4x Dakra Mystic is a really great draw engine that helps pump up Chasm Skulker quite quickly.

Thanks Saljen!

I am considering Dakra Mystic but I am concerned because the deck is a sitting duck before turn 3... I am considering right now Embodiment of Spring for the 1-drop slot over Triton Shorestalker or Hypnotic Siren because it can hold some early critters at bay (namely the foreseeable monoblack aggro Gnarled Scarhide , Bloodsoaked Champion , or Tormented Hero ) until I can start stabilizing in turn >= 3; Embodiment of Spring can be powered later on by the Hall of Triumph and especially by the Master of Waves , being an elemental...

I don't know if Dakra Mystic would survive until I can drop the Chasm Skulker ... but it definitely seems a fun and challenging card to play: Basically the most efficient way of using it is to activate it at the end of the opponent's turn as a 1-scry of my library, if I don't like it I can trash it right away (and the opponent's topdeck too); if I like it I have to weight the benefits of keeping it vs the opponent keeping his topdeck... right? I could also use it as an emergency +1/+1 to the Skulker right after declaring it as a blocker...

Okay. a few things...You said Clever Impersonator could be used to copy Thassa. Thassa is legendary, and you would just have to sac one. also, you said you didnt like Dakra Mystic because you couldn't chump block with him. You can. As long as it doesnt have summoning sickness, you can block, then, before damage is dealt, activate the ability.I'll keep an eye on this thread so you can ask me Q's. I'm a lvl 2 judge, so its whatevs...

Also to solve your Islandwalk issue, I present to you Stormtide Leviathan

@tcrisler Many thanks for your support!

My bad, I forgot Thassa's legendary part (but not upon doing the preliminary list, hence the 2x and not 3-4x)... Still, I think Clever Impersonator is a valuable 1-2x in any heavily blue-featured Standard deck (and probably more in eternal and non-rotating, despite the 4 CMC)...

As for Dakra Mystic , thanks for the tip on blocking and using its ability. What I meant was that it doesn't look a consistent way of drawing cards to pump the Skulker because it is too fragile (unless you never block with him or have a Quickling to bounce it back before damage, but then, the deck does nothing really until turn 3, so it would seem more liable against a hyperaggressive deck explosive start). Anyhow I will be testing the Dakra in lieu of Embodiment of Spring , the faint chance of gaining card advantage (good topdeck of mine + unuseful card for oponent) for U looks better than just featuring a 0/3 for U to block, which will * maybe* become a 1/4 or 2/5...

As for the Stormtide Leviathan ... I had dismissed it right away as a Timmy-thing when researching the pool of available cards ... But hey... It is a fine 8/8 for its 8 CMC. I remember actually seeing in Standard people playing from time to time incredibly subpar Timmy pets like Leviathan or Polar Kraken some 18 years ago. With Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , it really looks doable to cast the Stormtide! Not to mention the look on my fellow FNM players if I were to successfully cast it... (And it also looks like a card that would shut down completely Mono-Green Devotion and outrace Mistcutter Hydra , and also a nice target for my own Clever Impersonator )...

@ tcrisler: does Master of Waves check for devotion after it lands? I mean, if no other non-land permanent is in play under my control when it resolves, does it add 1 elemental 2/1 token out of its own blue mana symbol? sorry, total rookie question... many thanks in advance!

Yeah if master lands on a barren field, its 1 10 else token. Deck looks good!

Thanks, Ghengys!

Currently thinking of replacing the 4th Master of Waves with a Springleaf Drum (there are many tokens and this deck is always mana-hungry), as I have been drawing 2 Masters in many games... and always considering swapping the 4x Dakra Mystic with 4x Triton Shorestalker for more offensive...

Arguably not an actual competitive deck, but I'll be happy to steal some games at FNM and luckily drop from time to time the Stormtide Leviathan ... I'll try first my Rabble Red deck though...

have you considered Ensoul Artifact

yes, thank you, DiEaBoLiK !

in fact, as I say somewhere in the description of either three of my monoblue decks, I have been orbiting 2 monoblue decks, featuring all these cards, this one or a flyer-beaters aggro, or another with many artifacts and Ensoul. Current build with Ensoul Artifact I am actually playing at FNM is Doom Engineer, still some work to do on it... please check it and comment if you have time

Really good read. No losses is fantastic. And defeating Abzan is a big deal. Well done :)

Cool deck, I have worked quite a bit with Blue and I have a few suggestions that I think will help refine your strategy. Looks like you are considering Aqueous Form and I can't support that enough, it is a free pass for your Skullker or Thassa and it combos with Military Intelligence to give you another of Thassa's Scry/Draw on your second main. I would -4 Jeskai Elder +3 Aqueous and + 1 Hall of Triumph because you need more than 1 in this deck to support Master of Waves tokens. His weakness is being removed and loosing all the tokens he made, but they stick if the Hall is out and it pumps all your little evasive creatures.

I think you should also replace all 4 Vaporkin with Flitterstep Eidolon as they are the same cost, can't be blocked, and you can Bestow it onto Skullker late game for the win.

It also looks like you are struggling with Dictate of Kruphix and I would drop all 4, they give you card draw but not card advantage. I would go back to Bident of Thassa for the same card draw and devotion, it is legendary so you can only effectively run 2 but the second ability will come in handy with my next suggestion.

Singing Bell Strike seems very temporary to me so I would consider Vortex Elemental to replace it for 4 copies (use one space from Dictate). Vortex puts those nasties back in the deck and you get to shuffle it back into your deck so there are always 4 copies. You can also use its, or Bidents, second ability to force your opponent to block it, and finally it is an elemental which will get pumped by Master and be able to attack.

This leaves one open slot for your Stormtide Leviathan or another Thassa, I run 3 of her just to make sure she is always out. + 1 on the deck, I would love your feedback on my Blue deck Wave Robbers when you get a chance (I ended up splashing Green to add Kioria)

Wow, FrostyJams, many thanks for your detailed post and upvote! I will check your deck as soon as I have some quality time to do it...

Aqueous Form is a keeper, for sure, and Jeskai Elder a goner; I am surprised the people in the thread where I picked up the first revamp of the deck (the mainboard I took to FNM) stuck with it, as it strikes as the weakest slot of the deck, and totally unnecessary for the shell.

I prefer not to invest right now in the 3rd Thassa, God of the Sea, but I might consider the second Hall of Triumph and a couple of Bident of Thassa in lieu of the Dictate of Kruphix.

As for Flitterstep Eidolon, it is worth a try, for sure, but I'm not so sold on totally replacing Vaporkin with it, as Vaporkin is a 2/1 which usually hits unblocked for some turns (that's 2-3 more damage than the eidolon, and I have won some games out of sheer speed, not stabilizing and then killing with Master or Skulker...), and it is also an elemental which can land as a 4/3 for 1U if the Hall and the Master of Waves are out... The Flitterstep is downright unblockable but only hits for 1 by itself, and its bestow cost is too close to the Hypnotic Siren one... if it were 4U I would be much more convinced...

Vortex Elemental is intriguing, as I have seen it marginally in blue decks... definitely worth playtesting. The only significant difference I see with Singing Bell Strike is the latter ability to target big flyers...

Good points on Vaporkin, I did not realize he was an Elememtal which is quite a benefit. I guess that I just assumed that getting the Skulker through was the main focus but the badgering damage is lethal especially when the little guys are hitting for 2 each. (Another reason to run 2 Hall of Triumph) I think you have enough opportunity to get Skulker through with Aqueous and Thassa, though I would add on more copy of one or the other to give you a better chance to pull them.

Vortex Elemental is an overlooked card and I use it in many of my decks, but it is useless against flyers. I deal with big flyers with Ensouled Ornithopters or Kiora or just stealing them with Daring Thief and Hypnotic Siren but most of those are not options in this deck. That being said, I am often shocked by how many turns a single Vortex Elemental can hold off big attacks until your opponent has built up enough attackers to be willing to loose their biggest one.

no counter spells for Drown in Sorrow? A lot of people are using mardu or abzan.

Thanks for the comment, farjunojr.

Yes, I have mainboard Negate, and Stubborn Denial in SB. I did win a couple of 1st games against Abzan though, before mainboarding the counters. But as I explain in the update of my last FNM, I will test some countermagic mainboard.

What about fate reforged cards? I really like your idea, but in this new set there are some useful tools, but I'm not sure how to use them. I'm talking about Cloudform and Frost Walker, what do you people think?

Thanks! and +1!!

@Janco Thanks for the comment and +1!

Yes indeed, I have been looking for FRF additions:

• Frost Walker is intriguing: it is a very aggressive creature, not as fragile as it might seem because anything targeting it would be probably meant to kill it anyway; it is powered by the Master of Waves or a late Hall of Triumph, BUT has no evasion. In my experience this deck starts beating the opponent surprisingly fast via the Hypnotic Siren, the Triton Shorestalker and the Vaporkin, something the Frost could not do as a single non-flying token or 1-drop would kill it in combat.

• Cloudform looks more promising, as there is a fair chance of manifesting a creature, however, only the Master of Waves, Thassa, God of the Sea, and the Chasm Skulker are the interesting targets, as the others have evasion already. 9 optimal targets for manifest is too poor a ratio, I am not just going to manifest a Skulker (but I would love to see the face of my opponent with a 10+/10+ flying hexproof in play) or a Thassa that often to warrant auto-including Cloudform... I am willing to test it in lieu of Aqueous Form but I'm not sure the 2 extra mana, albeit with 1 extra devotion pip, would be better than the Aqueous Form is already...

• I also considered Reality Shift, probably instead of Singing Bell Strike. There has been a lot of talk about that card...I think it is an above average card, but in this deck it does not help devotion and merely buys some time... I might seriously consider sideboarding 2x though, because against a control deck not featuring Torrent Elemental or a midrange deck with few creatures, it can be very nice: exile a clear threat or a card with a deadly static ability (Monastery Mentor, Goblin Rabblemaster, Nyx-Fleece Ram, etc) AND deprive them of a useful spell leaving a fragile vanilla bear...

Let us know your experience if you play this deck; you can read my updates (I will probably be playing it again shortly in FNM); so far it is a fun deck to play, but you need to practice a lot to not drag in the matches and reach sudden death or 3rd game draws...

Edit. Monastery Mentor has triggered abilities, but still, it makes a nice target for Reality Shift...

I would cut Singing Bell Strike for Encrust. It is more reliable and adds one more devotion. It costs one more, but Singing Bell Strike is proving to be a pretty poor removal spell, as in a few turns, your opponent just pays 6.

Also, Cloudform seems like an auto include. If it was just a 2/2 flying hexproof with two devotion pips, it would still be good enough to include.

cardboardkrk, thanks for your comments! I might try Encrust, but Singing Bell Strike has worked fine for me, especially on the draw, being able to neuter a 4-CMC creature on turn 3 while also casting a shorestalker or hypnotic siren... the opponent hardly ever wants to pay the 6 mana even when they have them... although I agree it is not a card to trail the game but to try to win quickly...

Agree on Cloudform. I will be changing the deck to include Frost Walker and Reality Shift, converging to the new post FRF blue devotion archetype... I have been working on a manifest deck which looks fun to play, check it out if you will: Manifest Fate Reforged...

Hey! Glad to see you are still tinkering with this deck! Been super busy at work the last few months, so haven't been able to check my threads lately...among the new cards, I am running a G/u Manifest list and an all-star in that deck is Torrent Elemental . You should definitely play test with 2-3 copies. He is just a total blowout most games. Let me know your thoughts. =D

Thanks for the comment tcrisler.

I will probably abandon monoblue for now, after finishing LAST in Game Day Fate Reforged (I will post the report soon), and I am indeed tinkering with G/U Morph/Manifest (my preliminary list is Manifest Fate Reforged). I had considered Torrent Elemental out of the activated ability payable in green mana, but dismissed it as it is fairly mana costly and it comes back from exile but not from the graveyard... I will try to make room for it though, thanks for the suggestion!

Also, tcrisler, could you please check my GU manifest (Manifest Fate Reforged) and/or publish yours? Thanks