Devoted Shades of Gray

Devoted Shades of Gray is a mono-black Pioneer midrange/devotion deck. It plays a grindy game with discard and removal like Thoughtseize, Go Blank, Go for the Throat, and Murderous Rider to disrupt the opponent while building heavy black devotion for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and especially Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

The deck’s main plan is to control the board, generate card advantage with Phyrexian Arena and Castle Locthwain, then win by draining the opponent with Gray Merchant. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose can amplify life-drain effects into a faster kill, while cards like Gifted Aetherborn and Kaya’s Ghostform help stabilize and extract extra value. Overall, it wins through attrition, devotion-fueled mana, and big life-swing finishes.