This is a Control Deck, with emphasis on flavor to the Sun God.
This deck plays to delay the opponents board development while progressing our own. It utilizes card draws, countermagic, tactical removals, and mana sinks to make sure we are always pushing for advantage or maintaining it. It comprises of the most efficient white permanents to ensure devotion to Heliod is always at its prime.
CARD DISCUSSION:
Card Draw/Advantage - Azorius Charm, and Divination makes sure we hit our land drops consistently, as well as providing extra gas to trade 1-for-1 if necessary, or plainly dig for our answers or threats. Sphinx's Revelation wins/steals games, but Sphinx's Revelation with a devoted Nykthos breaks your opponent's spirit.
Countermagic - With powerful two drops abound in the format, such as the BTE,
Syncopate
provides effective ways to nullify unwanted early threats. It also enables us to counter their turn three threats (boros reckoner, thassa, etc) even when we're on the draw. Dissolve, in my opinion, is the best hard counter available in the format.
Removals - Supreme Verdict is in its prime now, largely due to the cycling out of undying. And with most of our threats being indestructible, or not creatures at all, Verdict seems like a one-sided affair. Detention Sphere is a catch all answer, and bonuses to add to our devotion to white. Spear of Heliod acts as devotion enabler, token pump, and a situational removal. Azorius Charm though does not kill or exile, it buys you precious time to find the answers you need and waste the opponents resources.
Life Gain - With the overabundance of red/burn base decks, our life total will always be in a precarious state. Azorius Charm, and Sphinx's Revelation helps mitigate that. Gideon, though does not directly gain us life, buys us time, and almost wins us the game if the opponent wastes precious resources with him.
Threats:
A. Gideon, Champion of Justice - A no win situation for your opponent. Your opponent may ignore Gideon and aim directly towards you, but a next turn Supreme Verdict quickly changes the hunter to prey, as a 6+/6+ indestructible beater at turn 5 is usually hard to beat. With additional removals/countermagic to back Gideon up, games often end once you untap with Gideon on an empty board. And if they do target Gideon, the time ("life") you gain, and the resources they drain (burn/removal) puts us closer to goal of going to the late game, our territory. Plus, Gideon is incredibly good at destroying enemy planeswalkers.
B. Heliod, God of the Sun - Provides a powerful indestructible beater once devoted, a steady stream of tokens, and a profitable mana sink at EoT. Vigilance makes Angel of Serenity and the Tokens go over the top. Heliod and Gideon double beatdowns are a thing of beauty.
C. Elspeth, Sun's Champion - Takes. Over. Games.
D. Angel of Serenity - Usually comes down, destroys the enemy's board, and enables Heliod to go online, and smash right in.
POWERFUL INTERACTIONS / INNATE ADVANTAGES (TL:DR)
- Heliod, God of the Sun + Gideon, Champion of Justice (+ two spheres or 1 spear or 1 elspeth) double beatdowns
- Sphinx's Revelation + high Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx devotion (My record is draw 15, gain 15)
- Elspeth, Suns's Champion 's tokens + Spear of the Sun
- Elspeth, Suns's Champion 's tokens + Spear of the Sun + Vigilance from (an active) Heliod, God of the Sun
- Threats mostly can't be "destroyed"
- "One sided" Supreme Verdicts
- Has answer to all types of threats
- Mana sinks
- Moderate resistance to Burning Earth
SIDEBOARD DISCUSSION (Under Construction)
Against Burn/Red Devotion/Sligh - +3
Fiendslayer Paladin
, +3 Hundred-Handed One, +1 Supreme Verdict, +1
Syncopate
, +1 Dissolve; -2 Spear of Heliod, -3 Heliod, God of the Sun, - 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, -2 Angel of Serenity
Against UWB Control - +2 [Aetherling]], +1
Syncopate
, +3
Gainsay
, +1 Dissolve, +1 Gideon, Champion of Justice, -1 Heliod, God of the Sun, -1 Supreme Verdict, -2 Spear of Heliod, -2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, -2 Angel of Serenity
Other Match-ups to Follow.
Suggestions and comments are welcome. I'm a rouge, and a way better deck builder than a player. Please credit me as the deck creator (markr3ymd) if you will use this list. Thank you! Hope you have a blast to play this as well as I do!
