Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Theros Beyond Death. Today I’ll be talking about three of the returning mono-coloured Gods. When I think back to the original Theros, the 5 mono-coloured Gods is what I remember the most. Cards that are sometimes creatures, but always enchantments and indestructible as well. The idea of trying to build mono-coloured devotion decks to take advantage of these indestructible permanents was a challenge, but so rewarding. Theros Beyond Death sees the return of these hard to remove cards with new abilities and new stats! What I like the most about the design of the Gods of Theros, is that even if they never turn into a creature, you are still left with a strong, valuable permanent on the battlefield.
To start off I want to talk about the Green God Nylea. It’s looking to help you cast all your creatures. Here is Nylea, Keen-Eyed.
Nylea, Keen-Eyed
Let’s start off with her base stats, which is a 5/6 Indestructible creature for four mana. Obviously strong, but it has the drawback of needing five devotion for it to be a creature. Green is often one of the best equipped to increase its devotion count, especially if you can get them out easier thanks to its two abilities. I look at these two abilities and it reminds me of a combination of the two sides of the double-faced card Duskwatch Recruiter. Mana reduction is always strong, especially with the number of creatures that Green can get onto the battlefield. Later in the game you can use all that mana that green can ramp into to cycle through your deck. You can even bin some cards that might be better suited in your graveyard. I think that Nylea, Keen-Eyed is a very strong mid-to-late game card that will allow Mono-Green devotion decks a chance to never run out of resources and overwhelm the battlefield.
Next up is the return of the Black God Erebos. Erebos’s abilities come at a price, but provide great reward. Here is Erebos, Bleak-Hearted.
Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
Like Nylea, we get a 5/6 indestructible creature for four mana. Looking at the supporting cards for black devotion, I would put it in the middle of the pack. It has some strong devotion payoff cards, but lacks some of the cards right now to get up to that needed devotion count. The two abilities on Erebos, Bleak-Hearted are outstanding. Just imagine having Cauldron Familiar in your deck and being able to cycle that creature with Witch’s Oven to draw extra cards and limit the loss of life thanks to Cauldron Familiar’s enter the battlefield trigger. Imagine sacrificing maybe one of the many cards with an Escape ability on it. This just adds more value to the transaction for you. I think that Erebos, Bleak-Hearted will work well in the right sacrifice/graveyard deck that can take the most advantage of it’s two abilities. Even if it never attacks, its abilities can take over a game easily.
Finally we have the return of the White God. If you are looking to gain some life and grow your creatures, Heliod is for you. Here is Heliod, Sun-Crowned.
Heliod, Sun-Crowned
To start off, Heliod is the cheapest of the Gods at 3-mana for a 5/5. White is loaded with nice ways to increase its devotion count, including the new Daxos, Blessed by the Sun. Which by the way, will help you gain life each turn. Why is this important? Well because Heliod, Sun-Crowned is just itching to have you gain some life and pump up your creatures or your enchantments. Why not do both and throw them on an enchantment creature! This is a nice added part of the ability which will allow you to add counters to Heliod, Sun-Crowned itself, even it if isn’t quite a creature yet. There are already talks of combo kills in Pioneer with Hangarback Walker and I could write an entire article on that, but in Standard it will still be an all-star. There are a ton of ways to gain life in White. I think that Heliod, Sun-Crowned is the one of the strongest Gods in the set and I will not be surprised if it sees a ton of play in the coming months.
There you have it folks, three of the new Gods from Theros Beyond Death. Which is your favourite? Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Theros Beyond Death. Join me again next week as we have another great week of new preview cards and deckbuilding ideas!
