Beating Red Devotion
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 3, 2014, 9 a.m. by Some1TookMyName
Half of the decks I see at 2 different FNMs are polluted with Red devotion decks and variants of it. Is there something consistently strong against it?
If it's Mono red, For me big creatures do it. Arbor Colossus is hard to kill without 2-3 for 1'ing. And in a green Devotion deck, Nylea's Disciple is a good way to pull yourself out of the dirt.
January 3, 2014 9:30 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #4
Ratchet Bomb and Anger of the Gods are good answers to it as is Supreme Verdict
Master of Waves has pro red, and Fiendslayer Paladin is a beast against it as well
January 3, 2014 9:31 a.m.
Lol. Watch out using Master of Waves if they are running Skullcrack at all.
January 3, 2014 9:34 a.m.
Some1TookMyName says... #6
Im not sure if I can agree with that. A resolved Stormbreath hits hard and fast. its pro white... oh you want to Rev, let me monstrous. Ive watched and played a lot of matchups playing both decks and you have to have a pretty slow hand to lose to U/W even without Stormbreath. I beat a U/W with only a hammer until I went down to two lands. Obviously there comes a point in the match where the U/W or U/W/x player just doesnt lose unless theres a misplay. This is just from my own experience and seeing this matchup and being a part of it quite regularly. But I want to build a niche deck and red always seems to be my problem no matter what colors I run, its funny actually. really like the esper from shizuoka but idk I play different things almost daily.
January 3, 2014 9:38 a.m.
MadDreams, the pro-white is a pain, but I'm suggesting U also, with bounce and counters. These do enough to stop the dragon, that he's not a real problem unless you built without Essence Scatter , Dissolve and Cyclonic Rift as multiples of.
January 3, 2014 9:41 a.m.
There are a few things you want to try to do against mono-red. First, don't try to win by going 1-for-1 with their dudes. Their threats will always be more efficient than your answers. That said, removal is good. Mono-red has no card draw and a very specific game plan, so a little disruption can buy a lot of time.
In the meantime though, you need creatures with 3 or more toughness so that they can't attack with impunity and a couple of cards to gain you some life. In fact, many mono-red players will auto-scoop to enough lifegain. An Unflinching Courage or Gift of Orzhova on a guy they can't burn is usually game. Same goes for a Whip or big Gray Merchant in black, big Revs in U/W/x, Fiendslayer Paladin or Archangel in white, and Bow of Nylea in green.
January 3, 2014 10:16 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #9
Save the removal spells (non white) for the dragon and you should be ok ;)
I run Stormbreath Dragon in my Grixis control SPECIFICALLY to deal with Esper/Selesnya/Boros/Orzhov, and U/W decks, but he's no match for monoblack
@kriskurse: I know! I saw this at a tournament once and KNEW it was coming but the guy blocked with the Master of Waves anyway lol
January 3, 2014 11:43 a.m.
Mono red does indeed have card draw with Wild Guess .
There are 2 ways to approach this in my opinion. Make a faster aggro deck, which can be tricky and come down to card draw, or make a control deck and hose them. Essence Scatter their creatures, Annul their Madcap Skills or Purphoros, God of the Forge . If they are running a lot of creature tokens, Illness in the Ranks can hurt or delay them.
January 3, 2014 11:45 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #11
@pryoplasm: NORMAL competitive RDW/REd devotion decks don't run card draw other than Chandra, Pyromaster in the side as they are trying to kill someone by turn 4-5 and not drawing cards.
January 3, 2014 11:58 a.m.
@pryoplasm Actually, if you're talking about sheer damage-per-mana-per-turn, there IS no faster aggro deck in standard than mono-red. The next fastest would probably be White Weenie or Selesnya, and those only win against mono-red because they trade haste for better keywords and toughness respectively, not speed.
gufymike says... #2
A lot of things, Red Devotion doesn't do strong in a lot of matchups. But overall, I like the U/W Matchup the best.
January 3, 2014 9:06 a.m.