Bx Devotion

[trevaftw]

So here is the list I've been tweaking


Creatures - 28
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Gravecrawler
4 Bloodghast
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Avatar of Discord
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

Spells - 3
3 Profane Command

Non-Creat-Perm
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Whip of Erebos

Lands - 24
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Overgrown Tomb
5 Swamp


Still trying to figure out if it's worth running Avatar of discord. I have 3 different creatures all of which are pitchable to her. The downside is that she gets hit by bolt and Abrupt decay. Also unsure if 24 lands is the right amount. I don't have to necessarily hit 5 lands to play gray merchant, but with urborg nykthos is very reliant on what's on the battlefield. Haven't worked on the sideboard much, trying to find a 60 I like first.

[Phoenix Ignition]

I think Liliana needs to be in every list that has black devotion in it. Adds 2 and wayyyy too good on her own, but especially with Deathrites. I don't really like Avatar of Discord, too many things kill it like you mentioned. Phyrexian Obliterator seems really strong right now too, and is fairly cheap if you only play black lands anyway.

[FTW]

Hmm... Black Devotion in Modern:


4 Thoughtseize
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Profane Command

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
4 Nantuko Shade
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Nightveil Specter
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
4 Overgrown Tomb
14 Swamp


The Nantuko Shade slot could also be another 2cc beater like
Dauthi Slayer
Vampire Hexmage
Bloodghast
Nether Traitor
Depending on the need for recursion or evasion or PW killing.

Could something like that be viable?

EDIT: Basically, if you are not playing Avatar of Discord, then you probably don't need to run so many dorks that want to be chucked in the graveyard. Once you cut the GY sub-theme, then you can run better creatures and a lower curve.

[wcm8]

I think you can splash Green in this deck. You gain access to Abrupt Decay, DRS's lifegain function, Tarmogoyf (maybe)... I was also thinking that Grisly Salvage might be a card worth testing in combination with Bloodghast/Gravecrawler and Avatar of Revenge.

Deadly Allure is cash in combination with Phyrexian Obliterator :P

[Koby]

I think that the green splash is for Abrupt Decay, DRS activations, and Maelstorm Pulse as a catch-all (likely no more than 2 in the 75).

[YamiJoey]

I'd honestly play this BG with a Loam angle, possibly splashing Blue for Academy Ruins and then in turn snap. Maybe then Gifts.

Man I'm so bad at making Modern decks without Gifts in them.

[trevaftw]

A different build with Pod


Creatures - 20
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
4 Geralf's Messenger
2 Murderous Redcap
4 Phyrexian obliterator
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

NCP - 11
4 Birthing Pod
3 Lilliana of the Veil
3 Phyrexian Arena

Spells - 6
4 Thoughtseize
2 Profane Command

Lands - 23
1 Arena
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Urborg, Towm of Yawgmoth
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Overgrown Tombs
6 Swamps

[YamiJoey]

Not playing Phyrexian Metamorph in that Pod deck is just stupid.

[FTW]

I like the Pod twist. And yeah, extra Pods and extra Obliterators seem good! +X Metamorphs.

But once you have that many Pods, I would cut some of the non-creatures (Profane? Arena?) for more utility creatures so you have something other than Bloodghast at 2cc and the BBB guy at 3cc. Those are both good for podding into new things, but why not have other options too?

e.g. Scooze, Ravenous Rats, Kitchen Finks (even as 1-ofs)

[MaximumC]

I dislike the goal of trying to flood the board with dudes and then get your devotion count up. This seems like suicide in a format where one type of player is dropping Eldrazi and Karn on turn 5, and another type is able to cast Wrath, Supreme Verdict, etc on you. I look to Legacy, not to Standard, for tips on mono black.

Mono black in Legacy has basically two flavors: The Gate and Pox. Both can probably be adapted to Modern, but since I like The Gate's style of slow, grindy control play better, I suggest starting there.

Here’s Hollyowood’s excellent thread on the topic:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?16885-Deck-The-Gate&highlight=Gate

And here’s a core basic decklist for Legacy, minus the sideboard:

[3x] Abyssal Persecutor // Phyrexian Obliterator
[4x] Gatekeeper of Malakir
[4x] Dark Confidant
[4x] Vampire Nighthawk

[8x] Duress // Cabal Therapy // Inquisition of Kozilek
[4x] Innocent Blood
[3x] Go for the Throat // Deathmark
[3x] Hymn to Tourach

[2x] Umezawa's Jitte
[3x] Bitterblossom

[17x] Swamp
[4x] Wasteland

Now, the threats in this list port directly over to Modern and seem just as potent there as in Legacy. However, the answer and discard suite is seriously cramped in this format. There really isn't anything like Hymn to Torach or Innocent Blood in Modern. You can pay more mana to get these effects, but that sort of misses the point; Hollywood's brainchild is a fine-tuned machine and if you add another black mana to either effect it isn't any good.

On the flip side, being two color is not as much of a handicap in Modern as it is in Legacy. In a format with Wasteland, going all-in on basic swamps is a huge selling point for the deck. In Modern, the green splash probably isn't as big of a deal.

Can we tweak the Legacy build using Green or Blue as a secondary color to make something good in Modern? I think we can, and we need to bear in mind the two basic principles of The Gate:

1) Your cards should almost always give you more than one card's worth of value;
2) Your answers should attack the meta.

Green splash takes you down a BUG type road. This is good, but it's a different kind of deck. I think a slight blue splash actually gives you more options against the metagame and stays truer to the goals of The Gate:

Here's my suggested tweaks, and why:

Creatures (17)

[3x] Phyrexian Obliterator
Since you lose Cabal Therapy and Innocent Blood, I don't think you can seriously run Persecutor anymore. Luckily, since Wasteland is not as important in Modern, you can run more black mana and there's less reason not to simply run persecutor.

[4x] Gatekeeper of Malakir
[4x] Dark Confidant
[4x] Vampire Nighthawk

These creatures seem just as good in Modern as in Legacy. Nighthawk does not give you immediate value like Gatekeeper and Confidant do, but it owns the air and helps mitigate the life you lose from Confidant and Bitterblossom.

[2x] Phyrexian Crusader

I am a huge fan of this card in Legacy and I see no reason he is less bonkers in Modern. He dies to Abrupt Decay, but dodges Bolt and Path, so that's not too shabby. He also ends the game very quickly if left unchecked and does horrible things to opposing creatures. In Legacy, I liked having a few board slots open to swap him out in matchups he stunk in. Here, maybe you the fourth Obliterator and some other four-drop in the board to swap for these to punish decks that rely on Abrupt Decay.

Disruption (17)

[5x] Duress // Inquisition of Kozilek
Losing Cabal Therapy is pretty bad. These are really the best that is left. You don't want Thoughtseize because the lifeloss ends up being too severe.

[3x] Go for the Throat
You need sideboard slots in case of Affinity, but otherwise this is probably the best two-drop targeted removal in black.

[3x] Funeral Charm
Finishing off the discard suite is a few copies of Funeral Charm. This helps with the discard war early on, but can and should switch gears to kill off mana dorks in the early game instead. It helps you finish the game quick when put in a Crusader (that's 4 pos in one pop). It's a great card to have in your graveyard considering the Blue dude I think fits here...

[3x] Far // Away
There's nothing to really replace Innocent Blood as a way to dispatch one-drops and massive creatures in a single blow. We've added some Funeral Charms to help with one side of the equation. The next best thing, as far as I can tell, is Far // Away. Why? Well, once you're paying 2 for the Edict effect, I don't see a problem with going up to 3. In exchange, you get a card with maximum versatility at all stages of the game. Early game, it can answer the weirdo who cheated out a massive dork. Midgame, it's an edict effect. Late game, it's a two-for-one, which is exactly where this deck wants to be.

[3x] Snapcaster Mage
What? Yeah, this little duder comes in to replace Hymn to Torach. Why?? Well, this deck runs lots of 1-cc disruptive effects. He's more disruption than a creature because his role here is really to replay whatever answer is most appropriate to the circumstances.

Other (5)

[2x] Sword of Fire and Ice // Light and Shadow
These might be a mix of the two kinds of swords and might go into the board. Fire and Ice is probably the best, but you could make a strong case for Light and Shadow being stronger in the late game. Either one is bonkers on a Nighthawk or Crusader.

[3x] Bitterblossom
You want to draw one and only one of these guys.

21 Lands
[3x] Black Fetch
[2x] Blue Fetch
[4x] Watery Grave
[2x] Creeping Tar Pit
[2x] Ghost Quarter (plus 2 in the board)
The purpose of Quarter is not to do exactly what Wasteland did, which was manascrewing the opponent. They are here only to deal with utility lands. The full playset is available because this deck is probably dead once Tron gets completely online, and Quarter deals with that faster than Tec edge.
[8x] Swamp

I'm not crystal clear on the sideboard, but this would be my attempt to port over a mono-black, Gate-style deck from Legacy.