Mono-green Devotion is a powerful archetype in Pioneer that has been on the rise in recent weeks. Its potent mix of explosiveness and top end makes the deck quite strong. We’ve also seen Abhorrent Oculus‘s stock rise in Pioneer in recent weeks, thanks to its presence in the Simic Neoform deck.
What we did not foresee, however, was the sudden surge of a deck playing both Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Abhorrent Oculus. One Devotion enthusiast took it upon themselves to tinker with a unique brew, only to find themselves putting up elite results with the deck!
Does this deck have what it takes to emerge as a format frontrunner? What exactly does this deck bring to the table that traditional Devotion shells don’t? Today, we’re going to set out to answer these questions. This strategy is quite unique, and there’s a lot to like going forward.
Beating Down
- Mana Value: GG
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 3/3
- Card Type: Creature- Human Werewolf
- MTG Sets: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Card Text: Pack tactics– Whenever Werewolf Pack Leader attacks, if you attacked with creatures with total power 6 or greater this combat, draw a card. 3G: Until end of turn, Werewolf Pack Leader has bade power and toughness 5/3, gains trample, and isn’t a Human.
Overall, while this Simic shell utilizes a playset of Nykthos, it’s more heavily centered around applying early pressure. You won’t find top-end cards like Storm the Festival or dedicated ramp elements like Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner here. Instead, you’ll find a high density of assertive three-drops.
The goal in most games is to land either Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic turn one, then jam a three-drop turn two. Old-Growth Troll is still excellent, as is Outcaster Trailblazer due to the sheer volume of four-power creatures that appear in the deck. Werewolf Pack Leader does a good job bridging the gap if you don’t have an Elf or it dies before you can make use of it.
On top of Troll and Trailblazer, this deck utilizes copies of Spinner of Souls and even Rhonas, the Indomitable. Both of these cards are absolutely incredible at breaking open a board stall. Spinner sits in play generating value whenever your other beefy threats trade in combat, while Rhonas acts as a roadblock against aggro decks. Rhonas is also a great mana sink with Nykthos, helping you turn the corner in no time.
As you might expect, all of these three-drops also pair perfectly with Collected Company. Collected Company does everything this deck wants. It has a high likelihood of adding a ton of power into play at once. As an instant, it makes it much easier to play around board wipes. And, above all else, it allows you to put Abhorrent Oculus into play ahead of schedule.
An Unusual Inclusion
- Mana Value: 2U
Rarity: Mythic Rare
Stats: 5/5
Card Type: Creature- Eye
MTG Sets: Duskmourn
Card Text: As an additional cost to cast this spell, exile six cards from your graveyard. Flying.
At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, Manifest Dread. (Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature and the other into your graveyard. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it’s a creature card.)
This brings us to the most intriguing aspect of the Simic Nykthos archetype: the inclusion of Abhorrent Oculus. Abhorrent Oculus is undoubtedly a phenomenal card. It’s huge, it has evasion, and its triggered ability takes over the game.
All that being said, not every deck can maximize it due to its additional casting cost. Nearly every Abhorrent Oculus deck does one of two things to facilitate the huge Eye. Either they feature a lot of ways to fuel the graveyard, such as self-mill, or they allow you to cheat Abhorrent Oculus into play and sidestep the additional cost, such as with Unearth in Modern.
This Simic strategy emphasizes the ladder method. Right away, if you ever manage to hit Abhorrent Oculus off of Collected Company, you’re in amazing shape. Beyond that, a full playset of Fiend Artisan gives you a reliable way to tutor for Abhorrent Oculus.
Fiend Artisan is a must-kill threat in this deck as a result. You only need to invest four mana and sacrifice one of your mana dorks to go grab Oculus. After that, Oculus will pump out 2/2s via manifest dread that you can convert into additional copies of Abhorrent Oculus. The opponent will soon find themselves in a point of no return.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Mana Value: 1R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Type: Creature- Mouse Warrior
- MTG Set: Bloomburrow
- Card Text: Haste. Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.) Valiant– Whenever Emberheart Challenger becomes the target of a spell or ability you control for the first time each turn, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may play that card.
Ultimately, structuring your green Devotion deck in this manner has its tradeoffs, but there is some appeal to playing this deck with the Pioneer metagame the way it is. The first major advantage this green deck has compared to the versions that emphasize Nykthos even more comes against the aggressive red decks.
Right away, lowering your curve helps you get on board quicker. As powerful as Storm the Festival and Cavalier of Thorns are, none of that matters if you don’t have time to cast them. Red aggro decks are capable of killing your Elves and threatening a wave of damage early on in the game. These green decks lack removal, but by playing a larger volume of burly blockers, you give yourself a better shot.
Getting on board quicker also helps in combo matchups. This adaptation of green Devotion can more realistically race Quintorius combo and Lotus combo decks.
This does come at the cost, however, of having less inevitability against midrange decks. Cavalier of Thorns is a house against Rakdos midrange, and if you ever got your Storm the Festival engine rolling, your opponent would have no hope of coming back.
By contrast, this archetype is a bit more susceptible to being picked apart by Thoughtseize and removal spells. You also run the risk of naturally drawing multiple copies of Abhorrent Oculus and having them rot in your hand. Breeding Pool can sometimes bail you out in games that go quite long, but you still need enough cards to exile from your graveyard to play Abhorrent Oculus in the first place.
Given how incredible the Collected Company and Abhorrent Oculus package is against the widespread red aggro decks of the format, there’s definitely an incentive to construct your green decks in a similar manner. The presence of Nykthos still allows you to end games out of nowhere with Rhonas. Sometimes, you can even chain lots of spells together while drawing extra cards with Trailblazer.
Being able to apply early pressure when applicable and also overwhelm your opponent in the late game is a huge deal. There’s plenty of room to explore with the ideas here, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Simic Nykthos shell evolves over time.