Black Devotion was one of our special invites for the qualification bracket because it’s potentially one of the all time great decks but it wasn’t in my top 12 based on past results. We wanted to give it another chance. Temur Delirium was a deck played after Aetherworks Marvel got added to a ban list in 2017 that included 5 cards – so it probably isn’t as strong a deck as those other decks that provoked the banhammer before it. We figured Devotion was favored.

G1: Slow start for both decks. I got a Desecration Demon out turn 4 but he had 2 Harnessed Lightning to kill it. Later he wiped my board with the Elder Deep Fiend/Kozilek’s Return combo but I had my singleton Devour Flesh ready for his Fiend. After that it was a card draw race – Underworld Connections against Tireless Tracker clues. Hilariously, the difference maker was Nightveil Specter stealing Traverse the Ulvenwald, which I was able to cast thanks to a Temple of Malady. I got another Desecration Demon and after that played back to back Grey Merchants (aka Gary). Black Devotion 1-0.

G2: An early pack rat got killed, I got stuck at 2 lands for a while, I was never really in the game. Devotion 1-1.

G3: (post sideboard) Very close game. Long and grindy. Mistakes were made. Went to top decking. I start by ripping apart his hand with Duress and Thoughtseize, then play Demon. But he topdecks Confiscation Coup and steals my Demon. I had removal for the Demon but I played Gary first and let his Demon hit me once which was definitely a mistake. My second Gary gained me 10 life at which point it was 13 to 4. I also played a Pack Rat. But then Elder Deep Fiend + Kozilek’s Return wiped my whole board. Playing the Pack Rat was probably a mistake, although I was trying to put him on “you lose if you don’t have it.” I killed the fiend, but then he gets Tracker. He lets a mutavault through so now he’s at 2 but a land drop gets Tracker going with clues and +1 counters. I get a Demon, which is lethal if it attacks, but he topdecks a Harnessed Lightning and has exactly 6 energy after playing it. Demon dies. I can’t remember the exact sequence next, but I remember being salty that after the Harnessed Lightning topdeck, he topdecks a Kozilek’s Return, which kills a mutavault, and then topdecks another harnessed Lightning which kills another recently added mutavault. I end the game wondering if saving the pack rat in hand would’ve won me the game. Grrrr. Devotion 1-2.

G4: The story of this game is three Garys in a row without interference. That’s all you need to know. Devotion 2-2.

G5: I play a Lifebane Zombie but whiff on the green creatures. He kills the zombie. I play an Underworld Connections with 3 lands. He plays Glorybringer. I kill it. He gets it back from his graveyard. I finally find a 4th land thanks to Underworld Connections but I’m at 14 and the newly played Glorybringer makes it 10. I play Erebos. Then I get hit down to 6. I play a Demon and attack with Erebos, but he has Confiscation Coup to steal the Demon and put me at 2. I kill the Glorybringer and sacrifice the Erebos to tap his Demon for a turn. If I can just get to my 5th land I can start playing the 2 Garys in my hand. Or a Hero’s Downfall would be nice. I draw a temple that comes into play tapped. Womp womp. Devotion loses. Temur Delirium 3-2.

Conclusion: Black Devotion is still probably favored here, but his Confiscation Coup from the sideboard exactly when he needed them was crushing. Also, my monocolor deck had some mana trouble and his three color deck never had any problems. And G3 suboptimal plays may have sealed my doom. Still, I was shocked that this 2017 deck from an era with 5 banned cards could hang with Black Devotion. Part of it was that Kozilek’s Return completely nullified Pack Rat. Sorry Black Devotion, better luck net time.