Mono Green Scales/Devotion
Pioneer forum
Posted on April 3, 2020, 3:27 p.m. by StoryArcher
Been trying to make this work for Pioneer and I think I've found a pretty good mix of creatures and mana curve. I know the big thing right now is ramp to set up the the big swingers, but this deck builds so many big swingers so quickly and consistently, I think its a legit contender.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated, especially with regards to sideboard.
Pioneer - Mono-Green Hardened Scales
Pioneer
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StoryArcher says... #3
Argy,
I appreciate the input and responded within the deck notes. That's a useful link that you provided.
I think you may have misunderstood my point about 'doubling up' with Nykthos. No, of course you cannot have two legendary cards with the same name in play at the same time, but when a second comes in to play you get to decide which one leaves... so let's say that I begin a turn with two Forests and a Nykthos in play with another Nykthos in my hand. I tap my lands to activate the Nykthos in play and gain the mana provided by devotion, then play a second Nykthos, forcing me to remove the first... which leaves me with an untapped Nykthos or a second round of devotion-fueled mana. Is there a reason you believe that would not work?
April 4, 2020 12:25 p.m.
StoryArcher says... #4
Regarding the suggested cards...
(I want to pause here and say that all your suggestions and the time you took to make them are absolutely appreciated... far too often I see people ask for advice and then, when they get it, immediately respond defensively, even at times antagonistically, as if the requested advice had somehow been a personal attack. I genuinely wanted advice, and my comments below are made in an effort to better understand the advice given, not to defend or prove the original decision correct.)
Regarding the suggested cards, I'm looking at them and comparing them to some of the other options - I might need a little better understanding of the more subtle reasons why one might be a better option than the others.
Heroic Intervention vs. Inspiring Call Obviously Intervention is cheaper and can protect individual creatures from being targeted, so on a case-by-case basis there will definitely be times when it is superior. Really like that card-draw advantage though...
Reclamation Sage vs. Thrashing Brontodon Honestly, I much prefer Bontodon's larger size for the same casting cost, but unfortunately you can't use his ability until he is on the field, giving your opponent a better chance to remove or circumvent it.
Scavenging Ooze vs. Tormod's Crypt or Soul-Guide Lantern Other than requiring mana to activate (and the issue mentioned above, with Thrashing Brontodon), I don't see how ScOoze isn't the better option in this particular deck.
Mistcutter Hydra vs. Stonecoil Serpent and Endless One While the other two are definitely superior for the artifact version of Scales, I'm not certain either is the better choice for this deck. While the Serpent is certainly better situationally, it seems like the addition of Haste makes the Hydra a superior all-around option - so much so that I strongly considered it for the main deck. Is there such a density of multi-color threats in Pioneer that I should reconsider that?
Damping Sphere and Vivien Reid are admittedly intriguing options that I had overlooked for potential inclusion into this deck. With no legitimate ramp, would Vivien generally be considered too expensive? She would certainly help with any mirror matches...
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
April 4, 2020 12:54 p.m.
I will only discuss these things on your deck, not here.
Argy says... #2
I've given you my thoughts.
Have you playtested this deck?
You will find more than enough different types of decks to practice against here:
Pioneer decks
Make sure that you playtest as though you don't know what your opponent has in their hand, but they know EVERYTHING that you have in your hand.
Especially if that will result in you making a mistake.
If you don't playtest that way, you might as well not bother.
April 4, 2020 9:59 a.m.