Is Red Devotion possibly viable?
Standard forum
Posted on Oct. 16, 2014, 3:22 a.m. by blackstarquin
When i see mono red decks they are usually just about winning as fast as possible, but is a slower red devotion strategy viable or would it lose out to the big new decks too often?
Souljacker says... #3
I don't think slow and red are a good combination, most things red want to do is fast. That said, you could make a Mono red deck that tops off with Fanatic of Mogis and maybe a Purphoros, God of the Forge and if you're fancy Thunderous Might to make use of the devotion. It would still be just aggro with a bit of devotion on the side.
October 16, 2014 7:46 a.m.
eatyourbabes says... #4
At the last FNM I attended the person that won ran Mardu Midrange/Control, it was a crazy Mardu colored deck full of kill spells and planeswalkers. It looked like Elspeth, Sun's Champion vomiting tokens all over the board and everything you can put out getting killed with either Hero's Downfall or Crackling Doom or Utter End . The deck absolutely crapped on anything it went against. I guess that's some midrange/ non-aggro kind of red for you?
On the topic of devotion to red, personally I feel like red has always been a speed color, so slowing it down may not be it's strong suit but it's potentially possible? One card that I wanted to see more of was Ember Swallower , that might be a great midrange or devotion card because if you can get it monstrous then you can start tearing down your opponent's mana pool. Granted it'll destroy yours as well but maybe a few Elvish Mystic or Sylvan Caryatid can make it more manageable. Stormbreath Dragon and a lot of the other standard dragons right now look kind of midrange-ish in my opinion, they've got lots of red symbols to drop a Fanatic of Mogis or Thunderous Might , and they aren't half bad cards.
October 16, 2014 9:11 a.m.
Rhinowarrior says... #5
Access to stormbreathdragon, lightning strike, sometime flames, sarkhan, ashcloud, and others I think would make it viable...
October 16, 2014 10:27 p.m.
No mention of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Crater's Claws ? Shame! ;)
I think Red Devotion could be fine. Monastery Swiftspear + burn + Eidolon of the Great Revel puts pressure on the opponent's life, then finish them off with Fanatic of Mogis and Crater's Claws hopefully!
October 20, 2014 5:16 p.m.
OP_Magikarp says... #7
But the thing with Eidolon of the Great Revel is that 80% of competitive red spells are 3 mana or under, it would end up hurting you more than your opponent.
October 20, 2014 8:35 p.m.
eatyourbabes says... #8
I agree with OP_Magikarp on the Eidolon of the Great Revel . The card is a good concept however the decks that it is playable in are decks that will end up just hurting themselves with it more than hurting their opponent. The main decks that do run it include rabble red, mono-red, and devotion to red. Thus, Eidolon of the Great Revel is the equivalent of hooking up with a hot chick that has also slept with lots of other dudes. It's awesome and she's super hot, but you'll die of the diseases before before all your bros hear about your greatest conquest.
Arvail says... #2
The thing is that Red Dev amounts to basically nothing but Fanatic of Mogis , and with Siege Rhino being such a huge deal, you can bet your ass you'll see more Hushwing Gryff s being sideboarded. Also, you're very limited in terms of sources for devotion. Pre-rotation, you had Ash Zealot and Chandra's Phoenix doing a ton of work for you. Now, your sources of red symbols seem a bit more restricted. Finally, if you're going for the more grindy approach, why not pay one more mana and gain that much life. Besides, black's much better suited for the grindy game and even black dev can't stand up to the speed of things like Jeskai and the life gain of Abzan. It also loses out to U/B if it gets to chain a few Dig Through Time and Jace's Ingenuity together. They'll just counter the merchants. Going grindy with red's a bit iffy at the moment. I could see Jeskai or Mardu control being decent with it though.
October 16, 2014 3:55 a.m.