Jeskai Tempo by TurboG73 (4-0) (Standard)

In addition to Valorous Stance, various other point removal spells that can kill a giant monster are great against GR Devotion such as: Murderous Cut, Abzan Charm, Crackling Doom, and especially Hero's Downfall since it can kill any creature or Xenagos, the Reveler (or Nissa, Worldwaker out of the sideboard).

Valorous Stance / Murderous Cut / Abzan Charm / Crackling Doom / Hero's Downfall

Roast doesn't quite make this list of premium removal spells against GR Devotion because it can't kill Polukranos, World-Eater in the mid-to-late game, nor can it kill it at instant speed (i.e. not in response to the monstrous ability). This sorcery speed restriction makes it much worse against Whisperwood Elemental too since it cannot stop them from getting the manifest the turn they play it.

Valorous Stance can grant indestructible to protect a creature from the abilities of Dragonlord Atarka or Polukranos, World-Eater, but usually it will be targeting one of these giant opposing creatures to destroy it. Whisperwood Elemental is also a prime target, as is Genesis Hydra. It can't stunt their mana production the way certain other removal spells can, but it still serves an important function by killing whatever giant monster the GR Devotion deck ramps into.

Murderous Cut can theoretically hit a mana producer, but unless you're on the play and cast a second turn Satyr Wayfinder, you will unlikely have enough fodder in the graveyard to cast it until a little later in the game, which means it will usually only hit the big monsters that they ramp into. This is perfectly fine since it has no restrictions on what it can hit and is an instant that can cost as little as one mana to cast. This means you can gain a huge tempo swing off a timely Murderous Cut, say in response to Polukranos, World-Eater trying to go monstrous or during a player's second main phase after they spend their turn casting Whisperwood Elemental.

Abzan Charm is a bit more costly than Murderous Cut and is more restrictive in its mana cost. Thus it will not fit into as many decks, but the decks it does fit into are able to utilize it effectively against GR Devotion. The most obvious function is to kill one of the monsters described already. Another subtle function is to add a +1/+1 counter to two of your creatures in response to the ability of Dragonlord Atarka or Polukranos, World-Eater. An unsuspecting opponent that doesn't account for this possibility could potentially not only fail to kill your creatures but also lose their Polukranos from the fight back.

Crackling Doom will mostly just kill their biggest threat and tack on some incidental damage, but you can also Redirect the damage to a planeswalker. Two damage isn't enough by itself to kill any of their planeswalkers, but when combined with attackers or other burn spells, it can play a big role in handling their two biggest threats (for instance, having them sacrifice Dragonlord Atarka and deal two damage to Xenagos, the Reveler).

Last but not least, Hero's Downfall is the most versatile removal spell of the bunch because it can hit any creature or either planeswalker. The mana is not quite as restrictive as Crackling Doom or Abzan Charm, but it is restrictive enough that it cannot fit into every black deck as easily as, say, Murderous Cut can. If your mana can support it, however, now is a great time to run the full four copies of Hero's Downfall. It's great against Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver and the dragons in Esper Dragons and is the best removal spell against GR Devotion. It's a bit slow against Red Aggro, but it's no worse against them than any other removal spell mentioned in this section.

Recap for Beating GR Devotion

Overall strategies that are especially good against GR Devotion are UW/x Heroic and any form of UB/x Control (UB, Sultai, Esper). Other strategies can also be good against GR Devotion if you adjust them to include certain key cards that are especially good against the archetype. For instance, Anger of the Gods and Arc Lightning are great ways to cut off their early mana acceleration whereas Disdainful Stroke and Hero's Downfall (or various other point removal spells) are great ways deal with the threat they ramp into. Therefore Mardu Dragons with Anger of the Gods, RG Dragons or Monored Aggro with Arc Lightning, or Jeskai Midrange with Disdainful Stroke and Valorous Stance all have what it takes to hang toe-to-toe with GR Devotion. GR Devotion is certainly good and is currently well-positioned, but there are enough options available to stay a step ahead of the metagame.

Craig Wescoe

@Nacatls4Life on twit