the Mastery of the Unseen decks
Standard forum
Posted on March 10, 2015, 11 p.m. by abenz419
Ok I think this card is really cool and have tried brewing tons of various decks with it. I think I may have been trying to do too much because the decks now seem pretty straight forward and use Mastery of the Unseen just for extra value rather than abusing things being flipped up. Anyways that's besides the point.... I'm glad it's seeing some love now.
Like I said I like the card and I like the deck and I think this could really take off, especially after DTK releases. There are a few cards in the new set I think are gonna put this over the top.... Hidden Dragonslayer, Silumgar Assassin, and Den Protector are 3 creatures I think are made for this deck. The first two flip over for a cheap 2 or 3 mana to destroy creatures and the third returns a card from your graveyard to your hand. That's "card"... not creature... not instant... not sorcery.... but any card. There is also Radiant Purge and the Ultimate Price reprint. Two cheap and effective removal spells that in combination with these new creatures can be really effective and keeping your opponents board clear and pump out 2/2's that have potential for future value. Not to mention you already have Anafenza, the Foremost and Siege Rhino that are auto inclues and I think the new Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is going to be great in this deck too. Manifest a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on something. She basically adds bolster 1 to Mastery of the Unseen's ability. What are your guy's thoughts on the deck and what these could offer??
IndepenentMeta says... #3
There's a free 3/3 that comes out of the graveyard every time a card is flipped face up. Put that in a mill deck with communes and some good staples could be some trouble also there's Collected Company that card was made for meta... I have a modern build for it but that's another story.
March 10, 2015 11:23 p.m.
WicKid52 - Flipping up won't trigger ETB effects, but Anafenza will still trigger when the manifests ETB. Because of that Siege Rhino is a poor choice for this deck. that's why the Mastery of the Unseen deck that won GP Miami is GW only, and not splashing Black.
March 10, 2015 11:36 p.m.
IndepenentMeta says... #5
It's happen to me too where you just make straight up abzan trying to make manifest work... One of the better cards Ghastly Conscription that could break with hidden
Pretty good stuff on an open mana board. But the problem would be how r u going to pay for all of this shit lol
March 10, 2015 11:43 p.m.
IndepenentMeta says... #6
JWiley129 I didn't know that even happened what was the dude running?
March 10, 2015 11:43 p.m.
It's basically Mono-G Devotion that splashes White for 4 copies of Mastery of the Unseen and usually a Banishing Light in the maindeck. You can gain insane amounts of life, I think Sam Black was playing the mirror and both were at around 400+ life totals. That round when to time...in game 1.
March 10, 2015 11:54 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #12
That boardstate, holy shit. I almost feel like watching that.
Almost.
March 11, 2015 1:51 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #13
Life totals. Wut? How in standard is that even possible?
March 11, 2015 2:59 a.m.
Mastery of the Unseen + Creatures + Whisperwood Elemental = Insane life totals. It's really crazy.
This deck is why I'm happy Atarka's Command has Skullcrack as an option.
March 11, 2015 3:10 a.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #15
Deathmist Raptor seems like the best reason to play the deck outside of Mastery. I've been toying with Black for Qarsi High Priest and other sac shenanigans.
March 11, 2015 3:11 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #16
Oh damn, now people will start suggesting Mastery of the Unseen for Soul Sisters deck. CURSE YOU, WIZARDS!
March 11, 2015 3:13 a.m.
JexInfinite - Mastery of the Unseen is a different engine than Soul Sisters. Anyone who suggests otherwise is a bit crazy.
ChrisHansonBiomancin - In Standard there is less Enchantment removal than creature removal, so Qarsi High Priest is just a bad Mastery of the Unseen in that deck. I agree that Deathmist Raptor is an interesting card for the deck, as it adds some inevitability. I'm just not sure what it would replace because Polukranos, World Eater is so important.
March 11, 2015 3:16 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #18
JWiley129 People play Sunbond. Sunbond!
I think that people are going to be a lot more conscious of their removal packages now. GW took the tournament with the element of surprise, so sideboards will be changed.
March 11, 2015 3:21 a.m.
JexInfinite - People are already talking about mirror-breakers because the deck seems nigh-unbeatable right now. And, I'm not kidding, Dragon Throne of Tarkir is very good in the mirror. Equip the Throne to my 20/20 Genesis Hydra, gg?
Another card I saw mentioned that looks insane against the deck is Whelming Wave. But obviously SB will change, but I think DTK will shake up the meta a bit more than any sideboard changes could right now.
March 11, 2015 3:24 a.m.
SoPringles says... #20
ChrisHansonBiomancin Splashing black doesn't seem like the worst idea, Qarsi High Priest could be a fine addition and access to Erebos, God of the Dead means that the mirrors don't go for 60+ minutes.
March 11, 2015 5:51 a.m.
So when the G/W mirror was annonced for the finals I went to watch a movie, came back and was able to catch the last turns of the game.
Depending on the what happens during the next few weeks after DTK There might be a ban, not due to power level. But for time reasons, Wizards have done it before when decks took to long. I think it would be a shame, but it might come down to that. :(
March 11, 2015 6:10 a.m.
Jojja - I doubt there will be any bannings in Standard, even with Mastery of the Unseen becoming so popular. I think that Atarka's Command will help 
aggro decks beat that list by Skullcracking them when they try to go off. Similarly the metagame will shift so that people run more Enchantment removal to get rid of enchantments like Outpost Siege and the like.
Now, if GW devotion persists into DTK standard, I could see it getting some unwanted attention by the B&R committee. But even then, I don't think it will get banned.
March 11, 2015 6:55 a.m.
The problem with Atarka's Command is that it will only stop one flip from gaining life, you can just respond to it by flipping up more cards and still gaining life. So it's not really an awnser to the lifegain.
And I hope it wont get banned, but there is a risk due to the time it takes to play the deck (not the power level) and wizards have banned cards before due to time restraint. But we will see what happens, noting is sure, I just think there is a slight risk if the deck continues to see play and drag out games like it is now. If the meta can adjust to it in a good way no bannings will come. But we will have to wait and see :)
March 11, 2015 7:40 a.m.
Jojja - Another point I can see is that cards like Sensei's Divining Top were banned because players would take abnormally long turns. In the matches I saw with the GW Devotion deck, turn length wasn't the issue, it was overall game length. That would be another reason why it probably won't get banned.
March 11, 2015 7:55 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #25
I'm not 100% positive but G/B Constellation should shit on this G/W deck. I expect a Doomwake Giant resurgence.
March 11, 2015 12:28 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 - GB Constellation isn't a bad idea for tech against GW Devotion. You will still need to get 2 enchantments to ETB to wipe out your opponent's manifests, but otherwise you're probably running Reclamation Sage which will hit the Mastery of the Unseen. The only card I could see ruining it for GB Constellation is Whisperwood Elemental.
March 11, 2015 12:33 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #27
Should have been more clear: using Qarsi High Priest would result in a completely different deck.
As far as Deathmist Raptor goes, I would be shocked if it doesn't make these GW lists. It even is great for Devotion on top of all the other benefits.
March 11, 2015 3:22 p.m.
SoPringles says... #30
I don't think there is any need for 4 Mastery of the Unseen in the mainboard, I'd say 2 with 1 in the side.
Hitting 1 is all you really need to stabilize and any copy beyond the 1st is so trivial that it's almost a dead card.
March 14, 2015 5:50 a.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #31
The fact that it's so powerful would probably make it worth it regardless, but it also turns the top card of your deck into a live card, thus offsetting the negative impact of having a dead card in hand.
WicKid52 says... #2
abenz419: flipping up something will not trigger enters-the-battlefield effects, since the creature in question is already there.
March 10, 2015 11:17 p.m.