As some know, I've been playing Green Devotion since it's inception (and currently run the Green Devotion Thread/Primer on MTGSalvations); and in particular trying to make a Devotion Combo deck work. When I saw Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx spoiled, I was hooked! I proxied it that day and starred testing :) i have tried to find the most interesting ways to develop combos with the devotion mechanic.
I've always wanted to create a "new" infinite combo deck that could win quickly (i.e. turns 3-4) and could win if it didn't "combo off"; but still had an infinite combo available to it to ensure wins vs crazy "infinite life" decks, etc.
I've used creatures, spells, artifacts, and even enchantments...But this deck in particular takes advantage of some of the coolest green cards there are:
The deck utilizes Cloudstone Curio and Planeswalkers to develop infinite mana, make infinite tokens, and deal infinite damage...all on the turn you hit the combo :) This can be done as early as Turn 3, however the deck will "go off" on average by turns 4-5. The combo is "fast enough" to be a legitimate Modern combo deck.
The deck was a viable Modern deck for some time; however Oath of Nissa has brought the deck from "viable" to "competitive". Oath of Nissa made the deck consistent, resilient, and lightning fast...it was as if the card was printed for the deck.
The deck, however, doesn't NEED to hit an infinite combo to win. Multiple win-cons are available to keep the opponent from knowing exactly where the deck is coming from in each game, you can combo without going infinite, and value gained from the walkers is often enough to win a game without ever assembling an infinite combo. Below is a detailed discussion of what is currently my favorite Modern deck!
Deck Strategy
The deck takes advantage of the devotion mechanic, Cloudstone Curio "loops", mana-producing planeswalkers and other synergies to gain HUGE sums of both mana and card advantage (it wouldn't be a Curd Bros deck if it didn't focus on card advantage and synergy). While you can and do want to hit the infinite combos; the focus on "resource advantage" allows you to win even if you don't hit an infinite combo.
The deck's strategy is quite simple (even though the deck itself is a little complex). As a devotion deck, the mana ramp aspect is extremely important. The main "lines" the deck can take are:
Ramp into an Infinite Combo (Garruk + Xenagos + Curio) for infinite haste damage/mana.
Pump one or multiple creature with Kessig Wolf Run (this actually will win a good percentage of games).
Ramp into a huge Genesis Wave which will invariably lead to an infinite combo or inevitable board state.
Overrun a Garruk with an army of creatures/tokens (he only needs one turn to ult).
Play out multiple walkers quickly and flood the board with creature tokens and build to an ultimate.
There are multiple ways to win with this deck, but a majority of the games will be won by hitting one of the combos.
The Infinite Combos
The deck has a few infinite combos (with the board included); however they all revolve around Cloudstone Curio and a pair of Planeswalkers. The "main" combo is:
Because of the way Curio is worded and due to the fact that there are multiple walkers that can actually generate significantly more mana than their own casting cost(s); you can actually generate infinite mana AND infinitely bounce your planeswalkers (to infinitely trigger their second abilities) with Planeswalkers and Cloudstone Curio alone! This can be done with any combination of w
This is the main combo in the deck. It is rare that two walkers would have abilities so close to one another. In this case, both walkers +1 to generate mana, and thanks to the way Garruk's ability is worded, one of those lands can be Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Nykthos, however, is not needed. The combination of both walkers need to net only to make infinite mana...so numerous combinations of lands and creatures will get us there.
With Cloudstone Curio and the combination of both walkers +1 "Mana Ability" to generate 9 mana; you will net a or each "loop".
From here, you can draw out your entire deck with any pair of enchantments (as long as one is either
Abundant Growth
or Oath of Nissa), Elvish Visionary and any other creature, and/or Genesis Wave OR you generate infinite mana via both walkers +1...
...but the most important thing you can do is create infinite 2/2 satyr Tokens WITH HASTE! This will kill the opponent the same turn you assemble the combo.
Other walkers can combo as well. Garruk Wildspeaker will often generate 10+ mana on his own, so any walker (and now literally ANY walker thanks to Oath of Nissa can be bounced and re-triggered if Garruk can pay the cost of both.
Remember...as long as the combination of the two walkers make enough mana to pay for both...you have an infinite combo! This is true even if only one (Garruk) can pay for both
While all walkers are now "fair game"; some of the better options include:
e. Sarkhan Vol - Infinite tokens (in Garruk's case 3/3 beasts) with +1/+1 and haste.
You can choose your "Win-Con" Walkers by meta and preference; but all of the above work! I currently utilize Xenagos, the Reveler but I've played versions with Nissa and Karn that were much more "interactive"...obviously, the walkers that have one ability that generates mana and another that does "something to win" like
Nissa, Worldwaker
,
Kiora, Master of Depths
, and Xenagos, the Reveler tend to be the best options (as they can do half of Garruk's work for him).
Why Xenagos?
Xenagos, the Reveler is special in the sense that he has both a mana-producing ability AND a potential win-condition. As long as the combination of both the "Mana Walker" (Garruk or Nissa) +1 "untap lands" ability and Xenago's +1 "Gaea's Cradle" ability creates one net mana (with 1 being ); you will continue to net a and/or every time you loop them via Cloudstone Curio.
The Support
The rest if the deck is meant to either:
Ramp
Draw Cards / Create Card Advantage
...while at the same time adding to devotion and being able to be hit off Genesis Wave to get the absolute most out of the synergies in the deck (meaning you really want the cards to be permanents). This is what adds the speed and resiliency to the deck. If the deck is constantly filling your hand, drawing more cards, filling the board, which draws more cards, etc.; you create a "snowball effect" that removal has trouble dealing with.
As a devotion player, we are all well aware that Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, Oath of Nissa and
Abundant Growth
are all a must. They ramp like crazy, draw cards, and each "pays for itself" with their cost equaling their devotion. These are no-brainers.
From there, there is no better ramp option than Birds of Paradise. Birds of Paradise again ramp while having a cost the equals devotion. Also, having a flyer that can be pumped with Kessig Wolf Run is HUGE.
Burning-Tree Emissary
is the fastest Green Devotion card there is. This card is the only reason the deck can win on turn 3 and will often ramp you to crazy amounts well before you could any other way. It doesn't hurt that it is also a 2/2 body that pays for itself.
Courser of Kruphix is great because it is a 2/4 body that will often draw at least one card AND it can bounce enchantments that are already on board AFTER you've played them or a Curio. This allows you to begin loops with Either Elvish Visionary, Oath of Nissa, or
Abundant Growth
.
Eternal Witness is a green devotion staple. Allows us to literally recur any card we want and with Cloudstone Curio it allows us to recur multiple cards :) One of the most powerful things this card does, however, is recur Genesis Wave's. 9 out of 10 times you cast a Wave, you will hit enough mana via Garruk, Xenagos, Nykthos, BTE, and other lands to cast another wave. Any time you hit a Witness, you can simply grab back the wave you cast and begin "stringing" waves until you've combo'd off.
There are other cards I've used in the past as well that work well. For the sake of fellow brewers, here are a few of them:
Fertile Ground is just another means of taking advantage of all of the "untap" abilities. It also goes a very long way to rewarding us for playing Bring to Light. While we wish we could run 2-4 more Utopia Sprawl; Fertile Ground do have the added benefit of helping us fix our mana for BTL(and generate when it is necessary).
Nylea's Presence is another card that moves in and out of the deck. It is a REALLY cool card in this deck. It is a perfect card for "enchantment draw loops", while adding an additional devotion; but where it is most powerful is its ability to turn a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx into a Forest ON TOP of its devotion tapping ability. Because Arbor Elf and
Nissa, Worldwaker
both can only untap Forests; this card allows both card to untap Nykthos, succesfully; leading to ridiculous amounts of mana.
Genesis Hydra is a perfect Green Devotion card. "Scaleable" cards and options are always good options in green devotion. While Genesis Wave is obviously a more explosive card (and generally is the "go to" card in devotion decks; Genesis Hydra offers a few distinct benefits that are great in this deck:
First, it's a creature. This matters for two reasons. The first is that it will often be the biggest body on the board (very rarely anything less than a 5/5. This blocks nearly every creature in Modern. This also means that with a Curio on board, you can easily bounce him right back to your hand and dig again!
Secondly it is another way to dig for our important sideboard pieces and/or combo pieces. The combo involves only three pieces; and being able to dig 6+ cards at a time AND immediately place them on board goes a long way to hitting the combo more quickly.
Thirdly, even if countered; we still get what we are searching for! Because the card reads "when you cast..." that means that even if the opponent counters the Hydra; you still dig and put your permanent on the board. There isn't a card in the deck that is stronger against control.
A big body, that draws and digs, AND offers two devotion that STILL gets value when countered...well worth a slot. The only issue is that it is not great in multiples and is not strong off of a wave; so one really is the best number. One thing is for certain...the combination of Genesis Hydra and Cloudstone Curio is amazing :)
The synergy, however, doesn't stop there...while these cards are all great for the deck on their own (ramping, drawing, digging, etc.); they are even better with Cloudstone Curio on board! That means Curio is not just a combo piece that is useless without two walkers...on the contrary, your support cards become card drawing "loops" with the help of Cloudstone Curio!
Card Drawing "Loops"
While the deck utilizes Cloudstone Curio to "loop" Planeswalkers for infinite mana and infinite tokens; Cloudstone's power in the deck doesn't end there. All of the infinite combos come from being able to "loop" cards. This deck loops planeswalkers, creatures, and enchantments....the walkers create the combos; but the creatures and enchantments create the card advantage!
The above are only two examples...but each permanent with an "Enter the Battlefield" trigger (ETB) or a "When Cast" trigger can be "looped" with Cloudstone Curio and another permanent of the same type to obtain multiple triggers on the same turn! These triggers/cards include"
When a deck can create a TON of mana and cast/trigger the same card multiple times per turn; you will often draw 5+ cards on turns where you have "nothing to do" :)
The card drawing loops of course come in very handy in match ups where your opponent has huge sums of removal. More importantly, however, the card draw loops become important when you've hit infinite mana; but haven't hit a "win-con" yet. You can use the mana to draw into the win-con (so any turn you have infinite mana you can win on the very same turn!)
Eternal Witness, Primal Command, & Bring to Light
The Command + Witness lock is well known by now. By playing both you can continually place a land on the opponent's top deck while tutoring for more Witnesses.
With Cloudstone Curio however, you can go one step further. By bouncing Witness, you can tutor for other creatures or utilize another one of Command's modes.
There are many times, however, you will either gain life and/or tutor for Genesis Hydra as well.
The best part...Bring to Light acts as a third copy of BOTH in the main!
Win Conditions
Obviously, the goal is to "go off" with an infinite combo as fast as possible (turns 3-5); however this deck can win via multiple lines; and fortunately is not a "glass cannon" (you don't HAVE to hit the combo to win). The main win-cons are discussed below.
Once you've hit an infinite combo; you can actually continue to bounce and play Xenagos, creating a 2/2 Satyr token each time, bounce and play Karn to remove the opponent's entire board (including lands), or bounce and play Ugin hitting the opponent for 3 damage each time.
Because Xenagos's 2/2 tokens have haste, each of the walkers is essentially a same-turn win-condition. Both Ugin and Xenagos will put the oppnonent to zero life the same turn; and Karn will leave the opponent with no permanents at all (they can play a single land the next turn; but it will just be removed on our turn...so they effectively have already lost)...this is an important aspect of each win-condition.
Even an extremely fast combo deck can't rely on one win condition alone; and this deck is no different. The deck has two other win-conditions that can be used without infinite mana; but become infinitely lethal with!
The first and most obvious is Kessig Wolf Run. With infinite mana (and at least one red mana) you can pump a creature to an infinitely large trampler! We create enough red in this deck to pump multiple creatures on the same turn.
The third "win-condition" is actually in the board and it is its own combo. Eternal Witness and Primal Command are their own version of an infinite loop. You can continue to return one from the graveyard and tutor for the other...all while putting all of your opponents non-creature permanents (most importantly their lands) on top of their deck...all while gaining infinite life! It is an age-old combo that is still great today. It is common "Green Devotion Tech" ; however the difference here is that we only run a single Eternal Witness because we can use Cloudstone Curio to keep bouncing it.
Of course, you can also simply Overrun (using Garruk Wildspeaker's -4 ability with a small army of creatures/tokens literally the turn after you've played him or simply overwhelm the opponent with creatures and tokens....needless to say; there are many ways to win keeping the deck from feeling like a "Glass Cannon" thanks to the synergy among all of the cards working together.
The Bring to Light Board
Bring to Light really improved the sideboard of this deck. As a combo/synergy deck; we don't have the luxury of siding a ton in. Bring to Light allows us to side in multiple "copies" of the absolute best hate in the format; while maintaining our tempo and synergy at all times!
Summary
By taking advantage of an older card made before Planeswalkers existed, the abilities of walkers to generate more mana than their cost, and efficient triggers in green (not to mention the pure power of Genesis Wave)...this deck has performed extremely well in testing and is fast, resilient, and consistent.
As always, +1's are welcome, as are any criticisms, ideas, thoughts, kind words, and improvements. Thanks in advance for taking the time to aid in making this deck the best it can be!
Given that the deck is pretty "stable" now and the huge amount of comments it's seen (can't thank the community on here for all of the help and kind words); Alex G was right that it's most likely time for a clean up :)
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