great art on a worthless mythic. EDH possibly viable but really, looking at the other color mythics, are we really going back to unplayable black, Wizards?
Posting this is a potential build, may be less on the devotion heavy side and more geared towards control, but I'm very interested to see how Shadowborn Demons test out alongside Pack Rats and Whips. The idea with Shadowborns is the value they represent. It's essentially Murder attached to a Baneslayer Angel once I have Whip in play. The drawback can be answered by sacrificing Pack Rats and If I can't I'll let the Demon kill itself and launch it at my opponent with the Whip and get a second Murder.
Blue feels like a better option for splashes. You get ways to deal with Blood Baron (Rapid Hybridization & Far/Away) and you have counterspells available if need be.
Also makes playing Nightveil Specter easy to cast.
I'm surprised Gainsay isn't being abused in every black deck vs control. It beats Sphinx and Thassa if you should happen to miss removal or they get a very fast start.
I see the need for Dark Betrayal, I just think Ultimate Price has more game against a wider variety of decks so you're taking less spots up in the board. Obzedat is a problem though, so Betrayal is probably important to have.
This puts you into a more defensive stance than RB, however you wont get smacked in the face by a lot of the answers to a black aggro deck.
Oh and since no one has mentioned this, Desecration Demon is a huge problem for this kind of deck since nothing you're playing can swing past it or kill it. I'd suggest running Ultimate Price in the board. Also, another great reason to hire Agent of the Fates and Far/Away. Edit: Thrill-Kill Assassin does trade with Demon, however you still need more than one way to deal with a card that can fly over your team and kill you.
I'd lose the Lord of the Void, he isn't winning the game for you any faster than Shadowborn or Desecration and he's alot harder to hardcast especially with 23 lands.
The Prophecies are going to net you so many cards you'll need more hands, however you can get killed outright by a board sweeper if you aren't careful. The Whip is your only lifegain so you may want to side for that in the board against more aggressive decks.
Game 1 removal won't be as key since you don't know the matchup going in, so keep Doomblades in the board for games 2 and 3.
My reason for upping the number of Shadowborn Demons. You can only throw 1 copy at your opponent with Whip once, so you want more copies to get that value over and over. I mean its a huge tempo swing: 5 life, 5 damage to opponent, a Murder, then when it dies you do it again. You want to increase the number of times you'll do that, imo.
Against creature heavy decks I feel like Desecration Demon might be too easy for them to handle since they can chump it with anything. If your local meta is creature decks (there's so many) I'd replace the Desecrations with another Shadowborn and another Immortal Servitude for increased consistency.
Flamespeaker Adept seems like a good pick to follow up with a UR scry themed deck with a lot of deck manipulation and impactful spells that synergize such as Magma Jet and Portent of Betrayal.
Also, cheaper than Thassa's Emissary with potential to be much bigger and more dangerous.
As I type this Chandra, Pyromaster is tearing up Modern at GP Detroit in Jund (MD). It is almost anti-climactic to see though, since Valarin is not not here to spin this so that he is still right.
Also, as person that has been playing her in a deck with 8 copies of cards that have Scry 2, I can tell you that she will almost surely see even more Standard play post-Theros because her +0 becomes so much more reliable.
Well if you ult with her and manage to flip Searing Wind then hey shes the card for you but how is the +1 doing any work?
her +0 is nice since it will draw you extra burn spells or whatever but how can she be THAT good?
EDIT: after reading the card again I see that it's actually pretty good
Compared to previous sets in the past few years, this started out looking very exciting to me, then really fell off as the bulk of the set spoiled. There just isn't a lot going on. Basic limited mechanics which don't upset the meta of "creatures, creatures, creatures" and almost nothing that looks strong for constructed beyond a few solid haterade cards and some creatures. The planeswalkers are definitely getting weaker each set, but that's understandable after things like Jace 2 and Liliana 2 reached absurd power levels.
Those kinds of cards impact eternal as well as standard, so they can be scary if they're too good.
What seems to be a recurring complaint/disappointment for players going into this set is the lack of devotion enabling. Why design an easy to use mechanic and then make to impossible to use...... ?
Either this and the fact that Thragtusk and RestoAngel rotate. Won't miss ya!
This is a great reason to start playing Type 2 again. Absolutely nothing in Theros standard looks to be as powerful as these monsters. There are some strong weapons in Ravnica block which may take over the format in the their own rights but I find there is an opportunity with a new set that is underpowered in constructed to revitalize certain strategies which before had no chance.
That said I'm not very excited about Theros limited even though the set was clearly designed for it. Enchantments have always been my least favorite card type/mechanic- they give your opponent too many opportunities to 2 for 1 you even in limited where instant-speed removal is sometimes sparse.
The Gods at first looked to have big value but they're very hard to turn into creatures. Thassa looks like the strongest in my opinion even without becoming a creature. Purphoros needs a crew. Erebos is situational and the permanents base isn't there for black. The other two are just not that strong for 4 cmc.
Its possible devotion will be more accessible with the advent of Theros expansions but that remains to be seen. I'd wait until they drop to 5$ then pick up the R B U gods and profit later. Thassa at the very least looks sexy in a Modern folk deck.
Overall the set looks weak, which pleases me. Someone at development fell asleep and Black got Hero's Downfall. Finally the planeswalker HKM I've been waiting for.
Skylasher is more of an "up yours" sideboard card to answer flyers. This is something maindeckable in a midrange GGG, GRB, GBW, or GW, GR, etc.
Not because it's really good. It isn't. But because it's so good against blue specifically, it will see alot of play.
Standard has been an aggro format for a while and this is just accentuating that. Younger players don't want to have their creatures countered anymore, ok we make you a bunch of things that ruin blue. They also don't want their creatures being shot down anymore. Ok we make you a bunch of creatures with Hexproof.
The developers have been coming down hard on control for a while now and this is a clear sign it's only going to get worse.
Not sure if Tenacious D is worth just to feed Shadowborn Demons, but I do very much want to include SD as a win condition. I may end up going heavier on creatures and getting Nighthowlers in, since many decks will revolve around the plethora of strong creature strategies.
4x Pack Rat
4x Lifebane Zombie
4x Desecration Demon
1x Erebos, God of Death
3x Shadowborn Demon
4x Thoughtseize
3x Doomblade
2x Sign in Blood
2x Read the Bones
2x Underworld Connections
4x Hero's Downfall
2x Whip of Erebos
4x Mutavault
21x Swamps
Sideboard:
Not sure what exactly I want here. Subject to change based on the meta.
Also makes playing Nightveil Specter easy to cast.
I'm surprised Gainsay isn't being abused in every black deck vs control. It beats Sphinx and Thassa if you should happen to miss removal or they get a very fast start.
Your opponent wants to Anger of the Gods? Triton Tactics exists.
You want to protect something like Agent of the Fates and also make it worth playing? Mizzium Skin is a card.
Going UB also allows you to play Far/Away to deal with Blood Baron.
If you want to race RDW, Jace, Architect of Thought is your man.
This puts you into a more defensive stance than RB, however you wont get smacked in the face by a lot of the answers to a black aggro deck.
Oh and since no one has mentioned this, Desecration Demon is a huge problem for this kind of deck since nothing you're playing can swing past it or kill it. I'd suggest running Ultimate Price in the board. Also, another great reason to hire Agent of the Fates and Far/Away. Edit: Thrill-Kill Assassin does trade with Demon, however you still need more than one way to deal with a card that can fly over your team and kill you.
I would also lose Read the Bones for 3 Dark Prophecy, get 2 more Apostles and get 2 more Shadowborn Demon, since it gets so much value with Whip.
from the OG list, here's what I'd change:
- 2 Corrupt
- 4 Doom Blade
- 1 Lord of the Void
- 3 Read the Bones
+ 2 Shadowborn Apostle
+ 3 Dark Prophecy
+ 2 Shadowborn Demon
+ 3 Immortal Servitude
The Prophecies are going to net you so many cards you'll need more hands, however you can get killed outright by a board sweeper if you aren't careful. The Whip is your only lifegain so you may want to side for that in the board against more aggressive decks.
Game 1 removal won't be as key since you don't know the matchup going in, so keep Doomblades in the board for games 2 and 3.
I'm also tempted to try Mogis' Marauder in this deck since Xathrid Necromancer is doing so much work.
My reason for upping the number of Shadowborn Demons. You can only throw 1 copy at your opponent with Whip once, so you want more copies to get that value over and over. I mean its a huge tempo swing: 5 life, 5 damage to opponent, a Murder, then when it dies you do it again. You want to increase the number of times you'll do that, imo.
Against creature heavy decks I feel like Desecration Demon might be too easy for them to handle since they can chump it with anything. If your local meta is creature decks (there's so many) I'd replace the Desecrations with another Shadowborn and another Immortal Servitude for increased consistency.
Hope some of this helps.
4x Boon Satyr
4x Experiment One
4x Kalonian Tusker
4x Scavenging Ooze
2x Briarpack Alpha
2x Deadbridge Goliath
3x Kalonian Hydra
3x Nylea, God of the Hunt
Other Spells
2x Bow of Nylea
4x Ranger's Guile
4x Mutant's Prey
Lands
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
21x Forest
Sideboard:
3x Savage Summoning
3x Mistcutter Hydra
3x Witchstalker
3x Plummet
2x Aerial Predation
1x Mending Touch
Sam this is the list I wanted you to try, it's a bit expensive but I think it will take down a few FNMs.
Also, cheaper than Thassa's Emissary with potential to be much bigger and more dangerous.
Well if you ult with her and manage to flip Searing Wind then hey shes the card for you but how is the +1 doing any work?
her +0 is nice since it will draw you extra burn spells or whatever but how can she be THAT good?
EDIT: after reading the card again I see that it's actually pretty good
Those kinds of cards impact eternal as well as standard, so they can be scary if they're too good.
What seems to be a recurring complaint/disappointment for players going into this set is the lack of devotion enabling. Why design an easy to use mechanic and then make to impossible to use...... ?
This is a great reason to start playing Type 2 again. Absolutely nothing in Theros standard looks to be as powerful as these monsters. There are some strong weapons in Ravnica block which may take over the format in the their own rights but I find there is an opportunity with a new set that is underpowered in constructed to revitalize certain strategies which before had no chance.
That said I'm not very excited about Theros limited even though the set was clearly designed for it. Enchantments have always been my least favorite card type/mechanic- they give your opponent too many opportunities to 2 for 1 you even in limited where instant-speed removal is sometimes sparse.
The Gods at first looked to have big value but they're very hard to turn into creatures. Thassa looks like the strongest in my opinion even without becoming a creature. Purphoros needs a crew. Erebos is situational and the permanents base isn't there for black. The other two are just not that strong for 4 cmc.
Its possible devotion will be more accessible with the advent of Theros expansions but that remains to be seen. I'd wait until they drop to 5$ then pick up the R B U gods and profit later. Thassa at the very least looks sexy in a Modern folk deck.
Overall the set looks weak, which pleases me. Someone at development fell asleep and Black got Hero's Downfall. Finally the planeswalker HKM I've been waiting for.
Oh and Thoughtseize is back.....yeah.
Skylasher is more of an "up yours" sideboard card to answer flyers. This is something maindeckable in a midrange GGG, GRB, GBW, or GW, GR, etc.
Not because it's really good. It isn't. But because it's so good against blue specifically, it will see alot of play.
Standard has been an aggro format for a while and this is just accentuating that. Younger players don't want to have their creatures countered anymore, ok we make you a bunch of things that ruin blue. They also don't want their creatures being shot down anymore. Ok we make you a bunch of creatures with Hexproof.
The developers have been coming down hard on control for a while now and this is a clear sign it's only going to get worse.
4x Lifebane Zombie
4x Desecration Demon
3x Shadowborn Demon
2x Erebos
4x Tenacious Dead
2x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4x Sign in Blood
2x Hero's Downfall
4x Thoughtseize
2x Doomblade
2x Ratchet Bomb
3x Corrupt
24x Swamps
Not sure if Tenacious D is worth just to feed Shadowborn Demons, but I do very much want to include SD as a win condition. I may end up going heavier on creatures and getting Nighthowlers in, since many decks will revolve around the plethora of strong creature strategies.