Hour of Devastation is the Best of the Bunch

Hour of Devastation
Hour of Devastation is the card red control decks have always wanted.

Hour of Devastation deals 5 damage to each creature…

Red has long had the ability to deal two to three points of damage to multiple creatures for about three mana. Examples include Standard Staples like Kozilek’s Return, Radiant Flames, or Sweltering Suns.

But five damage?

Historically, red mages would have had to pay seven or more mana for a big sweep like this. Worse yet, in earlier eras, they would have to take five damage themselves! Earthquake, for example, only hit non-flying creatures.

From these perspectives, Hour of Devastation is really something special.

Blah blah blah… Each non-Bolas Planeswalker

One of the fantastic aspects of Hour of Devastation is how it can deal with Planeswalkers.

Forget about the fact that it can deal with Planeswalkers directly at all, the fail state of this card falls into a convenient place. What is the kind of deck where you would want Hour of Devastation? Something like Zombies, right? A deck where the opponent plays multiple creatures, that sometimes get big… The ability to deal five to all of them is quite attractive against Zombies.

But what about when you don’t want a big creature sweeper? Oftentimes, the opposite number to Zombies will be a Control deck. Those decks will very often give you one or more Planeswalkers to kill, especially board control decks.

Hour of Devastation works great in Grixis

This set is very Grixis-oriented. There is a Grixis themed cycle of Gods, and of course the God Pharaoh is in Grixis colors.

Hour of Devastation (red) is highly complimentary to other key Grixis cards. For example, this card does five… And Torrential Gearhulk has six toughness. It’s one thing for Torrential Gearhulk to live through the Hour… But what about being able to swing directly?

Consider:

  • Turn 6 – Flash out Torrential Gearhulk (to stabilize, stay alive, just get an advantage)
  • Turn 7 – Play a land; cast it leaving up UU. Get in there for five!

And more! Much more! in “Hour of Devastation is the Best of the Bunch”:

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Hour of Promise is Quite Promising

Hour of Promise
The Locust God may be on the art, but our bet is that Hour of Promise will be ushering in Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.

Hour of Promise is no Explosive Vegetation

Mike initially misreads Hour of Devastation as an overcosted Explosive Vegetation. It’s not a surprising mistake. Explosive Vegetation costs four, but Hour of Promise costs five. They both go and get two lands; Hour of Promise sometimes makes two zombies.

Oh wait… basic.

Sorry: basic

That is, unlike Explosive Vegetation, Hour of Promise can search up any lands, not just more Forests or whatever!

Example: Go and get two copies of Shrine of the Forsaken Gods

Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
If you can cast Hour of Promise, the implication is that you have five lands in play. If you get two copies of Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, you’ll then have seven lands in play, meaning you can tap for nine.

All you have to do is hit your land drop next turn to have ten mana for Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger!

Hour of Promise is More a Thalia’s Lancers than an Explosive Vegetation

Mike loves to mark for 4/4 creatures for five mana that have a cool or card advantageous abilities.

Examples:

Hour of Promise is like one of those, but possibly better. Why? Instead of one 4/4 creature, your payoff is two 2/2 creatures. Two 2/2s are sometimes more useful than just one 4/4, but Hour of Promise generates about the same amount of power and toughness.

The “Desert” Clause isn’t that big a deal

All you need is one Desert in your first five lands and you’ll be dripping in Zombie tokens!

Why? You can just go and get two other Deserts and put them on the battlefield. Now, armed with three Deserts in play, you will soon the be the owner of a pair of Zombie tokens.

The deck design implications are open to explore. Do you want to play lots of Deserts? That would increase your chances of having a Desert in play on turn five. Or, you might only play three total Deserts. Card selection aside, you will have a lot of specialty lands fighting for space in your mana base… You might not have room for too many Deserts.

Pro Tour Champion Patrick Chapin and Resident Genius Michael J. Flores cover many more Hour of Devastation cards in this great podcast. Two words: “horse tribal” … Check it out now!

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Doomfall is the Definition of Flexibility

Doomfall
Doomfall is an extremely flexible, potentially main-deck, card.

Meet the Cruel Edict

Doomfall costs one more mana than Cruel Edict, but even beyond its ability to act as a discard spell, there may be good reason to pay three instead of two.

Rather than merely destroying a creature (as Cruel Edict did), Doomfall exiles it. That is bad news for Scrapheap Scrounger decks! Any creatures that rely on durability or coming back from the dead might have problems with it (e.g. The Scorpion God)

Playing as Transgress the Mind

Again, we see a card that, at 2b, costs a little more than Transgress the Mind. Part of that is just a tax levied against the creature removal side of the spell (you can’t very well have a functional reprint of Staple Transgress the Mind that also kills creatures).

But the reality is, Doomfall is not “just” a reprint of Transgress the Mind. It costs one additional mana, but on the other hand you can take anything, rather than only cards that conform to a particular mana profile. That might not feel like it’s worth three mana in isolation… But you’ve always got the Edict opion!

Ultimately, it Can Get Everybody

This card lets you beat a combo deck with creature removal, or kill an attacker with your extra Duress.

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The Scorpion God is Just the Beginning

The Scorpion God
To be honest The Scorpion God is actually near the end of the episode… Still great.
Buckle up for a full-on Hour of Devastation episode! Patrick and Michael hit on tons and tons of cards (and will be back with their own Hour of Devastation preview tomorrow).

The Defeat Cycle

The Defeat Cycle (Jace’s Defeat, Gideon’s Defeat, etc.) is a quintet of fast color hosers. Most will be Staple in Standard, with a couple of them likely growing up to be cross-format All-Stars (Liliana’s Defeat especially).

  • Jace’s Defeat – This card is basically Gainsay. You’re unlikely to get the Scry 2 very often, but that’s not a big deal… Gainsay has been Staple every time it has been available in Standard. Consequently, Jace’s Defeat is going to be a great way to compress sideboard slots; it’ll be nice having one card that can answer Torrential Gearhulk or Glimmer of Genius.
  • Gideon’s Defeat – Mike loves this one, largely because he’s been beaten up by Gideon, Ally of Zendikar so much the past year. This card will be great at slowing down everything from Toolcraft Exemplar to the newcomer Adorned Pouncer to Mike’s hated Gideon.
  • Liliana’s Defeat – Wow, what an All-Star (to be). Super mana efficient; more importantly, in Modern, this will be a Bump in the Night / Lava Spike that also kills Liliana of the Veil at the same time.
  • Chandra’s Defeat – Will be bananas in largely the same way as Liliana’s Defeat. Will be best buddies with Snapcaster Mage.
  • Nissa’s Defeat – While this will be the “clear fifth place” Defeat, it will create a position of privilege for green creatures. Every other color’s creatures are poised to be Defeat-ed. Not so green.

Nissa's Defeat
Nissa’s Defeat creates a privileged position for green creatures and adds a three-mana Stone Rain back into Standard.

Adorned Pouncer and Eternalize

Adorned Pouncer
Adorned Pouncer is strictly superior to Fencing Ace
Fencing Ace was a good card. It was played as Staple in Jeskai buff decks, and at least a Role Player in Bant Hexproof.

Adorned Pouncer is everything Fencing Ace was… and Also a Cat. And also has Eternalize.

Would you pay five mana for just the 4/4 double striker? Patrick wouldn’t. Mike would at least look at it. That the boys are even having this discussion should tell you how good Adorned Pouncer will be.

Thank goodness for Gideon’s Defeat’s exile clause! Magma Spray will continue to do work.

The Scorpion God

The Scorpion God
The Scorpion God is like three different engines.

“This God doesn’t require worshippers.”
-Patrick

If you just start with 6/5 for five mana… But with this level of resilience… It’s at least worth a conversation. A 6/5 body for five mana isn’t too bad; and if you can’t kill it?

There are two other abilities, still.

The Scorpion God can mow down a ton of small creatures (and probably draw cards at the same time). It can also shoot at big creatures to get them small enough to tussle with and draw).

This summary doesn’t do justice to “The Scorpion God is Just the Beginning” … The only way to hear everything we’re thinking about Hour of Devastation right now, you best give a listen!

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The Real Cost of Bontu’s Last Reckoning

Bontu's Last Reckoning
Bontu’s Last Reckoning costs three mana. That’s great! Isn’t it?
What a difference a week makes!

… Depending on what continent you are on.

The Return of Spell Queller in Manila

Spell Queller
The biggest disconnect with recent history IN THE WORLD took place at Grand Prix Manila. We saw the return of the U/W Flash deck… Now featuring Glory-Bound Initiate.

The U/W Flash archetype (and friends like Esper Vehicles) benefit somewhat by a decline in popularity of Mardu Vehicles… Our assessment is that the Heart of Kiran in Mardu Vehicles would run over the comparatively clunky U/W.

But U/W Flash is not about fighting Mardu. Aetherworks Marvel, on the other hand, is a perfect victim of Spell Queller. Basically, Dispel and Negate are the most common “cover” spells for Aetherworks Marvel at five and six mana, respectively… You can neither Negate nor Dispel a Spell Queller. On the other hand, Spell Queller’s 2/3 body is perfect for putting Marvel on a clock.

Ulvenwald Hydra and Shrine of the Forsaken Gods

Ulvenwald Hydra
No surprise that Aetherworks Marvel took down a US Grand Prix this weekend past.

No surprise that Standard master Brad Nelson was at the winning deck’s helm.

What’s cool? What’s different?

Brad used Ulvenwald Hydra to great effect in his build’s sideboard… Kind of “the difference that makes the difference.”

Basically, Ulvenwald Hydra was Brad’s “Nissa’s Renewwal” … An expensive green creature, but not nearly as expensive as Ulmamog. Brad could use the Hydra to make a huge threat on its own, but also as an accelerator. If he got Shrine of the Forsaken Gods he would be one two mana closer to hard casting any Ulamogs stuck in his hand.

Dissenter’s Deliverance is the Choice of Champions

’nuff said.

Bontu’s Last Reckoning and Our First Look at Hour of Devastation

In addition to lots of decks from three Grand Prix across three continents we hit on the three now-known cards from Hour of Devastation. The most interesting topic for this section is probably around the cost of Bontu’s Last Reckoning.

Ostensibly, this card costs three mana. That means that it has some synergy with Goblin Dark-Dwellers or certain Expertise cards. It would be a mistake to say that it is just a cheaper Damnation; the fact that it costs three is less of an advantage in most games (how big or dangerous are the creatures coming at you on turn three versus turn four). If you cast it later in the game, the mana restriction is actually pretty disadvantageous.

Net-net, though, we think it will be heavily played.

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Amonkhet in Modern

New Set on the Block Amonkhet had a pretty good weekend in Modern, across three continents, last week. Amonkhet cards contributed to all of the main macro archetypes: Control, Combo, and Beatdown!

Amonkhet Control: Glory-Bound Initiate in Esper

Glory-Bound Initiate
At Grand Prix Kobe, Akio Chiba slotted Glory-Bound Initiate into his creature-poor Esper Control deck, Stonefore Mystic style.

“Glory-Bound Initiate is legal in the format.”
-Patrick

Can’t disagree with you there!

Chiba played a four Painful Truths deck, where the life gain from Glory-Bound Initiate could be really effective in fueling his main card advantage engine. Glory-Bound Initiate is just that good in Modern!

Subtly, exerting Glory-Bound Initiate may not have that much of a downside, as opponents may actively try to trade with it.

Amonkhet Combo: Vizier of Remedies in Collected Company decks

Vizier of Remedies + Devoted Druid is an infinite mana engine.

Devoted Druid
Devoted Druid says “Put a -1/-1 counter on me and I’ll untap.”

Vizier of Remedies says “Go ahead and untap. But Don’t worry about the -1/-1 counter, no problem.”
Once you’ve got infinite green mana access, the world (or at least your deck) is your oyster. Here are some of the things players did last weekend:

  • Draw every creature in my deck with Duskwatch Recruiter. One of those creatures is Walking Ballista. Pay however much. Get you for however much.
  • Combine with Knight of the Reliquary and Kessig Wolf-Run for infinite power (and trample).
  • Overrun all with Ezuri, Renegade Leader. The coolest thing about this version is that even if you have to tap all your guys to set up / make the infinite mana, you can still untap Devoted Druid to be your lone attacker… With infinite power!

Amonkhet Aggro: Harsh Mentor in Burn

Harsh Mentor
Meanwhile back in Baltimore, MD — USA — Pro Tour Top 8 competitor Stephen Neal added a Harsh Mentor as his “fifth copy” of Eidolon of the Great Revels.

Neal’s version was super atypical for Burn (at least since the release of Inspiring Vantage), going up to some fifteen creatures… But still finding room for some unique spell choices.

Shard Volley, anyone?

What is important for Amonkhet fans is that Harsh Mentor might be Burn’s best friend in certain matchups. Of course it makes life harder on the fetchland player, but think about Affinity: Harsh Mentor makes doing stuff like activating an Arcbound Ravager downright dangerous.

TLDR: Amonkhet hit Modern hard last weekend; and it hit from Control, Combo, and Beatdown. Obviously more on this story as the format continues to develop.

Listen to “Amonkhet in Modern” now for even more decks and details:

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How Many Copies of Pull from Tomorrow?

Pull from Tomorrow
With the rise of U/R Control in Standard, Pull from Tomorrow reaches center stage…
or does it?

U/R Control (generally with Pull from Tomorrow) really took off last weekend!

U/R Control made Top 8 of both Grand Prix Montreal and Grand Prix Santiago. This was a big pickup, post-Pro Tour, for an archetype that did not crack Top 8 at PT Amonkhet.

In Montreal, Maxime Aubin played only a single Pull from Tomorrow.

But in Santiago, Niels Noorlander made numerous departures in his Top 8 deck…

  • Only 24 land! For contrast, Aubin played 26 and (at Pro Tour Amonkhet Patrick played 27)
  • 3 copies of Sweltering Suns (instead of just one or two)
  • Just 3 copies of Censor (which seems odd given only 24 lands)…
  • But 4 Hieroglyphic Illumination! (maybe this helps out his low land total)

Hieroglyphic Illumination versus Pull from Tomorrow

Pull from Tomorrow is the more powerful card, sure; comparable (and maybe even better than) Sphinx’s Revelation. The problem? It’s basically always expensive. So expensive, that in a pressure filled format this ace has been reduced to as few as one copy main deck.

Can you realistically slot in Hieroglyphic Illumination?

Hieroglyphic Illumination is almost always going to be worse that Glimmer of Genius… Provided you plan on casting it. (Scry being as valuable as it is)

On the other hand, Hieroglyphic Illumination has another mode!

  • If you are going to cycle it, U is a great (and cheap) way to go
  • Putting an instant in your graveyard is great when you are a deck with four copies of Torrential Gearhulk
  • Upping your one mana cycliers so much may justify lowering your land counts

U/R Control in Context

Tons of removal, one-for ones, and card advantage make for a great lineup against Zombies.

Permission, consistent ability to hit land drops, and card drawing make U/R a contender against Aetherworks Marvel.

Put it all together? You might have a real option against the most popular decks from Pro Tour Amonkhet.

Check out “How Many Copies of Pull from Tomorrow?” for more discussion on these cards, plus G/R Energy, Bant Marvel, and more!

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Mastering Liliana’s Mastery

Liliana's Mastery
Liliana’s Mastery was center stage for the Top 8 of Pro Tour Amonkhet

How many copies of Liliana’s Mastery are you supposed to play?

This is an interesting question to be sure!

Pro Tour Amonkhet winner Gerry Thompson (shout out to @g3rryt) played three copies in his mono-black Zombies deck.

You can certainly defend the Mastery as a three-of (“If Gerry did it, it was right.” -Patrick), but there are some pros and cons to this decision. The Zombies archetype would certainly play fewer than twenty-four lands if it didn’t have a five drop at the top of the curve… Does it make sense, ultimately, to cut a copy?

How about two?

First-time Top 8 competitor (and onetime Top 8 Magic Mockvitational winner) Christian Calcano (shout out to @CCalcano) cut another! Christian’s deck was very similar to Gerry’s, just trading one Liliana’s Mastery for an additional fast removal spell.

On the other hand, the black-white version played all four copies (at the cost of a couple of two drops).

So what is the right number?

If you think Zombies is the ascendent archetype (it did just win the PT) you may want to play all four copies. To be fair, even two-of Calcano ran the other two Liliana’s Masteries in his sideboard.

Liliana’s Mastery is an Asymmetrical Crusade

It’s not just a Crusade, it’s a Grizzly Fate. It’s a giant, spread across multiple bodies.

For five mana, you get two 2/2 Zombies… But they are automatically 3/3 by default due to the enchantment itself. It’s cool, especially in a mirror, to make all your Zombies bigger, but that’s not all.

At the point that you are hitting five drops, you really just want to draw more and more of this thing. You get card advantage two-for-one and all your Zombies get bigger and bigger, snowballing the advantage.

Liliana’s Mastery Killed Verdurous Gearhulk

Poor Verdurus Gearhulk.

Not long ago it was the huge five-drop of choice, kicking Ishkanah out of B/G top ends. It could be a big body itself, or it could spread value across multiple bodies. Especially with Winding Constrictor, Verdurous Gearhulk could create an immediate and compelling swing.

Liliana’s Mastery just does the same thing, better.

Same cost, similar impact.

Except when it isn’t.

The Gearhulk is 8/8 on the low end whereas the Mastery is “only” 6/6… But the Mastery is across two different bodies. It can also potentially spread even more damage, depending on how many Zombies you already have.

And if you are B/W?

It is great with both Binding Mummy and Wayward Servant, creating multiple triggers even as it buffs the two-drop.

Check out mad strategies for both Zombies and Marvel in “Mastering Liliana’s Mastery”

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Getting Familiar with Kefnet the Mindful

Kefnet the Mindful
Kefnet the Mindful rewards familiarity with common play patterns

Amonkhet Gods versus Theros Gods

WotC R&D did a great job of echoing the aesthetics of the Theros gods with cards like Kefnet the Mindful. For example, Kefnet shares a casting cost with Thassa, God of the Sea. Both creatures are indestructible. Both require special conditions before they can attack or block.

Unlike their Theros cousins, Amonkhet Gods start off as creatures. Even if Kefnet the Mindful can’t attack or block, it can, say, crew a Heart of Kiran. While that is pretty good (Thassa is just an enchantment before you have sufficient devotion to blue), it also exposes Kefnet to interaction.

“Indestructible” isn’t as Indestructible as it Used to be

Amonkhet provides all kinds of ways to interact with an indestructible creature like Kefnet the Mindful. Even the new cycling islands like Irrigated Farmland and Fetid Pools have reawakened the incentive to play Engulf the Shores. So while vanilla damage might not be able to kill Kefnet, your opponents may well have tools. For example:

Cast Out – Cast Out can handle any type of permanent. Being indestructible doesn’t protect Kefnet from being exiled.

Commit // Memory – Bounce-type spells are great against Kefnet. Not that they are so much better against Kefnet than other creatures, but a card like Commit // Memory ignores one of the main features of the card that you are paying for.

Oath of Liliana – Perhaps most depressing, the opponent can just lay an Oath of Liliana, killing a Kefnet that is theoretically indestructible, even if it isn’t primed to attack or block yet.

Kefnet the Mindful’s Mental Shortcuts

The rules of engagement have changed dramatically with the introduction of Amonkhet to Standard. For example having one mana open means something very different than it did a few months back. You can cycle a Censor… or pay for a Censor. Or (especially in sideboard games) you can cast a Dispel.

Kefnet the Mindful by itself implies a surprising number of tactical play patterns. Check out these…

If you have only four cards in hand at the end of the opponent’s turn, you can attack even if you are tapped out.
When you untap, you go from four cards to five. Activate Kefnet once, return a land to your hand, and you are already at seven. Get in there!

If the opponent has exactly seven cards in hand, cast your test spell before he attacks
If he counters it, he will go below seven cards in hand, and will be unable to attack.

You don’t have to choose whether you want to pick up a land until after the card draw resolves
This is a generally good thing to know, but is particularly awesome if you have six mana and want to be able to cast a three mana Counterspell. Tap four mana to draw a card; if it is a land that comes into play untapped, play it and you will be able to Cancel. If you don’t draw one, though, you can pick up and re-play one of your other lands to get there!

Sound interesting? This episode also features more Mardu Vehicles, Zombies, and all manner of control decks. Give “Getting Familiar with Kefnet the Mindful” a listen now:

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Breaking Glory-Bound Initiate

Glory-Bound Initiate

“Build your own Baneslayer Angel” with Glory-Bound Initiate

Glory-Bound Initiate is making an immediate impact on Standard. A 3/1 creature for only two mana, even the “vanilla” mode on this card can prove a fast clock. That’s a heck of a fail state!

When you actually exert Glory-Bound Initiate, things get interesting. As a 4/4 lifelink creature, Glory-Bound Initiate is a potentially great racer. It is tactically quite layered. The card is well named: You tend to have the initiative with it in play.

Will you send a 3/1?

How many creatures does he have to hold back if you exert in a 4/4 lifelink?

Subtly, this card on two gives you an incentive to build around the exert mechanic.

Always Watching is great with any exert creatures. With Glory-Bound Initiate, you get to “build your own Baneslayer Angel” … Even attacking for five on turn three!

  • Glory-Bound Initiate is a 3/1 on turn two.
  • Always Watching makes it 4/2 as a base.
  • When you attack — and exert — the Initiate becomes a 5/5 with vigilance!
  • Since it never actually taps (due to vigilance) there is no liability around Exert and the untap.

While Zach’s build only has one exert creature main deck, it is a go-wide strategy that can still benefit from Always Watching. Plus, he has a heck of another exert guy in the sideboard.

Glory-Bound Initiate is Only Human

Glory-Bound Initiate is a human warrior. Played with other humans, this card is really effective with Thalia’s Lieutenant. In addition to white creatures, Zach proved ingenius with his inclusion of red main deck.

All the humans — from Expedition Envoy forward — are great with Thalia’s Lieutenant. Hanweir Garrison, though, can trigger it multiple times per turn.

The sideboard is outstanding

Three fours. One three. Perfect.

Zach played four Needle Spires in the sideboard; consequently, he could support four Glorybringer and four Gideon, Ally of Zendikar! His sideboard actually allowed Zach to transform into more of a powerhouse midrange deck (from his fast start White Weenie main deck).

Embrace Variance

Patrick released a new song on YouTube this week. You can listen to the full song as the outro to this podcast, or just check it out here:

Listen now:

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