Creatures (28)
- 4 Cloudfin Raptor
- 4 Frostburn Weird
- 4 Judge’s Familiar
- 4 Master of Waves
- 4 Nightveil Specter
- 4 Tidebinder Mage
- 4 Thassa, God of the Sea
Planeswalkers (2)
Spells (5)
Sideboard
- 1 Aetherling
- 2 Domestication
- 2 Cyclonic Rift
- 1 Dispel
- 1 Dissolve
- 3 Gainsay
- 2 Negate
- 1 Rapid Hybridization
- 1 Bident of Thassa
- 1 Jace, Memory Adept
Well, well…the more things change the more they stay the same. This happens to be one of only two decks in the top 32 to not feature at least one new Born of the Gods card in its 75, the other being also Mono-Blue Devotion. The telling sign is that both of those decks were in the top 8 finishing first and seventh. But the major players were UW Control and GR Monster which combined for almost half of the top 32 pushing most of the devotion decks to the wayside.
There really isn’t much new to say about Mono-Blue Devotion as it seems to have found its optimal configuration for the moment. As with any devotion deck it is a mass of permanents designed to get mana symbols on the board. The curve of the deck is also very specifically crafted to flow with harmony. Starting with the one drops there is Cloudfin Raptor which unchecked has the potential of becoming a real threat and Judge’s Familiar adding another flyer which is the decks only real control element. Then we move up to the two’s with Frostburn Weird able to work offensively or defensively as you need him and Tidebinder Mage that finds itself well positioned in a world of Green and Red monsters. The three drops are key with the very powerful Nightveil Specter which builds advantage while potentially stealing threats away from your opponent and Thassa, God of the Sea who can at times be a very potent attacker but for her two abilities alone is worth an oceans bounty of pearls. We finally get to the top end of the deck with Master of Waves which can potentially be dropped on turn four escorting seven friends along with him often setting up for a win next turn. Playing well with the pump from Master is Mutavault to just increase the amount of threats presented on the board. Also at the four spot is Bident of Thassa which turns your entire army into Magpies which just ruins your opponent in very short order. Jace, Architect of Thought is around as well to help with digging for your necessary pieces or holding back an aggressive army and Domestication is able to snatch up an annoying threat, both of which are very important to the devotion count. The final cog is a one of Rapid Hybridization which will take down that fatty that just couldn’t be dealt with otherwise.
Moving forward I would imagine the sheer power of this deck is going to keep it around as a major force in Standard. We will see as the weeks play out if it continues to stay true to form or if it finally finds use for something new from Born of the Gods.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
