Daily Digest: Devotion To Winning

yesterday, you’ll recall the opening discussion about how one of the greatest aspects of Modern and Legacy is that they bring together cards printed years apart in unintended and interesting ways, which is why those formats are so rich for deckbuilders. Today’s deck is another example of that phenomenon, this time showcasing the power of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx when supercharged by Leylines.

While most of the Leylines in Magic’s history have marginal effects, the fact that they represent two points of devotion for free can lead to some very explosive starts, especially when drawn in multiples. For the mono-red list below, consider the following curve:

Turn 1: Figure of Destiny.

Turn 2: Kargan Dragonlord.

Now, on turn 3, your Nykthos does not add any extra mana, but if you start the game with a single Leyline of Punishment, then you have access to the five mana necessary to cast Demigod of Revenge. With a second Leyline in your opening hand, you have seven mana, enough to cast Chancellor of the Forge and make three Goblin tokens.

With so many mana sinks between Figure of Destiny, Kargan Dragonlord, and Banefire, you will rarely run out of uses for the incredible amount of mana this deck can generate, and it means that your cards scale in effectiveness when you have a heavy-Leyline draw, which is important, because in those draws you will be light on payoff cards and each one must carry more weight.

I’m somewhat surprised by the lack of Burning-Tree Emissary, even if its trigger may be hard to use. A devotion deck so dedicated wants all the enablers it can get, and it’s possible that Lightning Bolt should be relegated to the sideboard so as to completely focus the maindeck around the devotion engine.

The sideboard as it stands is much too haphazard and certainly could use some work. Smash to Smithereens would likely be more effective as some combination of Shatterstorm, Vandalblast, and Shattering Spree, and the full eight Blood Moon effects is too many.

It’s also likely that eight Leylines is too many as well, since they are such weak cards on their own, especially in draws without Nykthos. Adding some more cheap permanents such as Burning-Tree Emissary, Ash Zealot, or Eidolon of the Great Revel would give the deck some more play in its less powerful draws and be less reliant on having a great opening hand. You could also try to be Goblin-themed and play Warren Instigator, Goblin Wardriver, Goblin Chieftain, and Siege-Gang Commander. You won’t generate as much devotion, but Instigator is a fantastic way to develop your battlefield quickly, and Siege-Gang Commander is a great mana sink.

This deck even has me thinking of how the Leyline-Nykthos synergy would work in other colors, with the most exciting being black. Leyline of the Void is a fine card on its own in Modern, shutting down Snapcaster Mage, Kitchen Finks, Goryo’s Vengeance, and Dredgevine decks while shrinking Tarmogoyfs to a manageable size. With access to cards like Gravecrawler, Relentless Dead, Geralf’s Messenger, and Grey Merchant of Asphodel, there are enough enablers and payoffs to assemble a nice deck. And don’t forget Profane Command as a late-game finisher.

When you’re as focused on top-tier competitive play as I am, it’s easy to lose sight of these sweet synergies and decks, but every so often Modern comes along and shows me something I never would have thought of. The format is so large that it’s essentially impossible to explore it all, even with the amount of collaboration the digital age affords us. It’s great to see people out there trying hard to innovate cool decks that showcase just how diverse Magic can be.