No, a card is only a spell when it's on the stack. A permanent with a triggered ability is not a coloured spell.

With all the enchantments why not add a few of the enchantment that spot out 4/4 angels whenever an enchantment drops?...and then add the o-ring, relic warden, fiend hunter combo for infinite shenanigans?...

Thanks for making this decklist! It helped inspire my own angel midrange and got me into angels.

How did your playtests with Extraplanar Lens go? I feel that they could be very potent with some Endless Horizons.

Also, Forbidding Watchtower seems like a good land of which to have a couple copies. Would be pretty useful early/mid as an emergency blocker.

Thoughts on Cloudshift? I'm a big fan. I've been using it to prevent targetted removal, to re-trigger ETB effects such as Knight of the White Orchid and Wall of Omens, and to keep chump blockers in play when they would otherwise die. Strong utility IMO.

What about Cast Out over Banishing Light? The cycling and flash could be worth the extra mana.

Hey thanks for reading

@wfja

Really cool that this deck inspired yours :D I sticked to my devotion plan from the beginning. I tested the ramp with Extraplanar Lens instead of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx but i cannot fetch for it that easy like a Nykthos with Weathered Wayfarer.This deck is all about consistency, so everything that i need is at least a "6x" of in the deck. I also tested Endless Horizons. The problem here was the 1-devotion ramp and the zero boardinpact after entering the battlefield. An artifact removal could also kill nearly my entire mana base then. Forbidding Watchtower is a nice idea, but to trigger Emeria, The Sky Ruin more consistent, i stick to Basic Lands as much as possible. (Makes it even harder for common hate cards in modern like Blood Moon). I also tested Cloudshift: The pay-of was too small, with a Wall of Omens it's 1mana=draw 1card.With Thalia's Lancers it was more or less => Cloudshift=Any legendary card in the library.Cast Out is really good as a permanent removal, which i need but it's not really productive to the devotion plan. It has to be at least or even

@ RevSDr8r

The Modern format is a formate of hate. Hate to lock your opponent. There are many many forms of enchantment hate Back to Nature. This deck is barely hateable while spreading out cardhate like Nevermore,Runed Halo, etc

@Drcfan

Thanks for the feedback. But if devotion is the issue, Banishing Light doesn't have an advantage over Cast Out. Unless I'm missing something?

@wfja

Cast Out is the better card if your curve is lower (my average cmc is already 3.19).My decks focus is a perfect mana curve. In additional, i dont have any instant speed cards that require more than 1mana. So if i leave 4mana open, everyone will expect a Cast Out if you have nothing else at 3-5 mana instant speed. For me Banishing Light fits more at the moment. If there will be a universal removal card that is also a permanent (enchantment or artifact), i will change it.

Hey, I'm fairly new to MtG and while I am absolutely in love with this deck (I can see clear synergy, love the cards themselves and angels are my favorite creature type alongside Hydras so seeing this makes me really happy) I did want to ask why you have Ghostly Prison over Archangel of Tithes. What made you choose one over the other? Since devotion is a pretty big focus wouldn't Archangel be better?

Also, please forgive my double posting, I just realized that I couldn't edit my previous post (not that I could see anyway) and had a couple more questions.

I get the basic synergy of this deck but since you're obviously the most experienced with your deck, what do you consider an ideal starting hand? And could you go into some detail about how you would go about sideboarding? Like how many copies of swapped in cards do you consider, if I were to replace Ghostly Prison with Archangel of Tithes what would be best to cut? Things like that. Sorry to be asking so much. I really only every played casually with friends, so I don't know much about competitive play.

Baneslayer Angel and Blinding Angel.

Also, maybe Acolyte's Reward as a sideboard card?

@ Rainbow-sama

I've chosen Ghostly Prison over Archangel of Tithes because of my local meta. There are some really fast aggro boardswarm decks like Elves. In my playtest, waiting until turn 4 + they need to pay 1 less mana with Archangel of Tithes was not worth it. Of course Archangel of Tithes would fit the main strategy of the deck much more and is also a viable option for the sideboard.

The ideal starting hand is at least 1x Plains with 1x Weathered Wayfarer or 2x Plains and some low drops. Mulligan in this deck is pretty hard to take. Mulligan to 5 can cost you already the game. But one mulligan is ok if you have 2-3 really high drops (Angels).

Sideboarding 4xNevermore against decks that rely on ONE strategy to win like combo decks or some real cheesy stuff.Mana Tithe is good against Midrange/Control decks that curve out at every turn. Most of the time, it's enough to say that you play Mana Tithe in Sideboard. The psychological effect will make them play around it even if it's not sideboarded.Leyline of Sanctity is important if they play hand disruption.

@BallzanyaBaneslayer Angel and Blinding Angel are nice drops, but i had to cut it to Legendary Angels only. It is much funnier to play with Tutor effects like Thalia's Lancers and searching for what you need.

Acolyte's Reward seems nice. Need to test it.

Thank you for your reply. I have actually spent some time testing both with my play group and found that neither really has an advantage over the other in terms of how they affect my opponents. So I'll probably end up using Archangel of Tithes for the devotion.

I also want to compliment you on how fun it is to play this deck. It's so consistent and smooth. _

I like the Deck but is it worth to play it in the current meta ?

@GrownMardu

It performs ok against the meta, but was never meant to play Tier 1. If you want to go full competitive and have any chances, you have to go on a Meta List webside like MTGGoldfish.

run 4 nykthos when it legend rules it still makes copious amounts of mana to play angels. path is usually better thant condemn because against decks like counters company etc. sometimes the only creature that you want to kill doesn't have to attack, pacifism doesn't see modern play for a reason, death's shadow might be top dog but that doesn't mean that other decks don't exist as well. Your local meta should impact things quite a bit.

@ Mcabe

I playtested alot with 4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and it showed that it was not worth to go with 4 because the devotion mechanic is more of an endgame (Turn 7+) mechanic in this deck. By then, i could fetch it anyway twice. I still try to make devotion a more early game strategy but i would have to sacrifice my control plan to it. I would add Borderposts and Knight of the White Orchid for turn 4 scary Angels. The problem with this strategy was its inconsistency and no control options against aggro.

There was a time where i 50% of all decks i faced were Death Shadow Decks. It showed that using Condemn on a Goyf was a one-sided Boardwipe because the Death Shadow died with it. Yes Path to Exile is a much better spell, but Condemn can be a budget option as well.

I thought that Nykthos was so you could ramp out angels in the early game, but you are right the devotions is probably not adequate, if your meta is a full on 50% deaths shadow then condemn is arguably better without a budget

How important is gideon to stay alive? Could it be replaced by lifegain or more boardclears?

Can wayward wayfarer be replaced by knights of the wild orchid?

@ Ivogel

Gideon is a very flexible card. He can sometimes disrupt alternative wincon combo decks or act as a 4/4 indestructible to make some early pressure. There are many alternative options for the 3mana slot. Make sure it gives at least 2 devotion even if it is a removal card.

Have you considered running 4X Flagstones of Trokair?

Since they blow themselves upto fetch plains, you are only really every running 1 plains down for Skyruin, and you thin your deck.

@ Roleplayer40k

Yeah this could work

have you ever tried to play with Quicksilver Amulet for your deck?

How useful is Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Thalia, Heretic Cathar in this deck?

If I wanted to add Lyra Dawnbringer and Shalai, Voice of Plenty to the deck, what would you recommend swapping out for them? I was also curious if I was to add Shalai, Voice of Plenty how many should I add since it's mana cost is only 4?

Could I replace Leyline of Sanctity in an budget way with Damping Sphere ? Of course it's not near as good because of the Devotion, but is it viable in the sideboard to survive against combo burn decks?