Devout Decree MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Devout Decree may not draw you cards directly, but by exiling a target creature or planeswalker of a specific color, it effectively removes a key piece from your opponent’s board, subtly nudging the card advantage in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Devout Decree does not accelerate resources in the form of adding more mana, it does cost only two mana to cast, making it a highly efficient use of resources. This allows players to deploy other spells or abilities the same turn, maintaining tempo and potentially accelerating the game state in their direction.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Devout Decree at instant speed provides significant tactical flexibility. It permits players to react swiftly to threats mid-battle or during the opponent’s turn, keeping up the pressure while still holding mana for other instant responses if the situation changes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Devout Decree doesn’t have a discard requirement per se, it’s important to note that the benefit of exiling a black or red creature might not always outweigh the cost of using up a card slot in your deck, especially if your opponent isn’t using those colors.

Specific Mana Cost: Devout Decree requires white mana to cast. This specific mana cost can be limiting since it dictates the deck-types it can be included in, primarily favoring white or light-based decks and possibly excluding it from more versatile, multicolored strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite being a rather cost-effective removal at two mana, in fast-paced games, you might find that Devout Decree’s mana cost is slightly too high when quicker solutions are required to deal with early threats, especially when considering other lower-cost removal options available.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Devout Decree slots into a variety of white decks with ease. Its capacity to exile target black or red creature or planeswalker is a precise answer in a meta teeming with these threats.

Combo Potential: While not a combo card in the traditional sense, Devout Decree shines in synergy with other control elements, reinforcing a strategy that seeks to cleanse the board of specific nuisances efficiently and inexpensively.

Meta-Relevance: With red and black decks consistently performing in many formats, having a sideboard card like Devout Decree can give you a substantial edge. It’s low-cost, high-impact, and can swing games in your favor against some of the most menacing cards in the game.

How to Beat

Devout Decree is a potent sideboard card in MTG, providing a precise answer to certain threats on the battlefield. The card specializes in exiling target creatures or planeswalkers that are black or red, thereby offering a clean and efficient way to deal with problematic cards from these two specific colors. To outmaneuver opponents relying on Devout Decree, consider diversifying your deck’s threats across different colors. This can mitigate the potency of color-specific removal like Devout Decree, rendering it less effective against a well-rounded, multi-color deck configuration.

Another strategy to undermine Devout Decree’s effectiveness is to employ cards with hexproof from white or simply hexproof, protecting your significant threats from being targeted. Additionally, cards that can quickly regrow your key creatures or planeswalkers from the graveyard can help recover from a potential Devout Decree play, maintaining pressure on your opponent. Anticipate sideboard strategies, and adjust your deck accordingly pregame to maintain a competitive edge, even in the face of specialized removal cards. By evaluating when and how to deploy threats, you can safely navigate around possible Devout Decrees, ensuring your key pieces remain in play to drive your victory.