Alara: Jund Devour (Modern)

A favourite of mine that has been a staple of kitchen-table play with my friends. It has changed a lot over the years, though it has never truly been optimized for competitive play. Imho, the "devour" mechanic, due to the self-inflicted losses with questionable gains that it requires, is not really meant for that anyway. The deck is about flavour and vibes before anything else. Some cues from the ever-popular Jund Midrange have been taken without compromising on the core theme on the deck.

Since I am including a lot of the quintessential devour cards, this might as well serve as a primer, I guess. A couple of thoughts:

• In general, it is very important for devour creatures to have immediate effects on arrival, i.e. card draw, direct damage, haste, discard. Otherwise, the devoured creatures will have been consumed only for their consumer to immediately be removed from the board. Sometimes you will just have to roll with the punches. But minimizing losses is key. This deck is fairly casual. A more competitive approach would be to leave out Mycoloth and possibly Dragon Broodmother and to lean more into Tar Fiend, Skullmulcher and Predator Dragon.
• The mana base is just what I had at hand. Has worked out quite well for me thus far. Since the current version of the deck is VERY creature heavy, Ancient Ziggurat is amazing. Might have to change if other spell types are cycled in. Adjust to measure.
• Bloodhall Ooze is just a great 1-drop. Grows and grows. Gains utility through Fists of Ironwood.
• Birds of Paradise / Ignoble Hierarch compete with Tukatongue Thallid for the 1 CC G-spot. I gave the mana fixers the edge in the end. Non-creature mana fixes like Utopia Sprawl do not fit this deck as well since a) creature consumption is the end goal and b) Ancient Ziggurat.
• Mogg War Marshal trumps Dragon Fodder. It sometimes gives you three instead of just two creatures. Also, again: Ancient Ziggurat.
• Putrid Leech is just a good card. Forces your opponent to make tough choices. Also synergizes well with Bloodhall Ooze.
• Other viable 2 CC considerations provide either utility like Fists of Ironwood or mana fixes like Rampant Growth. But: Ancient Ziggurat. Also, if you have the cash, it has to be mentioned: Bitterblossom.
• Sprouting Thrinax has beautiful hot-potato energy. Block / destroy it and create more tokens? Or let its damage go through? Tough choices, again.
• Thelonite Hermit has been a late addition. Sits in that weird spot between 3 CC and 5 CC. Good synergies due to token boost and morph ability. Slow though. And the boost might be questionable since the tokens are meant to be consumed. Can be an alternative win condition due to creature count.
• Bloodbraid Elf. Jund Midrange staple card. Great utility. Cascade bolsters our ranks, helps with "card draw". Sets the stage for our heavy devourers. Also: haste.
• Skullmulcher is the first devourer in our curve. Provides card draw. Improved by Fists of Ironwood.
• As said above, Mycoloth is easily sniped and might go down without immediate gains. If it survives the round, it gets nasty though. God forbid you let it consume more than one token. Hard not to include. This one can win games on its own. Improved by Fists of Ironwood.
• Dragon Broodmother: The brood factory. Amazing if it manages to stay alive (same caveat as with Mycoloth). A bit slow compared to...
• Predator Dragon. Probably the best devourer in the game. Even if it does not devour anything it is a great threat due to haste and flying.
• cards to think about: Obviously: removal spells. See sideboard and maybeboard. Synergies with "once a creature dies" (i.e. Deathgreeter) effects are also there. Also: Overwhelming Stampede. Amazing one-shot card. Just one Sprouting Thrinax and some tokens are usually enough. All of them require a more suitable mana base, without Ancient Ziggurat, though. Marrow Chomper could regain life points lost due to Putrid Leech. Thunder-Thrash Elder grows tall but needs utility enchanments to truly be of use. Other Jund Midrange cards like Jund Charm, Bituminous Blast or Oran-Rief, the Vastwood could certainly improve upon the deck. But at that point, you might as well just leave out devouring altogether and play something else. Not what I was looking for with this build.

There is probably a lot more that can be said. But I have been rambling for more than a dozen paragraphs already. Enjoy the deck, it sure as hell has been a flavourful blast for me!