Although blue and black devotion decks continue to dominate Standard, devotion-based decks in other colors still continue to be played. In fact, each of Theros's five Gods is seeing at least a bit of high-level play at the moment.

Thassa, God of the Sea is obviously the frontrunner, featuring prominently in mono-blue decks. Erebos, God of the Dead follows with its solid place as a one- or two-of in most black devotion builds. Purphoros, God of the Forge still holds some ground in the slower mono-red decks, and Nylea, God of the Hunt is sometimes featured in R/G lists. Trailing behind the rest of them is Heliod, God of the Sun.

Although he is featured in some R/W and mono-white aggro decks, Heliod's inclusion is far from standard, and the decks are not very popular. However, this does mean that he is currently in a place where budget players can pick him up without too much difficulty. Therefore, I decided to put together a deck that would take advantage of this indestructible powerhouse. Here's what I came up with.

"Heliod's Army"

• Creatures (30)
• 3 Imposing Sovereign
• 4 Banisher Priest
• 4 Daring Skyjek
• 4 Dryad Militant
• 4 Frontline Medic
• 4 Precinct Captain
• 4 Soldier of the Pantheon
• 3 Heliod, God of the Sun

• Spells (7)
• 4 Brave the Elements
• 3 Spear of Heliod

• Lands (23)
• 23 Plains

Buy This Deck

The Creatures

Dryad Militant's bonus is less relevant now that flashback has left us. Although you might find it occasionally helpful against the odd Spellheart Chimera deck, it will normally just be a regular Elite Vanguard. Fortunately, that's really all you need. Having two different 2-power 1-drops is always a great boon for an aggressive deck, making it far more likely to have a strong turn-one play.

Precinct Captain gives you two white mana symbols to help turn on Heliod, God of the Sun. It also happens to be a fine aggressive creature in its own right. It combines especially well with Spear of Heliod. A 3/3 with first strike will blow past most early creatures in the format. One of the few that can take it down is Desecration Demon. However, Precinct Captain's upside is perfectly matched to the Demon's downside. You can sacrifice another creature to tap it the first time, and then the tokens from Precinct Captain can keep it tapped for as long as the Captain keeps pushing through.

Daring Skyjek boasts a lot of power for a 2-drop. Although its toughness isn't high enough to keep it from getting into trouble, its ability will help you avoid sticky situations. Judge's Familiar is nearly the card that can give you a hard time once battalion triggers. Nightveil Specter will merely trade for it—a trade you're rarely too upset with.

Frontline Medic makes it easy to swing all-out every turn. It helps enormously when facing down the giant indestructible Gods, who would otherwise pick off one of your attackers turn after turn. Although Sphinx's Revelation is less common than it once was, Esper control is still seeing quite a bit of play, and having this foil might come in handy.

Banisher Priest is extremely good right now. For one thing, many decks, such as mono-blue, are short on removal with which to regain their creatures. Even those that aren't will be forced to take down the 2/2 instead of one of your more deadly threats. Most removal at the moment is conditional, and almost none can deal with a God. Banisher Priest, on the other hand, deals with just about everything. It doesn't care about the protection from red on Master of Waves. It isn't concerned about the both multicolored and black Nightveil Specter or the large Desecration Demon. Even an active God can be easily gotten rid of. This card will help you immensely, and I can't imagine playing less than the full set.

Heliod, God of the Sun comes in batting cleanup for the deck. With Precinct Captain, Spear of Heliod, and a load of cheap creatures, bringing your devotion to five is a piece of cake. Having a large indestructible threat will help you push damage past blockers later in the game. If the game runs long against a control deck, Heliod can even start making his own army in the form of 2/1 tokens.

The Spells

Brave the Elements is better positioned in this Standard environment than in any other the card has been in. Mono-colored and near-mono-colored decks are everywhere, with hordes of Elemental tokens and indestructible Gods to deal with. With Brave the Elements, you can completely bypass blockers for a turn. Not only does it make your creatures unblockable for a turn, you can also use it to protect against removal spells—and even Anger of the Gods. You will almost never encounter a situation in which this card doesn't fall somewhere between useful and game-winning.

Playtesting

Mono-Blue Devotion – Game 1

My opponent played an Island and attacked with the Judge's Familiar. He cast two more Familiars and ended his turn. I drew Frontline Medic and played my land. I cast Precinct Captain and then passed the turn.

My opponent played a land and cast Nightveil Specter. He attacked with two Familiars and ended his turn. I drew a Plains, played it, and cast Spear of Heliod. I attacked with both creatures. My opponent took 6 damage, and I made a Soldier token before passing the turn.

My opponent attacked for 5 with his creatures and then cast Master of Waves, making seven Elemental tokens. I drew a Plains and played it. I cast Banisher Priest—exiling Master of Waves and killing the tokens—and attacked with everything. My opponent dropped to 6, and the Captain made another Soldier. I ended my turn.

My opponent played a land and passed back. I drew Soldier of the Pantheon and played my Plains. I attacked with everything. My opponent killed a Soldier with Nightveil Specter, blocking two other creatures with Judge's Familiars to go to 1. I cast Frontline Medic and Soldier of the Pantheon before ending my turn, and he drew his card and conceded.

Game 2

My opponent attacked for 1 with the Familiar, played another Island, and then and cast Frostburn Weird. My Soldier of the Pantheon triggered and gave me back the 1 life. He passed the turn. I drew a Plains, played it, and attacked for 2. I cast Daring Skyjek and ended my turn.

My opponent played Mutavault, cast Thassa, God of the Sea, and passed the turn. I drew Soldier of the Pantheon, played a land, and cast Spear of Heliod. I attacked with both creatures. My opponent dropped to 11, and I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Frostburn Weird, making Thassa into a creature and giving me 1 life. He attacked with Judge's Familiar to take it away and then ended his turn. I drew a Plains and played it. I cast Banisher Priest, exiling Thassa, God of the Sea. I attacked for 3 with Soldier of the Pantheon, cast a second one, and ended my turn.

My opponent played and Island and cast Master of Waves, making six Elemental tokens. He ended his turn. I drew a Plains and cast Brave the Elements, giving all my creatures protection from blue and attacking for 13 to end the game.

Wrap-Up

This deck has a lot of great tools to handle the format as it currently stands. Banisher Priest and Brave the Elements are particularly valuable against devotion decks. Additionally, Frontline Medic and Spear of Heliod help shore up the weaknesses of many of your creatures, ensuring your opponent can't just pick them off with a high-toughness blocker. If you're looking for an aggro deck that doesn't roll over to mono-blue, give this one a try.