you?
I don't think you can call it "not degenerate" because of one creature, Sylvan Caryatid. Without any edict effects, or ways to remove hexproof, it becomes a lot easier to combo off.
I'm sure you're going but, You could just kill one of the enchantments Kirby! Correct you could. However if you were to kill the creature as they're comboing off, you've bought yourself at least two turns, due to the fact they have to play a new mana dork, that doesn't have haste. Meanwhile if you kill of the Ascendancy/Helix/0 Drop Artifact, it's just a matter of drawing and killing you the following turn.
I agree the combo is fragile, but Sylcan Caryatid, is what could cause problems (in terms of banning) for the card in standard as well as modern.
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Wingmate Roc
4 Archtype of Courage
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 High Sentinels of Arashin
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
1 Celestial Archon
1 Soul of Theros
2 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Banishing Light
1 Suspension Field
2 Mass Calcify
1 Godsend
1 Ajani Steadfast
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
21 Plains
2 Suspension Field
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Reprisal
2 Decide
3 Hushwing Gryff
Over the course of the night I went 3-1.
Round 1 Mono-Black Aggro 2-0
Game 1: This game was close. But landing a Nyx-Fleece Ram as well as Wingmate Roc, kept my life healthy and managed to stabilize long enough to cast Elspeth and win the game.
- 1 Godsend
- 1 Suspension Field
- 1 Celestial Archon
+ 3 Last Breath
Game 2: Very easy. Managed to land two rams, as well as last breath away his early threats.
Round 2 Sultai Re-Animator 2-1
Game 1: I lost. I kept an awful hand he was allowed to throw stuff in his Graveyard and kill me with it.
- 1 Godsend
- 1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
- 1 Celestial Archon
- 1 Ajani Steadfast
+ 3 Hushwing Gryff
+ 1 Decide
Game 2: We get into a board stall with similar power creatures. I manage to land a Mass Calicfy which ruins his board, and then Banishing Light Away his Whip of Erebos to stop any more graveyard stuff.
Game 3: I land a turn 3 Hushwing Gryff in response to him casting Saytr Wayfinder. Stopped a ton of his digging and made a lot of his creatures suddenly subpar. Hushwing Gryff and Wingmate Roc rode to victory while Brimaz locked down the board on the ground.
Round 3 Abzan Reanimator 1-2
Game 1: I lose due to drawing no creatures. I did however run a turn 1 Soldier of the pantheon to bring him down to 6 life. Little guy did a lot of work.
- 2 Mass Calcify
+ 2 Suspension Field
Game 2: This game was a blow out by me. I went T1 Soldier of the Pantheon, T2 Soldier of the Panteon x2, and T3 Brimaz. He landed a Courser of Cruphix which was quickly removed via Banishing Light.
Game 3: We ran into a huge board stall. He manages to use Ajani Mentor of Heroes to make his Siege Rhino a huge problem for me. Eventually he rides siege rhino and Ajani to victory.
Round 4 Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I lose to double Mantis Rider. I did land a turn 5 Wingmate roc, but I foolishly played into Jeskai Charm losing my Aerial defense.
Game 2: He makes a major misplay by not activating his Chandra's +1 allowing me to block and kill off his creatures. I resolve Elspeth, kill his planeswalkers and run away with the game.
- 1 Suspension Field
- 2 Mass Calcify
+ 3 Last Breath
Game 3: Turns out Nyx-Fleece ram is really good. Turn two ram into turn 3 banishing light on his Rabble Master. I resolve Brimaz, into Archtype of Courage and game goes down hill from there for him.
Overall I really liked how the deck played but there were a lot of cards I was constantly side boarding out. I also noticed that between Wingmate Roc, Soldier of the Pantheon, and Nyx Fleece Ram I had a lot of gain life triggers. Ajani's Pridmate is begging to be in the deck. In addition Heliod almost seemed lack luster when I played him. While he did help keep my guys on offense as well as defense, I often didn't make creatures with him and sometimes had trouble keeping my devotion up.
Also Soul of Theros was actually an insane card. He dug me out of holes, made combat completely unfavorable for my opponent, and caused Huge life swings.
The next time I play this deck it would probably look like this.
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Wingmate Roc
3 Archtype of Courage
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 High Sentinels of Arashin
2 Soul of Theros
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Banishing Light
1 Suspension Field
2 Mass Calcify
1 Ajani Steadfast
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
20 Plains
2 Suspension Field
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Decide
3 Hushwing Gryff
In addition I thought a Blue Slash for Ephara, and Scrying may help the deck (as well as squeeze out more life gain triggers). That would look like...
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Wingmate Roc
3 Archtype of Courage
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 High Sentinels of Arashin
2 Soul of Theros
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Ephara, God of the Polis
4 Banishing Light
1 Suspension Field
2 Mass Calcify
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Ajani Steadfast
4 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Tranquil Cove
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
9 Plains
2 Suspension Field
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Decide
2 Hushwing Gryff
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Gainsay
1. Stormbreath Dragon vs. Windmate Roc. While Playing Abzan I played 2 Windmate Rocs and that thing was house. I feel that both of them are fighting for the same position in this deck. Which has performed better overall for people?
2.) Thoughtseize. Currently I'm not a huge fan of Thougthseize in standard. Outside of ripping removal from people's hands, I feel that Despise dose the job better, without losing life. Now if I were to run a more life heavy list like Siregar's, I doubt the life loss would be relevant.
3.) How good as Sorin, Solemn visitor been?
So far it's been nice mostly with Caryatid against Aggro lists. Suddenly the 0/3 is a 1/4 that's killing their creatures. It might become two Sorrin, but I'm not sure yet.
3 Anafenza, the Foremost
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Fleecemane Lion
3 Rakshasa Deathdealer
3 Siege Rhino
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Wingmate Roc
4 Abzan Charm
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Utter End
2 Abzan Ascendancy
Lands: 25
1 Caves of Koilos
3 Forest
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Mana Confluence
3 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Swamp
3 Temple of Plenty
1 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath
Thoughts? Suggestions?
To be honest you have a solid B/W Tokens shell at the moment for standard without using much more spoiled cards in Khans. All you really need is a better two mana kill spell the than Bileblight. Throw in Brimaz, Elspeth, Ajani Steadfast, Thoughtseize, Brain Maggot, Hero's Downfall, Banishing Light, and man have we got a less powerful version of B/W tokens in modern.