Some thought that Shorecrasher Elemental alone would herald the return of Mono-Blue Devotion, but it didn’t seem to be quite enough. Then a Collected Company splash put U/G Devotion into the Top Eight of the Open Series in Portland, but that didn’t seem to be enough to keep it on the map either. Perhaps what we needed was Counterspell…
Silumgar’s Scorn has seemed unfair, but plenty of decks have risen to the challenge of defeating it. Deathmist Raptor certainly had a lot to do with that, especially when backed up by cheap disruption like Thoughtseize and Disdainful Stroke. Counterspell in a tempo deck though? Well, that’s a completely different situation.
Having a reliable early counterspell buys time in order to get Silumgar Sorcerer online, which further buys you time to land Dragonlord Ojutai, Icefall Regent, or Master of Waves. It also gives you some maindeck defense against sweepers and big threats, like your opponent’s own Dragonlord Ojutais.
I think the manabase could be better. Instead of the singleton Haven of the Spirit Dragon, you could have a Plains and some Flooded Strands. That makes sideboarding white cards a little more realistic, plus it should allow you to cut the Tranquil Cove.
Creatures (31)
- 3 Thassa, God of the Sea
- 2 Omenspeaker
- 4 Master of Waves
- 3 Hypnotic Siren
- 3 Stratus Dancer
- 4 Gudul Lurker
- 2 Dragonlord Ojutai
- 4 Shorecrasher Elemental
- 3 Silumgar Sorcerer
- 3 Icefall Regent
Lands (24)
Spells (5)
