Mono-Green Nissa, World-Waking, Stinging, & Eating
Standard*
SCORE: 27 | 47 COMMENTS | 11395 VIEWS | IN 12 FOLDERS
Consistency & Speed —July 28, 2014
I had a lot of fun playing mono-green devotion this weekend and definitely surprised opponents with just how versatile Nissa, Worldwaker can be. She's the real deal. But, there are some adjustments to be made. Here's a lengthy, but thorough review of changes.
As I feared, some of the new M15 cards are exciting, but too mana-intensive--even for a ramp deck. If an opponent has any ability to blow up the ramp strategy in my original build, you get stuck and have almost no way to come back. When I lost, I was often holding Hornet Queen, Hydra Broodmaster, and Chord of Calling without a way to cast them. There are three goals I had in mind when making further adjustments: (1) Make it even quicker, (2) Focus on the meta, and (3) Have a way to cast spells even when my ramp has been wiped out.
Main Board
Removed: -1 Hornet Queen, -1 Hydra Broodmaster, -4 Chord of Calling.
Added: +1 Nylea's Disciple, +2 Boon Satyr, +3 Mistcutter Hydra. There is so much blue out there in mono-blue devotion and control, that I believe Mistcutter Hydra is totally worth the main board space. It has haste and an X casting cost too, so it's relevant through all stages of the game-early, mid, and late.
Sideboard: On a whim, I threw a couple of Scuttling Doom Engine into the sideboard before my matches on Thursday and I have to say--that card shores up a lot of weaknesses mono-green has against mono-black. Lifebane Zombie can't remove it from your hand and intimidate means nothing against Scuttling Doom Engine. It can't be chump-blocked by a small Pack Rat nor Mutavault and trades with Desecration Demon, if your opponent is brave enough to take 6 damage. Most of black's removal are kill spells, so opponents are hesitant to use their removal on it. Of course, it's weak to Thoughtseize, but what isn't? With all of the mono-black out there, I decided to put a full playset of Scuttling Doom Engine in the sideboard.
Another important part of the sideboard is Hornet Nest, which is needed to slow down faster decks and the mirror match. The other cards are for match-ups against decks with lots of enchantments. They include Reclamation Sage, Unravel the Aether, and Back to Nature.
Thursday @ Comics & Gaming Fairfax (before changes): 2-0 vs. control and 1-4 vs. mono-black devotion.
I was surprised at how well the deck performed against control. The pinnacle of the match was after my opponent d-sphered one copy of Nissa, Worldwaker and one Polukranos, World Eater which left me with a bunch of mana dorks. He had Elspeth, Sun's Champion on the table, pumping out tokens when I used a Genesis Hydra to find another Polukranos, World Eater. He was out of removal and couldn't counter Polukranos, so next turn I was able to monstrous it for 16 (33 mana), killing all the tokens and swung in for the win.
Mono-black was just a bear to play. I started out 0-2 and was at a loss for what to do. Unfortunately, I got matched up against another mono-black deck, but I discovered all the good I could do with Scuttling Doom Engine. The deck started to perform better in that matchup. I lost the first matchup of course, sided in 2 copies and won. Then in the final round, he thoughtseized my Scuttling Doom Engine late in the game, leading to a very close loss. This is what inspired me to put a full playset in the sideboard.
Friday - I didn't get to do FNM, but tested the changes out with friends on Friday afternoon. This is with the changes: 6-2 vs. Boros Burn, 2-0 vs. Control, 2-1 vs. Mono-black aggro.
I would have expected this deck to be weak to control, but it has done a lot of good things. I think it's a combination of Mistcutter Hydra which is protected from blue and can't be countered + Nissa, Worldwaker's elemental land creatures which can't be exiled by Detention Sphere and Banishing Light + the sideboard cards that bounce and destroy enchantments at instant speed.
This deck owns Boros Burn, but when I did lose, it was because Chained to the Rocks can exile Nissa's elemental land creatures and Young Pyromancer's elemental creatures chump block all day with the right draws. It did well against mono-black aggro too, but it lost once due to Bile Blight screwing up my ramp and it taking too long to come back.
I look forward to trying out this newer, faster, build that is more resistant to decks that currently clog the meta. I'll let you know how it does.
NittanyLionRoar says... #2
Yeah, STIKY55, Charley Murdock placed in the top 10 of the Baltimore StarCity open running mono-green Garruk & Nissa list. I've set this up for rotation so it doesn't include any, but I tested it with Garruk proxies and it's amazing. Unfortunately, I do not have any and I can't bring myself to acquire any this late, but for those of you who already have Garruk, you can take 2 Nissa, Worldwaker cards out for 2 Garruk, Caller of Beasts . Even with two less Nissa, it rarely interrupts your strategy.
July 22, 2014 10:36 a.m.
Because in context, he's talking about Setessan Tactics , not combat.
July 23, 2014 8:47 a.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #5
v1p3rau, typically trample damage from an opponent's creature would go through a Hornet Nest , but this is in context of Setessan Tactics , which causes creatures to fight, trample only applies to combat damage.
Additionally, if you control the trample creature, you assign the damage--so you could potentially choose to assign all of the damage to a creature and not hit the player anyways. That doesn't apply here and I can't think of a context where you would do that, but I am sure that interaction exists somewhere in Magic.
July 23, 2014 10:01 a.m.
This is a great take on it. +1. I will try this on friday, i do feel dirty not putting in Sylvan Caryatid though....
July 24, 2014 12:30 a.m.
Can you create a copy of this deck that splashes black for removals + the new Garruk, Apex Predator
July 24, 2014 2:28 a.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #8
JimmyJamR, thanks! I'm going to try it competitively this week too as I have only been able to test it to this point. My first build had Sylvan Caryatid and I must say that Burning-Tree Emissary is working much better. In testing, when the Sylvan Caryatid build won, it was turn 6.57 on average. When the Burning-Tree Emissary + Voyaging Satyr build wins, it's on turn 5.48 on average. Things just happen one turn faster because when you drop the Burning-Tree Emissary , the Voyaging Satyr comes out for free. The Burning-Tree Emissary is also a nice way to stall the board against an aggressive strategy as your opponent may hold back, not wanting to lose a creature early by attacking.
The downfall of this build is that sometimes it's still just a tad too slow. If the opponent blows up your ramp, you can get stuck very easily. When the deck wins, it explodes on turn 4, 5, or 6 and you drop your whole hand on the table. If they Searing Blood your Elvish Mystic or Voyaging Satyr though, it can be turn 7 and you are stuck with just a Courser of Kruphix on the table waiting for more mana. There's a lot of ramp and not a lot of lands in this build, so that hurts Nissa, Worldwaker a little bit. You'll probably find that it is still clunky at times. For this reason, I am looking to refine this build to be a little less reliant on expensive mana cards.
As I test it more, I am discovering which expensive mana cards I love, and which ones I hate. When I draw them, the high-cost cards I love more often than not are: Nissa, Worldwaker , Genesis Hydra , and occasionally Arbor Colossus . The cards I hate drawing more often than not are Hornet Queen , Hydra Broodmaster , and Chord of Calling . I love them in theory but the reason I hate them in reality is that I'm finding by the time I can play them, the game is over--either I've won with the lower-cost cards or I've lost so I never get to play them. They just take up space.
I don't always hate Chord of Calling , as it has been useful for tutoring up the Hornet Nest or Nylea, God of the Hunt , but there might be too many in this build. I've found Genesis Hydra to be way more profitable as it often hits the table as a 12/12+ creature and 12 cards is plenty to find what I am looking for. Additionally, Chord of Calling is restricted to creatures while Genesis Hydra lets you tutor up Nissa, Worldwaker when you want her most.
There are a few ways I may toy around with the build a bit more to make it quicker and take more advantage of Nissa, Worldwaker . I will probably end up taking out everything that has a cmc of 6 or more, which includes Hornet Queen and Hydra Broodmaster . I may also drop the build to 1 or 2 Chord of Calling for 4 Genesis Hydra . I may add a Forest or two for Nissa, Worldwaker and to give myself a way to come back from a Supreme Verdict . Mistcutter Hydra may need a spot in the main deck because it scales well, has haste, and is protected from blue, which is huge. I am also thinking about adding another Reverent Hunter because I am almost always happy to see it.
Let me know how your FNM goes!
July 24, 2014 11:07 a.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #9
M4dGun, I love the idea of Garruk, but I am afraid he may be too slow, even in a ramp deck. However, if you're going to splash black, here are some of the cards I imagine to be in it:
2 Garruk, Apex Predator - no more than that. 4 Nissa, Worldwaker - self explanatory. 4 Overgrown Tomb - shock land that Nissa can untap because it's a forest. 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - turns all lands into swamps. 4 Sylvan Caryatid - another way to get black mana. 4 Thoughtseize - absolutely the best removal in the game.
Even getting one black mana will be difficult, so I am wary of cards like Hero's Downfall and Bile Blight in this build. I get the feeling this would be very difficult to run with--but it could just be my lack of imagination. What do you think?
July 24, 2014 11:25 a.m.
@NittanyLionRoar and @M4dGun Ive been toying with the idea of a mono green splash black for Garruk, Apex Predator and some removal, but the ramp and mana curve is what seems to be the hardest part. it seems there would more ramp than creatures that attack. but im working on the deck build right now and am going with 24 mana 15 Forest 2 Swamp 4 Temple of Malady 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and 2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
July 25, 2014 2:05 a.m.
Nissa wants forests. If you add black, please use Overgrown Tomb first.
July 25, 2014 9:32 a.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #13
Yeah, jubale is correct. Overgrown Tomb is a must because it interacts with Nissa.
July 25, 2014 10:19 a.m.
Splashing black goes against what this deck is trying to do. . Also post rotation it would be a nightmare.
July 25, 2014 1:18 p.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #15
JimmyJamR, yeah I agree. I think a deck that utilizes Garruk best is going to be a Golgari control deck of some kind. It would have lots of cheap removal--then Garruk to take control and perhaps Genesis Hydra or Chord of Calling to tutor up a Desecration Demon as win-cons. In fact, the deck that uses him best might be more mono-black splashing green than anything. In any case, that would be a completely different build with different requirements.
July 25, 2014 2:01 p.m.
Well I'm running a copy of this deck with two nissa and two m14 garruk tonight in a 60 person FNM. I'll report back with results
July 25, 2014 2:17 p.m.
NittanyLionRoar says... #17
Nice...let me know how it goes JimmyJamR.
I've got to say, Genesis Hydra is a rockstar in the deck. After playing it against a few more types of decks yesterday, I think I am going to tweak it to make Nissa the top of the curve and perhaps take out a couple copies of Chord of Calling . Polukranos and Nissa are really all the win conditions you need. It's amazing how often Genesis Hydra + Nissa, Worldwaker + Polukranos, World Eater works together. This deck seems to work best to use ramp as a manner of quickness, so I think Mistcutter Hydra is going to replace Reverent Hunter after this weekend.
By the way, I took two Scuttling Doom Engine along with me in the sideboard instead of the two Terra Stomper ... and it was AMAZING against mono-black. It stops them in their tracks...it can't be discarded by and can block Lifebane Zombie , can't be blocked by small Pack Rat creatures nor Mutavault , and trades with Desecration Demon if your opponent is brave enough to take 6 damage.
On Sunday I am going to tweak the list, but I think you're going to see it become less mana-intensive and definitely add the Scuttling Doom Engine to the sideboard.
July 25, 2014 2:54 p.m.
Made a bunch of changes, a whole bunch. New list is here http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ramp-party-at-nykthos/I found that if my early board was interrupted I had no where to go. Tested the new build for a few hours today and ran train on people. Beat hexproof, naya blitz, esper control, mono black, and mono blue. Biggest problems I need help with are Mizzium Mortars and Bile Blight
STIKY55 says... #1
This deck is pretty amazing. I love seeing cards that are not immediately amazing like Hornet Nest used in ways like this. too bad about old Garruk cycling out cuz it would fit nice here.
July 21, 2014 10:49 p.m.