I do believe this was the strongest deck choice available, being proactive yet having outs to everything in the format was a great place to be in the current format. Below are the generalized board plans I came up with, which all seemed more than reasonable given any matchup (which again, having a plan for every matchup seems like a good place for a deck to be given how many decks exist in the field).

Many people say adding green isn't worth it. I could not disagree more. Very rarely is it the case that you cannot sequence a hand correctly to cast Nightveil Specter on turn three, or Golgari Charm on two if need be. One matchup that will be more popular going forward is the Monoblue matchup. Bident of Thassa is a nightmare for the monoblack list. Golgari Charm is great against that Monoblue though, more on this later. Abrupt Decay is far from unplayable against their deck as well, killing most of their devotion enablers. These are only the maindeck choices; things get even worse for the monoblue player post board, regardless of how they plan to board.

From the board we have access to Mistcutter Hydra, Fade into Antiquity, and Gaze of Granite; all cards that are very playable against Monoblue Devotion as well as other strategies. Many games we play Pharika's Cure into Hero's Downfall into Golgari Charm on the Bident and they cannot win. Mistcutter Hydra is exactly the card we want to close out those games. Outside of monoblue, many of these cards are great against Esper and the monoblack mirror as well.

I ended 10-5 over the two days, my losses coming from Monoblue, Esper, Esper, Monored and RG Devotion. The only time I felt myself punt was against the monoblue player in day one. I cast Fade into Antiquity on a Thassa, God of the Sea instead of a Bident of Thassa on an otherwise empty board, figuring not only did I have more outs to the Bident, but my life total would be better off, which was relativity low. My opponent had only two cards in hand, one of which I knew was Rapid Hybridization. The other was another Thassa, God of the Sea. He was scrying things to the bottom and would have obviously cast a creature if he had it. So it had to be another Thassa, another Bident, another Rapid Hybridization, or Cyclonic Rift, but seeing as I was connecting with a 3/3 frog already, I was doubtful it was Rift. He promptly slammed another Thassa and then a Jace to keep me out of the game.

Let's talk board plans, something that is obviously subject to change as lists change, but I don't believe any of these plans are strictly wrong.


Esper

-3 Pack Rat, -3 Abrupt Decay, -1 Hero's Downfall, -1 Devour Flesh, -1 Nightveil Specter
+2 Mistcutter Hydra, +1 Erebos, God of the Dead, +3 Lifebane Zombie, +1 Whip of Erebos, +1 Golgari Charm, +1 Gaze of Granite
(If they have Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, do not cut Abrupt Decay.)

Golgari Charm does actual everything in this matchup, the main modes being Disenchant and regenerate, both of which are stellar. Even killing Elspeth tokens is relevant. In one game against Esper, I didn't have the Hero's Downfall for an Elspeth. With Elspeth's ultimate on the stack, all the tokens died. Sure they got an emblem, but I wasn't beating AEtherling anyway. A Gray Merchant of Asphodel or two later and the game was over. That said, I lost twice to Esper. Both times I lost it was because I couldn't get an Underworld Connections active.

Devour Flesh could be fine to leave in, but against Elspeth and Sin Collector, it's pretty miserable. It is an out to Blood Baron, and if you expect three or four of them after board, feel free to leave it in. Erebos, God of the Dead and Mistcutter Hydra or Whip of Erebos to race are more reliable plans. Lifebane Zombie also makes their game plan harder with Blood Baron of Vizkopa.

Some people believe Pack Rat is good against Esper, but it's really not. Supreme Verdict and Detention Sphere are nightmares for the card. Jace, Architect of Thought can keep their presence to a minimum forcing you to overextend into one of their outs. They don't have trample or Intimidate, making Elspeth very good against them as well, because the second you have more than four, they all die. Sure Golgari Charm can regenerate them through Verdict but it still feels like over extension. Compare it to Lifebane Zombie, something Jace doesn't easily deal with, doesn't take more cards to be a relevant threat, and is only a one-for-one after getting removed.

I've fiddled with the board plan of boarding out a Nightveil Specter instead of the third Abrupt Decay. Many Esper players will board into Last Breath and Pithing Needle against us, making me want the extra out to Sphere and the Needle. One of the easiest ways to lose is when they can answer Underworld Connections or Erebos, God of the Dead. Also, Erebos, God of the Dead is so good in the matchup, I Almost want a third in the board, which may be reasonable if the Monoblack mirror and Esper become more popular again.


Monoblack Devotion

-3 Desecration Demon, -1 Abrupt Decay
+1 Erebos, God of the Dead, +1 Whip of Erebos, +1 Golgari Charm, +1 Fade into Antiquity
This matchup is another one where the green splash really shines. Being able to keep them off Underworld Connections and Whip of Erebos via Golgari Charm and Abrupt Decay is very relevant. Trimming one Abrupt Decay post board may not seem correct, but since we are adding one spell that can still hit Pack Rat on the draw, one spell that can still hit Whip (and Pithing Needle, and Erebos), it seems fine. Something worth noting, in the mirror, good players will cast Underworld Connections on their Temple of Deceits or other scry lands, and needle whatever land we put a connections on. Generally speaking Needle isn't the greatest card in the mirror, and many people won't bring it in but stopping Whip can be a big deal for the lists that cannot Disenchant it.

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Golgari Charm does everything in this matchup again, such as regenerating a Nightveil Specter from a Hero's Downfall or baiting it from playing a rat on turn four. Disenchanting a Whip of Erebos or Underworld Connections is quite important, as the mirror generally comes down to who can maintain board presence.

Desecration Demon isn't good in the mirror. Ultimate Price, Devour Flesh and Pack Rat easily outclass him. Spending turn four doing something that isn't casting Erebos, Underworld Connections, Hero's Downfalling a Nightveil Specter, Whip of Erebos or making a Pack Rat token just seems wrong. If you are looking for more specifics on the Monoblack mirror, check out Adam Yurchick's guide to the mirror article here. While I disagree with what he says about the green splash, many of the ideas are the same for this list.


Monoblue Devotion

-3 Pack Rat, -1 Erebos, God of the Dead, -3 Underworld Connections, -1 Devour Flesh, -1 Nightveil Specter
+2 Mistcutter Hydra, +3 Pharika's Cure, +1 Fade into Antiquity, +1 Gaze of Granite (or third Golgari Charm), +2 Doom Blade
So, I know I've said Golgari Charm is insane. Until you play this matchup, you probably think it's only Mediocre against Esper and so-so in the black mirror. The easiest way to lose this matchup is for them to resolve a Thassa on three and a Bident on turn four. Bident is near unbeatable for the monoblack version, the plan being to keep their creatures from connecting while simultaneously keeping them off devotion. To put it in perspective, what would a hand have to look like from a turn one Thoughtseize for not taking the Bident of Thassa to be correct? It would have to be some land-light hand with many one-drops and Rapid Hybridization and even then it wouldn't be that scary as a monoblack player.

Speaking of many one-drops, have you ever played against the triple Cloudfin Raptor draw and felt like there was no way to win? Pretty sure all the misdirected hate towards the monoblue player could be channeled through casting more Golgari Charms. Or even Master of Waves, something that is often not boarded out against the green versions of Monoblack Devotion. Simply add Golgari Charm.

This plan gets worse as they plan on slowing down. If they board into a bunch of Jace, Architect of Thought, Rapid Hybridization, Cyclonic Rift, and Counterspells, obviously boarding out the Underworld Connections is a bad idea. However, every Monoblue Devotion player I played against agreed they are trying to go under in this matchup and ride Bident of Thassa or Thassa, God of the Sea to victory, which this plan beats handily. One thing that many newer Monoblue Devotion players will do is side into AEtherling. The slowest threat they can deploy, this isn't great. Unless you establish enough of a board state to Nykthos it into play with blue mana up, they will have established control and be beating down by that point. And if you can Nykthos it out, why are you not just overloading Cyclonic Rift and killing them?

Anyway, the main game plan is to remove their first few threats and keep them off Bident of Thassa. Pack Rat is a little too slow and is real mana intensive while getting totally blown out by Cyclonic Rift. The best use for it is to Race, and that plan gets harder the more Rapid Hybridization and Frostburn Weird they draw. Mistcutter Hydra is the sweet ‘free win' card here. As far as alternative board plans go, in case you missed the coverage, Lifebane Zombie is actually the hot new thing Monoblack Devotion brings in against Monoblue, alongside whip, the life gain is very relevant and the clock plus removal to slow the opponent down is the game plan.


Base Red Devotion

(This sideboard changes depending on any given list)

Generally, if no/few one-drops:

-1 Erebos, God of the Dead, -3 Pack Rat, -1 Golgari Charm, -1 Thoughtseize
+3 Pharika's Cure, +1 Whip of Erebos, +2 Doom Blade
Thoughtseize is fine against versions with less one-drops. Taking a Stormbreath Dragon or Fanatic of Mogis is pretty important. It's also reasonable to leave in Golgari Charm if they are splashing white. Assemble the Legion, Chained to the Rocks, and the like are things they will very likely have. If they are on Purphoros, Fade is obviously good.

If Foundry Street Denizen:

-4 Thoughtseize, -1 Desecration Demon, -4 Underworld Connections, -1 Erebos, God of the Dead
+3 Pharika's Cure, +1 Golgari Charm, +2 Doom Blade, +1 Whip of Erebos, +1 Gaze of Granite, +2 Lifebane Zombie
Slow 'em down, stabilize, close out with a single threat. Generally, we have more draws that beat more of theirs. These games are pretty straight forward, they don't have many lines besides playing out their hand. Golgari Charm is often a three-for-one. Blah Blah Blah. Read my last few articles to see this matchup from the other side, It's real bad after board for the aggro player, even if they aren't misplaying.

Those are many of the major matchups. The one game I lost to RG was easily winnable if I ever hit a third land. I kept two lands (one green source), Thoughtseize, Doom Blade, Abrupt Decay, Lifebane Zombie, Whip of Erebos on the draw. I Thoughtseize away a Garruk, kill a mana dork and proceed to draw uncastable spells for the next seven turns as he hits lands and Planeswalkers and I die with three Hero's Downfalls in hand. Very much winnable if I ever hit a third land.


RG Devotion

-2 Golgari Charm, -3 Pack Rat, -1 Erebos, God of the Dead
+2 Doom Blade, +3 Lifebane Zombie, +1 Whip of Erebos

This matchup feels pretty easy. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is the easiest way to lose, Thoughtseize is very good against them. They are playing a creature-based combo deck that can be a bad midrange superfriends deck. If this was more popular, Pithing Needle would be a fine addition to the board plan. They have nut draws you won't beat, but I don't think it's reasonable to overboard for those.

Overall, this was a very good deck, solid matchups, constituent game plan, straightforward choices. 10/10 Would play again.