This will be the alternate that i play with Master of the Feast = Blaster of Yeast.

Yes, I know Soldier of the Pantheon is great, but this deck uses ethereal armor, so Nyxborn Shieldmate is simply a better fit in THIS deck.

I honestly feel like Aegis of the Gods is a better sideboard card to bring in against burn or decks running Thoughtseize and Duress . I would suggest running Spiteful Returned instead. Once it attacks, it deals one more damage, too. Bestow is also more relevant midgame, and about the only thing to do against Supreme Verdict besides milking their hand (the bestowed aura falls off and becomes a creature).

Aegis of the Gods doesn't do anything against Thoughtseize or Duress . Did you mean kill spells? I want this to be primarily white, so spiteful returned is fun and great, not for this deck. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm really going to stick just splashing black for athreos and nothing further.

Aegis of the Gods give you the player hexproof (you can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control). Thoughtseize and Duress clearly target you the player. So long as you have hexproof then these cards cannot target you. Only a few things could make this deck better, you may want to consider Gnarled Scarhide . I would also suggest taking out one of the Athreos, God of Passage , considering it is a legendary creature having 4 will result in more dead draws.

Normally I would back anyone who suggest reducing legends to a max of 3, but atheros comes out 1 turn before Supreme Verdict and is your go to turn 3 play if you even suspect your opponent might be playing uw control, so i'd say stick with 4, but take one out (or more) when you side against different decks.

Thank you for clarifying for him, ElderSage. I feel like this is one of Aegis of the Gods true strengths, and it is overlooked, especially with how powerful mono black devotion is in the meta right now. Aegis of the Gods would also protect you against Devour Flesh .

Wow, I have been misinterpreting Aegis of the Gods . It now takes the spot of Nyx-Fleece Ram as a sideboard switch out, which I think is being underestimated currently. I don't doubt we will see a High place deck in a GP with Nyx-Fleece Ram in use in some capacity. I just read hex-proof and didn't really read how or to whom hexproof was given.

Athreos, God of Passage is being underestimated for his anti-aggro mechanism. You can force trades, or them to land their god drops in order not to lose life and trade creatures. Also with Brave the Elements , there is a lot of synergy. You can one turn, brave, if you know they have combat tricks waiting to cast, and have them burn it away, and next turn athreos can help stop their rush, and either burn them for it, or you get your creatures back regardless. This allows for Brave the Elements to be your not only your alpha strike card, but your board stabilization card in a blocking function much more so than in the past.

Yeah, I have been thinking about Nyx-Fleece Ram . As odd as it sounds, I think that he might be what I've been looking for in my Esper control sideboard against aggro decks. I would say greater than 50% of the games I lose at FNM are to straight-up aggro. Not only does he provide a sizable body, but he also gives you that 1 life each turn.

The only downside is that he's a dead draw late game, but with Jace, Architect of Thought and Sphinx's Revelation I have plenty of draw power. I'm just looking to survive till at least turn 4-6 when I can reasonably cast a Supreme Verdict .

He also works well with Archangel of Thune . The trigger on the ram triggers the Archangel for free...pretty sweet. He may see play in some sort of hybrid midrange deck. Only time will tell.

And for that reason alone, Athreos, God of Passage will be a 4 of.

@Schuesseled Athreos, God of Passage is indestructible, Supreme Verdict has no effect on it. The only thing you can say to justify having more then 3 of him is that you want the odds of drawing him to be at it's max. In saying that you are also saying you want your chances of a dead draw being higher as well, it's a double edged sword. Ultimately it's a deadlock, so it comes down to preference. I am just telling you from experience, that I would not have more then 3 of one legendary especially in the case of Athreos, God of Passage because it isn't a creature at all times and is indestructible which makes it harder to remove. Take the Aegis of the Gods out of mainboard along with 1 Athreos, God of Passage and add 3x Gift of Orzhova and 2x Archangel of Thune . The Gift of Orzhova will give your weenies more presence mid-late game and Archangel of Thune will help fully utilize all your life gain and pump up your weenies.

You misunderstand ElderSage, it is not atheros that is in danger of being destroyed by verdict, but every other creature you control. Atheros says "board wipe me if you want, but it will cost you." It totally ruins controls day, so running four of it is a must in those match ups. And considering uw/x is a very popular deck, it should be mainboarded too.

Against other match ups, i agree that four will be too many.

Ah alright indeed I did misunderstand you. In that case the safest and most logical choice of action would be to fit 1x Athreos, God of Passage in the sideboard. With that being said I would suggest removing the Rootborn Defenses for 1x Athreos, God of Passage , another Pithing Needle and either max out Celestial Flare or Deicide

IMHO, must be main boarded. I will figure out where to max celestial or deicide depending on my meta, likely pithing needle removal.

In the end it all comes down to your LGS's meta. IMEO this deck would be much better rounded if you did what I said, but to each there own.

Thanks. Deathsper's Alpha Strike another concept with athreos

I've play tested as proxy until I get the cards in the mail, and this is just wrevkinv fools.

After looking at this i am pondering changing out rootborn defenses for ajanis presence in my sideboard. That way i can keep at tleast the most powerful creature i have alive in the event of a verdict. This is pretty kick ass.

In fact after having playtested both this one and the other i think this one is better. But i am partial to mono white playstyle

If you're running 4 Athreos, you really don't need all 4 Ajani's Presence . I'd much rather see some interaction against your opponent such as Oppressive Rays , which shuts down their threats, even the lateral ones such as Pack Rat and opens up the board for you to swing through. I made a similar deck, though splashing red: They Laughed At My Enchantments... and I leaned more on Auras and the sheer power of Fabled Hero , Something you may consider. If not, Spear of Heliod is still a major powerhouse, perhaps just as a two of to boost your board and clean up against your opponent's biggest threats.

Brain Maggot is a must-have in your sideboard, possibly the main! It cripples decks that don't contain removal, and hinders (and with Athreos pretty much shuts down) control deck's hands. I think your Nyx-Fleece Ram isn't necessary in the main and can be moved to SB to make room for 2-3 Brain maggots and other things, perhaps Gift of Orzhova .

And on the mana, just to keep it honest, Two Mana Confluence isn't going to hurt you all that much, especially with Hopeful Eidolon whisping around out there on the battlefield

I used brain maggot to great success this Fnm. I had athreos out and they took 9 DMG for two brain maggots and a pain seer. I won two turns later. I lost to manager screw game two n mana flood game 3

Ajanis presence is for anti athreos cards like deicide I side itin for athreos

Thanks for previous input all. I will be playing this next chance I get.

I'm trying to make a deck around enchantments so this was a great help. If you want to check my enchantment deck out, click this Constellation Enchantment Deck. I could really use as much advice as possible. Thanks! Great deck!