This is a first attempt at making a devotion deck. Unsurprisingly, it revolves around Gray Merchant of Asphodel, a black devotion staple. So, whilst this deck is nothing new, I've used some different creature cards from other decks I've seen, along with the addition of some more recently released cards.

This deck, unlike others, forgos a lot of sorcery and instant cards in favour of permanents to try and make the devotion plan as fast as possible. There are two exceptions. First is Sign in Blood for added card draw that doesn't require permanents to be sacrificed, and the second is Dark Ritual to give more explosive starts and flood the board with plenty of permanents as quickly as possible. Creatures wise, this deck looks like an odd mix, but they each have their purpose. Aside from adding a healthy amount of devotion per creature, Basal Thrull can be sacrificed to add more mana; Lost Legion can scry through our deck to find the necessary pieces; Order of the Ebon Hand is a 2-drop that can be buffed late game with a bit of built-in protection; and Marshmist Titan is a bulky creature that can come onto the board as early as turn two thanks to its devotion-based ability. To accompany these are Grim Bauble for a bit of removal and scrying; Hopeless Nightmare to drain and discard that can also be sacrificed to scry; and Oubliette for removal that also provides devotion.

This current build might be on the land heavy side, especially with Dark Ritual, but devotion decks require a lot of mana to keep up the ante. Bojuka Bog gives a bit of free graveyard hate, while Witch's Cottage adds in a form of reanimation. However, the lands in this deck could be swapped around or reduced as you see fit. Cycling lands like Barren Moor could be added to prevent flooding in the late game.

The sideboard consists of removal that also adds devotion in the form of Tithing Blade // Consuming Sepulcher and Executioner's Capsule, Blood Fountain for card draw and reanimation, and two creatures - Cadaver Imp for more reamination, and another two Marshmist Titan if beating down becomes a more viable option than Gray Merchant.

Whilst this deck isn't the most expensive, it also clocks in above other pauper decks due to a handful of the cards still being viable in other formats. The price breakdown, using Aetherhub's listed price as of late February 2025, is as follows:
Creatures: $5.79
Spells: $24.36
Lands: $6.00
Sideboard: $2.75
Total Cost: $38.90 or £30.75 or 37.10

For clarity, the sideboard cost does not include Tithing Blade // Consuming Sepulcher as Atherhub hasn't got a listed price for it. Whilst I could find a price elsewhere, it wouldn't then use the same data as other cards on this website.

Lastly, some additions/subsitutions that could be made are: Tortured Existence to swap creatures in your hand and graveyard for added shenanigans; Mephitic Draught for card draw; Blight-Breath Catoblepas for devotion-based removal and a big body; Disciple of Phenax for devotion-based discard; Sangrophage as an alternate 2-drop; and Relentless Rats that give decent devotion but can also grow quite large if left unchecked. These are but a few cards that could be swapped in with plenty of other viable options depending on your taste. It must also be noted that the creatures in the main deck are purely my choices. You could swap them depending on whether you want to be more aggro, more defensive, etc. These are just the ones I landed on.

Anyway, enjoy spreading your devotion to the masses!