Took my combo list to TNM again this week. Deck feels very close for what I want to do, several games coming down to one turn. There are games where the deck fires on all cylinders and it feels great, and then there are games where you just draw seven lands and go to Game 2. I'm not sure if I'll spend further time and resources (i.e. money) to tweak a gimmick deck, but it has been very fun to say the least.
*Disclaimers*: I would run 4x Samut, Voice of Dissent over the Lightning Runners, but I didn't have them and vigilance wasn't important enough to warrant purchasing them just for the night. Also, in regards to the manabase, I would ideally be running Verdant Catacombs but I don't own any Catacombs at the moment. Sideboard was thrown together before the event.
Game 2
He naturally draws into Tron, but doesn't have much payoff. He lands a Relic of Progenitus so I slow roll my cards a bit. He pops the Relic, so I go to work with a Faithless Looting and a Grisly Salvage, setting me up for an infect kill by Turn 5.
Game 3
He is able to go Turn 1 Relic of Progenitus, but I have a Nature's Claim in hand to take care of it. No Tron for him this time, and just an excess of lands. He casts a Turn 4/5 (can't rememeber exactly) Reality Smasher but I follow up with my own double strike, haste, flying, and lifelink Soulflayer, which is a race I will always win.
Game 3
Game 2 ended right before time was called for the round. We played out our five turns but neither of us had a quick combo kill, so it was a draw.
Game 2
Almost exactly like Game 1, but not quite as awful. I draw several lands again, but am able to finally hit some action. My opponent plays double Relic of Progenitus to keep my graveyard slim but I'm able to go off with a Faithless Looting, flash it back immediately, and cast Soulflayer with double strike, flying, lifelink, and hexproof. My opponent is pressuring with two Merfolk lords, a Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, and a Master of Waves. I Abrupt Decay the Kira, and am able to regain some life with a Soulflayer swing. He's down to 7 and I'm at 15 with him having 14 power on board. If he draws another lord, he wins, otherwise, I have it. He draws, cycles both Relics, and casts a lord. GG.
Game 2
He gets stuck on one land (albeit with a Utopia Sprawl) and I'm able to close out the game on Turn 4 with the infect kill.
Game 3
This one was super dicey. I do a lot of digging with Lootings and Salvages to get everything setup, but I'm missing a source of Haste, which I feel is important since my opponent is running 4 copies of Primal Command. I'm sitting on 6 life with two copies of Tainted Strike, a Soulflayer, and a land in hand with Birds of Paraside on board, staring down a Polukranos, World Eater and Acidic Slime. He elects to go monstrous with the Polukranos, killing my Bird, but I float black mana to cast the first Tainted Strike on his hydra, dealing me 9 infect and two points of damage from the Slime. I flashback Faithless Looting, find my source of haste, and combo off with Soulflayer and the second Tainted Strike for the win.
Overall I had a another great time playing the deck.
As always, thank you for the detailed report. I'm glad to hear you were able to combo off with Tainted Strike! From your experience, how was using 2 Traverse the Ulvenwald and 1 Chromanticore? Is this only possible with using Street Wraith? I was lately thinking about cutting some Traverse too.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Modern&Pioneer Soulflayer discord server here!
If I had them, I would've jammed more Chromanticores to help turn on Traverse, cutting at least Tasigur and maybe Hazoret.
I've come to realize that having Traverse helps to hit Soulflayers more consistently. It can also help search up a creature with a specific keyword that I might be looking for so that I can discard it, but this situation hasn't come up yet. I think I would be inclined to go up to 3, but I could also see going up to the full 4 copies while going down to 18 land (in my build) since then they would also function as a means to hit land drops.
Hi guys, I've wanted to build a Soulflayer deck for the longest time but couldn't ever make it work past G1 when the GY hate came in. The deck also has a lot of "jank" draws like hands full of enablers but no soulflayer, so I knew all-in couldnt work.
My latest brainchild is a midrange build with Soulflayer as a built in combo piece with decent keyword providers that can also function individually (although I've had to stretch that definition a little to accomodate keywords).
Yes, the deck doesn't really sideboard. It transforms. I've tried very hard to make the Plan A continue to function after G1, but there are too many ways and too many incentives for people to hate on GY in their own sideboards - Leyline of the Void, maindeck Relics of Progenitus, Rest in Peace, Surgicals - too many from too many angles.
In the end I decided - screw this. They're diluting their main plan somewhat to wreck my plan A, I'll just change the whole plan then.
Post board the deck plays tokens from Young Pyro and medium sized threats with burn. It looks like a Grixis Delver plan minus the delvers. Granted, we're having issues when the GY is wiped because our delve guys are hard to cast, but some will be taken out and replaced by the transformation pieces.
Generally this is what I'd do:
Out: (11 creatures and 4 spells)
2 Soulflayer
1 Wrecking Ogre
4 Xathrid Slyblade
2 Vault Skirge
4 Grisly Salvage
2 Crypt Champion
In: (11 spells and 4 creatures)
The whole sideboard.
The preboard heavy creature based deck (27 creatures to 14 spells) is necessary for soulflayer, but post board we're playing more interactions and trying to win via our new wincon, who is basically Mr. "instants and sorceries matter", which is a completely different angle of attack. Most of the things that care about the GY are taken out, such as Grisly Salvage, which doesn't really do what you want it to do in plan B. So post board we have 20 creatures to 21 spells, which works much better with the plan B. We're not dropping the plan A completely, just in case the opponent doesn't draw their hate, but we want to assume they will.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
I like your idea of changing the whole game plan. I feel like Lightning Bolt is main deckable in your build. Even plan A requires you to reduce your opponent's life to 0 which bolt can help. This way it'll add 4 new spot in your sideboard which you can add more burn spells (possibly Bump in the Night or Rift Bolt). This way it'll smooth your plan B.
Talk about changing game plan, I've been thinking of similar concept recently.
Game plan for game 1 is Soulflayer beat down/Worship lock down.
Game plan afterward depends on the information I revealed to opponent.
If they saw Soulflayer:
-3 Soulflayer
-1 Winged Shepherd
+4 Majestic Myriarch
Reason for this is because I predict opponent will side out removal spells for graveyard hate. Especially if they see Soulflayer with hexproof. My plan is to make graveyard hate whiff completely. I believe Majestic Myriarch is highly underrated and suits will for replacement of Soulflayer. Myriarch is also great when Soulflayer is in play, but unnecessary. Whenever I side in Myriarch I will also consider siding in Blood Moon because single green mana is easier to cast compared to double black symbol.
If they saw Worship:
-4 Path to Exile
-2 Soulflayer
-2 Winged Shepherd
+3 Blood Moon
+4 Majestic Myriarch
+1 Negate
Again, Myriarch is great with Blood Moon because it only requires single green and 4 colorless mana to cast it. Commune with the Gods is useful utility to find Blood Moon which is the reason why I run it instead of Grisly Salvage. I am running Blood Moon so that my opponent will waste their enchantment removal spell on it. It'll be safe to play Myriarch because if my opponent sees Worship, they will predict my deck is filled with hexproof creatures and side out creature removal spells.
I really like that Cycling / Worship build, yuseimax. Have you had a chance to test it yet? Only initial feedback I have is to maybe try Sigarda, Host of Herons over the 1 Oketra the True. Having a single source of double strike and indestructible doesn't seem reliable enough compared to having even more sources of hexproof and flying. Also, Sigarda seems much more threatening if you actually cast her, though I could be wrong there.
After several test play I think Worship functions most efficiently in sideboard. Oketra wasn't as strong as I anticipated. Next time, I'll try using Sigarda instead. Majestic Myriarch was pretty fun using, I might even consider playing it in mainboard instead of Worship.
Feel free to notify me or post a deck here if you want me to update your deck on the front page. To everyone else, please post a decklist with a result (it doesn't have to be good) if you want your decklist on the front page. I'm not too strict about requirement beside this. I just want to know if there was some effort put in beside deck building.
Round 3 Polymorph 2-1
Game 1: Couldn't draw Soulflayer. Died from Gideon of the Trials and token beat down.
Game 2: I Thoughtseize my opponent on turn 1, he reveals 3 Path to Exile, Tormod's Crypt, Gideon of the Trials and 2 land. Because I had slow hand, I discarded Gideon. I had Sylvan, Samut, Voice of Dissent and Chromanticore in my hand so I went for hardcast plan. It was a grindy match but my opponent didn't draw Polymorph so I eventually cast Soulflayer for the win.
Game 3: My last turn, opponent had 6 life with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and 1/1 token in play, I had Soulflayer (with Chromanticore and Sylvan's ablility) and Lotleth Troll with one +1/+1 counter. I attack with both creatures. Opponent blocks Flayer with Emrakul and Troll with token. I managed to get away by pumping Troll with Ghor-Clan Rampager.
Round 5: Naya Burn 1-2
Game 1: Got rid of Grim Lavamancer and Lightning Bolt on turn 2 with Collective Brutality. I won with Soulflayer (with Chromanticore and Samut's ability) on turn 4.
Game 2: I couldn' draw Soulflayer.
Game 3: My final turn, I swing with Soulflayer pumped with Ghor-Clan for lethal, but opponent cast Deflecting Palm in response and I lose. I should of actually won this game because Leyline of Punishment was also out in play which nullifies Delecting Palm (confirmed by judge), but I noticed this way after game ended.
Round 6: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 7: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 8: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 9: Affinity 2-1
Game 1: I lost the game but I noticed my opponent made many misplays so I was feeling optimistic.
Game 2: Opponent casts Blood Moon but I already had swamp, forest and Sylvan in play. Blood Moon probably hurt his game plan more then mine. I drew enough Ancient Grudge to survive and won game 2.
Game 3: Again, opponent cast Blood Moon in similar situation. I won the game with Flayer and Troll.
I'll post more about changes I would make with decklist later, but I would definitely remove Hollow One from mainboard and Scavenging Ooze from sideboard for now. I thought Hollow One would be great because it can be cycled, used to facilitate delirium, and provide more aggressive plan B. I was able to cast Hollow One multiple times throughout the day for 1 mana (even 0) but it almost made no impact in the game. Maybe I needed Street Wraith instead or both?
If there is a reason to play Hollow One in this deck, its because you want a plan that ignores GY hate, and what Hollow Ones can do with your maindeck Faithless Lootings and Cathartic reunions.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
If there is a reason to play Hollow One in this deck, its because you want a plan that ignores GY hate, and what Hollow Ones can do with your maindeck Faithless Lootings and Cathartic reunions.
That was my initial plan. It also works with Traverse the Ulvenwald because it an artifact.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Modern&Pioneer Soulflayer discord server here!
I am planning to test a deck with Vault Skirge replacing Chromanticore. They are essentially the same when delved together with Samut, Voice of Dissent and functions similary with activating delirium. Pros for Vault Skirge includes being able to chump block early game and life gain. It also useful with Driven // Despair which I'm also going to test play. Vault Skirge is slightly weaker when delved alone by Soulflayer but they share the most important ability (in my opinion) which is lifelink and flying.
Driven // Despair seems strong (especially Despair) because sometimes Soulflayer lacks evasion. If soulflayer has doublestrike it'll allow me to draw two card and/or make opponent discard two card. It'll be even better with Lotleth Trolls and Vault Skirges attacking also.
Here is a deck I am testing on MO. I basically added Soulflayer and Rhonas the Indomitable in the R/G Vengevine list. I want to increase the number of Soulflayer to 4 but I'm afraid it will make Become Immense harder to cast. I don't want to reduce the number of Become Immense because combined with Temur Battle Rage it can make any creature in this deck a lethal threat. Maybe 2 is the right number. Beside giving Soulfayer indestructible and deathtouch, I think Rhonas the Indomitable can contribute to this deck by giving +2/+0 and trample to Vengevine or Hollow One in case they need evasion.
^^
It isn't really a Soulflayer deck anymore and it doesn't seem particulary good in this shell compared to Tasigur or Hooting Mandrills.
I'm not even sure that Rhonas fits in this type of deck either as it is a very low curve deck with a low land count that really want to hardcast 3-drops.
Thanks for the advice! I've decided to keep Become Immense and Temur Battle Rage because I feel like they can improve Soulflayer deck. We've had discussion in the past about Temur Battle Rage but I wasn't able to find right brew for it. I've been avoiding Become Immense because I didn't think there would be enough card in the graveyard for it. Now that I think about it I only need 9 card in my graveyard to use both Soulflayer and Become Immense for full delve cost which is achievable. Here is the deck I'm currently experimenting.
With addition of Temur Battle Rage Lotleth Troll can be a lethal threat in this deck. Although less reliable as main wincon, it can be a good back up plan against graveyard hate.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Modern&Pioneer Soulflayer discord server here!
This one is basically adding Stubborn Denial in regular Jund Soulflayer deck. Having answer to turn 1 thoughtseize/inquisition and another way to protect Soulflayer is useful. Also good with Lotleth Troll.
Game plan is to have 4 creatures in battlefield (atleast one with haste/double strike), then cast Majestic Myriarch as early as possible for 10/10 with haste and double strike which can deal 20 damage with single swing by turn 4. Worship is in here because it has good synergy with tokens and creature with hexproof. Worship should be able to buy enough time to cast as many creature necessary for Majestic Myriarch.
This deck is all about giving Soulflayer indestructible and hexproof. I was thinking of using Adorned Pouncer because I can eternalize it from graveyard after discarding it or if the board gets wiped by Damnation, but 4 Oketra and 2 Drogskol was enough double strikers.
Please feel free to give any thought or idea that will improve any of these deck!
Hey guys I have been playing this deck on MTGO for a while and just wanted to post the list. I have always called it "Voltron" because in this version, even post board your plan is to make "Voltron" by bestowing Chromanticore on a Troll Ascetic.
I have found this build to be more resilient to gy hate post board due to being able to cast/bestow Chromanticore onto Troll Ascetics. Also, I find this version more consistent due to being able to traverse for Soulflayer more easily due to the Bomat Couriers. I'm not a super big fan of the Lotleth Troll plan imo.
One card that I have found great is Bomat Courier because it just makes everything work. It gives us more haste in the gy and makes delirium easier. It is also a great topdeck in grindy matches to let you get back some cards in hand. Specifically, my favorite play is when you have all the creatures in hand except a Soulflayer: with an a Bomat Courier in play, you can cast Traverse the ulvenwald holding priority and then in response sack the Bomat Courier A) giving yourself delirium and B) putting all the creature piecies in your hand in the gy. Traverse the ulvenwald resolves letting you grab Soulflayer and cast your hasty doublestriking.... etc that turn.
Post board, I board out 1-2 Traverse the ulvenwald, 1 Grisly salvage, 1 Faithless looting, and 1-2 Drogskol Reaver for the two Golgari charm and whatever the match dictates. The post board plan is to grind out most opponents who brought in gy hate by hardcasting all the creatures. Golgari charm really is the best SB card for us IMO because it lets us clear RIP and protects against most board wipes.Samut, Voice of Dissent is great against control because it gives you something to cast it at the end of their turn to bait counterspells.
So far the only decks I have consistently had a hard time with are tron and storm when they just have the nuts. Rest in Peace make things more difficult as well but it is beatable. I really love this deck. Thoughts?
One card that I have found great is Bomat Courier because it just makes everything work. It gives us more haste in the gy and makes delirium easier. It is also a great topdeck in grindy matches to let you get back some cards in hand. Specifically, my favorite play is when you have all the creatures in hand except a Soulflayer: with an a Bomat Courier in play, you can cast Traverse the ulvenwald holding priority and then in response sack the Bomat Courier A) giving yourself delirium and B) putting all the creature piecies in your hand in the gy. Traverse the ulvenwald resolves letting you grab Soulflayer and cast your hasty doublestriking.... etc that turn.
4 Ancient Ziggurat is interesting. Maybe with your mana base it possible to play all 5 color. Only drawback I see is it restricts the number of noncreature spells you can play. I personally favor playing playset of Grisly Salvage but that just my preference. Even with playing Bomat Courier, I still feel like Lotleth Troll is worth a spot in mainboard. Not a playset but just a few for discard outlet.
Mainboard Reclamation Sage is interesting. Maybe having 1 or 2 silver bullet creature in mainboard might not be a bad idea.
Overall I like your deck a lot! Thanks for sharing!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Modern&Pioneer Soulflayer discord server here!
Right now I am testing this 18 land version. So far I really like this build. With 4 Mishra's Bauble, Faithless Looting, and Traverse the Ulvenwald it decreases the chance of getting land screwed. I swapped out 3 land for 3 Vampire Nighthawk. This will increase the likelihood of Grisly Salvage and Faithless Looting dropping a creature into graveyard. I chose Vampire Nighthawk as an additional ability fodder for Soulflayer because deathtouch is must have against Death's Shadow and lifelink/flying is my favorite combination of ability to give Soulflayer. It can also be cast as an additional beater which this deck lacks. I have contemplated on using either Nighthawk or Gifted Aetherborn. In comparison Gifter Aetherborn is easier to cast, which is important when playing with only 18 land, but does not have flying. I chose Nighthawk for now but I may change my mind later.
Grixis Death's Shadow 2-1
Not much to fear as long as Soulflayer has indestructible or deathtouch.
GW Aggro 2-0
Not much to fear beside graveyard hate and Blessed Alliance.
Affinity 0-2
Unfortunately I couldn't draw any Ancient Grudge.
Storm 1-2
I learned from this match that I needed to swap out all the lifelink fodders against storm because it pointless against it. Storm can deal over 100 damage.
3-1 Modern Challenge 10/22/17
GR Tron 1-2
Always always give Soulflayer indestructible and hexproof if possible. That will at least protect Soulflayer from Karn Liberated, and Oblivion Stone.
GW Human 2-1
Not much to fear beside graveyard hate, Blessed Alliance and Thalia, Heretic Cathar.
Ad Nauseam 2-1
On game 2 I made a mistake of using Collective Brutality to discard Lightning Storm instead of Ad Nauseam, or Angel's Grace in the opponent's hand. I thought the only wincon was Lightning Storm, I was wrong. My opponent used Angel's Grace and Ad Nauseam to find Conflagrate on his turn and killed me. I surprisingly won without using Soulflayer on game 3. My opponent kept a hand with Leyline of Sanctity but slow.
Overall I am content with my current decklist. I think I just need better sideboard strategy against some deck.
So I've done some statistical analysis on how often Soulflayer come into play, how often I mulligan, and how many ability soulflayer gain each game.
I used 3 different Soulflayer deck, Deck 1 is a standard Soulflayer deck I use, it will be used as control variable. Changes in Deck 2 compared to Deck 1 is, -4 Lotleth Troll +4 Cathartic Reunion. Changes in Deck 3 compared to Deck 1 is, -4 Lotleth Troll +4 Cathartic Reunion -1 Stinkweed Imp +1 Darkblast -1 Blood Crypt +1 Overgrown Tomb. I tweaked the land base for Deck 3 just to see if there are any chanegs to how often I mulligan. I goldfished for total of 270 times, 90 times for each deck using cockatrice.
Deck1
Statistical Data
Deck 1
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.13 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 36%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 81%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.67
Abilities; Double strike 72% Deathtouch 28% First strike 84% Flying 92% Hexproof 78% Haste 84% Indestructible 58% Lifelink 84% Trample 92% Vigilance 97%
Deck 2
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.15 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 30%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 74%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.54
Abilities; Double strike 72% Deathtouch 27% First strike 83% Flying 91% Hexproof 77% Haste 82% Indestructible 58% Lifelink 83% Trample 83% Vigilance 96%
Deck 3
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.01 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 36%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 83%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.63
Abilities; Double strike 67% Deathtouch 26% First strike 77% Flying 91% Hexproof 81% Haste 82% Indestructible 61% Lifelink 77% Trample 77% Vigilance 94%
Conclusion
Overall the average timing I was able to cast Soulflayer was basically the same for all the deck. However, frequency of casting Soulflayer by turn 4 was highest for Deck 3 which may be attributed to either Darkblast or additional Overgrown Tomb or both. Darkblast has less dredge number then Stinkweed Imp but it counts as an instant which helps with delirium and it good on it own. I assumed my opponent had a creature out for darkblast to target during this experiment. It was surprising to see Deck 2 having the least frequency of Souflayer cast within turn 3 and 4 compared to Deck 1 and 3. This may indicate that Cathartic Reunion has negative effect on deck without playing it with Dakrkblast. This will mean Darkblast single handedly increased the likelihood of Soulfayer cast within turn 4 by 9%. Intuitively, I don't think Overgrown Tomb had any influence on rate of Souflayer cast within turn 4. Perphaps, 90 games weren't enough data to provide the real effect of replacing Cathartic Reunion over Lotleth Troll. With this in mind, I would still prefer playing with Lotleth Troll over Cathartic Reunion because having additional attacker/blocker is useful.
Minor land tweak on Deck 3 showed no significant effect on mulligan rate. I was able to keep most starting hand with 1 land due to Birds of Paradise and Faithless Looting. I would not recommend decreasing the land any less then 20.
The data indicate that having at least 8 ability fodder of certain ability will guarantee Soulflayer will gain that ability 91%~97% of the times, in this case it was flying and vigilance. This means having at least 8 hexproof fodders should guarantee Souflayer gaining hexproof 91%~97% of the times. Having at least 4 ability fodder of certain ability guarantee Soulflayer will gain that ability 67%~84% of the times, in this case it was double strike, first strike, hexproof and lifelink. And finally, having only 1 ability fodder of certain ability will guarantee 26%~28% of the times, in this case it was deathtouch.
I like your 3 Vault Skirge and 1 Wurmcoil Engine. I've been wanting to add some artifact creature in my deck too. I'm not quite convinced that you need Gifts Ungiven in your deck though. Although it may provide consistent Unburial Rites plan it doesn't help Soulflayer as much. Even if you have Birds of Paradise and Sylvan Caryatid in your deck, with your current land base it doesn't seem like flashback Unburial Rites is a reliable plan. Adding a single Godless Shrine might help. I like your deck though, let me know if you update anything!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Modern&Pioneer Soulflayer discord server here!
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Last night's list:
4x Birds of Paradise
1x Chromanticore
2x Drogskol Reaver
1x Hazoret the Fervent
4x Lightning Runner
4x Soulflayer
4x Street Wraith
4x Sylvan Caryatid
1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Other Spells [16]
2x Collective Brutality
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Tainted Strike
2x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Windswept Heath
2x Blooming Marsh
1x Forest
2x Swamp
2x Blood Crypt
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Stomping Ground
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Gnaw to the Bone
1x Murderous Cut
2x Nature's Claim
3x Nihil Spellbomb
3x Thoughtseize
*Disclaimers*: I would run 4x Samut, Voice of Dissent over the Lightning Runners, but I didn't have them and vigilance wasn't important enough to warrant purchasing them just for the night. Also, in regards to the manabase, I would ideally be running Verdant Catacombs but I don't own any Catacombs at the moment. Sideboard was thrown together before the event.
Round 1: Luis on Eldrazi Tron (2-1)
Game 1
He casts a T3 Thought-Knot Seer on the play and takes my Tainted Strike. I'm able to deploy a Soulflayer but he follows up with an All Is Dust to clear the board and finishes me off with Seer and Matter Reshaper beats.
- In: 1x Murderous Cut, 2x Nature's Claim, 1x Ancient Grudge
- Out: 1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang, 1x Hazoret the Fervent, 2x Collective Brutality
Game 2
He naturally draws into Tron, but doesn't have much payoff. He lands a Relic of Progenitus so I slow roll my cards a bit. He pops the Relic, so I go to work with a Faithless Looting and a Grisly Salvage, setting me up for an infect kill by Turn 5.
Game 3
He is able to go Turn 1 Relic of Progenitus, but I have a Nature's Claim in hand to take care of it. No Tron for him this time, and just an excess of lands. He casts a Turn 4/5 (can't rememeber exactly) Reality Smasher but I follow up with my own double strike, haste, flying, and lifelink Soulflayer, which is a race I will always win.
Round 2: Micah on 4-Color Living End (1-1-1)
Game 1
This match was nuts. To make a long story short, he cast 3 Living Ends, and I came out better on the first two, but on the third, he brought back double Archfiend of Ifnir which broke the symmetry. I made a misplay in over-committing a keyword-loaded Soulflayer to go for the infect kill when he had a Violent Outburst in hand to wipe it away.
- In: 3x Nihil Spellbomb, 2x Thoughtseize
- Out: 1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang, 1x Hazoret the Fervent, 2x Birds of Paradise, 1x Sylvan Caryatid
Game 2
After an initial Living End, he floods out and I'm able to get there off of Street Wraith and Soulflayer beats.
Game 3
Game 2 ended right before time was called for the round. We played out our five turns but neither of us had a quick combo kill, so it was a draw.
Round 3: Matthew on Merfolk (0-2)
Game 1
This one was sad. My opening hand on the draw was 2x Street Wraith, 1x Birds of Paradise, 1x Sylvan Caryatid, and 3 land. I figured I could draw into some action between draw step and the double Wraith. I drew five consecutive lands. My opponent even had no pressure until Turn 3. I finally drew a Grisly Salvage but I was already down to 1 life so I scooped to conceal as much information as possible.
- In: 2x Abrupt Decay, 2x Nature's Claim
- Out: 1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang, 1x Birds of Paradise, 2x Collective Brutality
Game 2
Almost exactly like Game 1, but not quite as awful. I draw several lands again, but am able to finally hit some action. My opponent plays double Relic of Progenitus to keep my graveyard slim but I'm able to go off with a Faithless Looting, flash it back immediately, and cast Soulflayer with double strike, flying, lifelink, and hexproof. My opponent is pressuring with two Merfolk lords, a Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, and a Master of Waves. I Abrupt Decay the Kira, and am able to regain some life with a Soulflayer swing. He's down to 7 and I'm at 15 with him having 14 power on board. If he draws another lord, he wins, otherwise, I have it. He draws, cycles both Relics, and casts a lord. GG.
Round 4: Dan on Mono-Green Devotion (2-1)
Game 1
I have everything I need for Game 1, except a Soulflayer. He applies some pressure with a Strangleroot Geist and Leatherback Baloth, but even after two Faithless Looting and a Grisly Salvage, I'm unable to find a single Soulflayer so he takes the game.
- In: 3x Thoughtseize, 1x Murderous Cut
- Out: 1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang, 1x Hazoret the Fervent, 1x Birds of Paradise, 1x Grisly Salvage
Game 2
He gets stuck on one land (albeit with a Utopia Sprawl) and I'm able to close out the game on Turn 4 with the infect kill.
Game 3
This one was super dicey. I do a lot of digging with Lootings and Salvages to get everything setup, but I'm missing a source of Haste, which I feel is important since my opponent is running 4 copies of Primal Command. I'm sitting on 6 life with two copies of Tainted Strike, a Soulflayer, and a land in hand with Birds of Paraside on board, staring down a Polukranos, World Eater and Acidic Slime. He elects to go monstrous with the Polukranos, killing my Bird, but I float black mana to cast the first Tainted Strike on his hydra, dealing me 9 infect and two points of damage from the Slime. I flashback Faithless Looting, find my source of haste, and combo off with Soulflayer and the second Tainted Strike for the win.
Overall I had a another great time playing the deck.
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
I've come to realize that having Traverse helps to hit Soulflayers more consistently. It can also help search up a creature with a specific keyword that I might be looking for so that I can discard it, but this situation hasn't come up yet. I think I would be inclined to go up to 3, but I could also see going up to the full 4 copies while going down to 18 land (in my build) since then they would also function as a means to hit land drops.
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
My latest brainchild is a midrange build with Soulflayer as a built in combo piece with decent keyword providers that can also function individually (although I've had to stretch that definition a little to accomodate keywords).
4 Soulflayer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Hooting Mandrills
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Vault Skirge
1 Wrecking Ogre
1 Samut, Voice of Dissent
4 Crypt Champion
4 Xathrid Slyblade
4 Spark Elemental
Spells (14)
4 Faithless Looting
4 Grisly Salvage
1 Cathartic Reunion
2 Terminate
1 Fatal Push
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Llanowar Wastes
2 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
1 Terminate
2 Abrupt Decay
Yes, the deck doesn't really sideboard. It transforms. I've tried very hard to make the Plan A continue to function after G1, but there are too many ways and too many incentives for people to hate on GY in their own sideboards - Leyline of the Void, maindeck Relics of Progenitus, Rest in Peace, Surgicals - too many from too many angles.
In the end I decided - screw this. They're diluting their main plan somewhat to wreck my plan A, I'll just change the whole plan then.
Post board the deck plays tokens from Young Pyro and medium sized threats with burn. It looks like a Grixis Delver plan minus the delvers. Granted, we're having issues when the GY is wiped because our delve guys are hard to cast, but some will be taken out and replaced by the transformation pieces.
Generally this is what I'd do:
Out: (11 creatures and 4 spells)
2 Soulflayer
1 Wrecking Ogre
4 Xathrid Slyblade
2 Vault Skirge
4 Grisly Salvage
2 Crypt Champion
In: (11 spells and 4 creatures)
The whole sideboard.
The preboard heavy creature based deck (27 creatures to 14 spells) is necessary for soulflayer, but post board we're playing more interactions and trying to win via our new wincon, who is basically Mr. "instants and sorceries matter", which is a completely different angle of attack. Most of the things that care about the GY are taken out, such as Grisly Salvage, which doesn't really do what you want it to do in plan B. So post board we have 20 creatures to 21 spells, which works much better with the plan B. We're not dropping the plan A completely, just in case the opponent doesn't draw their hate, but we want to assume they will.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Talk about changing game plan, I've been thinking of similar concept recently.
4x Soulflayer
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Striped Riverwinder
4x Winged Shepherd
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
1x Oketra the True
Spell x14
4x Path to exile
4x Commune with the Gods
2x Lingering Souls
4x Worship
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
1x Watery Grave
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Breeding Pool
1x Temple Garden
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Stomping Ground
1x Plains
1x Forest
2x Thoughtseize
1x Negate
2x Mirran Crusader
2x Stony Silence
3x Blood Moon
4x Majestic Myriarch
1x Gisela, the Broken Blade
Game plan for game 1 is Soulflayer beat down/Worship lock down.
Game plan afterward depends on the information I revealed to opponent.
If they saw Soulflayer:
-3 Soulflayer
-1 Winged Shepherd
+4 Majestic Myriarch
Reason for this is because I predict opponent will side out removal spells for graveyard hate. Especially if they see Soulflayer with hexproof. My plan is to make graveyard hate whiff completely. I believe Majestic Myriarch is highly underrated and suits will for replacement of Soulflayer. Myriarch is also great when Soulflayer is in play, but unnecessary. Whenever I side in Myriarch I will also consider siding in Blood Moon because single green mana is easier to cast compared to double black symbol.
If they saw Worship:
-4 Path to Exile
-2 Soulflayer
-2 Winged Shepherd
+3 Blood Moon
+4 Majestic Myriarch
+1 Negate
Again, Myriarch is great with Blood Moon because it only requires single green and 4 colorless mana to cast it. Commune with the Gods is useful utility to find Blood Moon which is the reason why I run it instead of Grisly Salvage. I am running Blood Moon so that my opponent will waste their enchantment removal spell on it. It'll be safe to play Myriarch because if my opponent sees Worship, they will predict my deck is filled with hexproof creatures and side out creature removal spells.
If they saw both Soulflayer and Worship:
-4 Path to Exile
-3 Soulflayer
-1 Winged Shepherd
+3 Blood Moon
+4 Majestic Myriarch
+1 Negate
Game 3 becomes complicated so let try winning by game 2
If by chance you're referring to my list, then by all means. Otherwise, apologies if I just made a poor assumption.
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
Feel free to notify me or post a deck here if you want me to update your deck on the front page. To everyone else, please post a decklist with a result (it doesn't have to be good) if you want your decklist on the front page. I'm not too strict about requirement beside this. I just want to know if there was some effort put in beside deck building.
My result was 5-4, but more like 2-4 because my opponent didn't show up for 3 games.
4x Soulflayer
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
4x Chromanticore
4x Hollow One
2x Ghor-Clan Rampager
Spell x14
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
2x Collective Brutality
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
3x Gemstone Mine
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Thoughtseize
2x Pithing Needle
2x Pyroclasm
4x Ancient Grudge
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Hazoret the Fervent
Round 1 Affinity 0-2
Game 1: Vault Skirge became bigger then Soulflayer.
Game 2: Had Ancient Grudge but I made a mistake of not targeting Arcbound Ravager. Pyroclasm became a dead draw.
Round 2 Living End 0-2
Game 1: I couldn't cast Faithless Looting turn 1 or 2 because no red mana source. After casting Sylvan Caryatid on my turn 2, opponent cast Violent Outburst cascading into Living End on their turn 3. I died from Street Wraith and few other cycling creatures.
Game 2: Fulminator Mage and Faerie Macabre crippled my resources.
Round 3 Polymorph 2-1
Game 1: Couldn't draw Soulflayer. Died from Gideon of the Trials and token beat down.
Game 2: I Thoughtseize my opponent on turn 1, he reveals 3 Path to Exile, Tormod's Crypt, Gideon of the Trials and 2 land. Because I had slow hand, I discarded Gideon. I had Sylvan, Samut, Voice of Dissent and Chromanticore in my hand so I went for hardcast plan. It was a grindy match but my opponent didn't draw Polymorph so I eventually cast Soulflayer for the win.
Game 3: My last turn, opponent had 6 life with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and 1/1 token in play, I had Soulflayer (with Chromanticore and Sylvan's ablility) and Lotleth Troll with one +1/+1 counter. I attack with both creatures. Opponent blocks Flayer with Emrakul and Troll with token. I managed to get away by pumping Troll with Ghor-Clan Rampager.
Round 4: 4c Death's Shadow 0-2
Game 1: Died from huge Death's Shadow.
Game 2: I got my opponent down to 1 life with Soulflayer (with Samut and Hazoret the Fervent's ability) in play. Opponent had Death's Shadow in play. I cast 2 Collective Brutality but opponent counters both with Stubborn Denial. Opponent eventually drew Path to Exile and wins.
Round 5: Naya Burn 1-2
Game 1: Got rid of Grim Lavamancer and Lightning Bolt on turn 2 with Collective Brutality. I won with Soulflayer (with Chromanticore and Samut's ability) on turn 4.
Game 2: I couldn' draw Soulflayer.
Game 3: My final turn, I swing with Soulflayer pumped with Ghor-Clan for lethal, but opponent cast Deflecting Palm in response and I lose. I should of actually won this game because Leyline of Punishment was also out in play which nullifies Delecting Palm (confirmed by judge), but I noticed this way after game ended.
Round 6: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 7: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 8: My opponent didn't show up 2-0
Round 9: Affinity 2-1
Game 1: I lost the game but I noticed my opponent made many misplays so I was feeling optimistic.
Game 2: Opponent casts Blood Moon but I already had swamp, forest and Sylvan in play. Blood Moon probably hurt his game plan more then mine. I drew enough Ancient Grudge to survive and won game 2.
Game 3: Again, opponent cast Blood Moon in similar situation. I won the game with Flayer and Troll.
I'll post more about changes I would make with decklist later, but I would definitely remove Hollow One from mainboard and Scavenging Ooze from sideboard for now. I thought Hollow One would be great because it can be cycled, used to facilitate delirium, and provide more aggressive plan B. I was able to cast Hollow One multiple times throughout the day for 1 mana (even 0) but it almost made no impact in the game. Maybe I needed Street Wraith instead or both?
Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on card choices!
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
That was my initial plan. It also works with Traverse the Ulvenwald because it an artifact.
Driven // Despair seems strong (especially Despair) because sometimes Soulflayer lacks evasion. If soulflayer has doublestrike it'll allow me to draw two card and/or make opponent discard two card. It'll be even better with Lotleth Trolls and Vault Skirges attacking also.
2x Soulflayer
3x Rhonas the Indomitable
4x Hollow One
4x Insolent Neonate
4x Vengevine
4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Street Wraith
4x Faithless Looting
4x Cathartic Reunion
2x Temur Battle Rage
3x Become Immense
Land x18
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Blackcleave CLiffs
2x Blood Crypt
2x Stomping Ground
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Mountain
Here is a deck I am testing on MO. I basically added Soulflayer and Rhonas the Indomitable in the R/G Vengevine list. I want to increase the number of Soulflayer to 4 but I'm afraid it will make Become Immense harder to cast. I don't want to reduce the number of Become Immense because combined with Temur Battle Rage it can make any creature in this deck a lethal threat. Maybe 2 is the right number. Beside giving Soulfayer indestructible and deathtouch, I think Rhonas the Indomitable can contribute to this deck by giving +2/+0 and trample to Vengevine or Hollow One in case they need evasion.
It isn't really a Soulflayer deck anymore and it doesn't seem particulary good in this shell compared to Tasigur or Hooting Mandrills.
I'm not even sure that Rhonas fits in this type of deck either as it is a very low curve deck with a low land count that really want to hardcast 3-drops.
4x Soulflayer
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
1x Ghor-Clan Rampager
Spell x19
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Temur Battle Rage
3x Become Immense
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
2x Swamp
1x Forest
4x Thoughtseize
4x Ancient Grudge
1x Collective Brutality
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Leyline of the Void
1x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Damnation
With addition of Temur Battle Rage Lotleth Troll can be a lethal threat in this deck. Although less reliable as main wincon, it can be a good back up plan against graveyard hate.
4x Soulflayer
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Xenagos, God of Revels
1x Ghor-Clan Rampager
Spell x15
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
3x Stubborn Denial
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Cavern of Souls
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Watery Grave
1x Breeding Pool
1x Swamp
1x Forest
4x Thoughtseize
1x Darkblast
4x Ancient Grudge
1x Stubborn Denial
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Engineered Explosives
This one is basically adding Stubborn Denial in regular Jund Soulflayer deck. Having answer to turn 1 thoughtseize/inquisition and another way to protect Soulflayer is useful. Also good with Lotleth Troll.
4x Soulflayer
4x Majestic Myriarch
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
4x Insolent Neonate
Spells x16
4x Worship
4x Lingering Souls
4x Faithless Looting
4x Path to Exile
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Godless Shrine
1x Temple Garden
1x Swamp
1x Forest
4x Thoughtseize
4x Ancient Grudge
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Collective Brutality
Game plan is to have 4 creatures in battlefield (atleast one with haste/double strike), then cast Majestic Myriarch as early as possible for 10/10 with haste and double strike which can deal 20 damage with single swing by turn 4. Worship is in here because it has good synergy with tokens and creature with hexproof. Worship should be able to buy enough time to cast as many creature necessary for Majestic Myriarch.
4x Soulflayer
2x Geist of Saint Traft
4x Hazoret the Fervent
4x Oketra the True
4x Winged Shepherd
4x Striped Riverwinder
2x Drogskol Reaver
Spells x16
4x Faithless Looting
4x Thought Scour
1x Kolaghan's Command
4x Damnation
3x Collective Brutality
4x Polluted Delta
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Marsh Flats
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Blood Crypt
1x Watery Grave
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Steam Vents
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Swamp
4x Thoughtseize
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Wear // Tear
2x Mirran Crusader
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Path to Exile
This deck is all about giving Soulflayer indestructible and hexproof. I was thinking of using Adorned Pouncer because I can eternalize it from graveyard after discarding it or if the board gets wiped by Damnation, but 4 Oketra and 2 Drogskol was enough double strikers.
Please feel free to give any thought or idea that will improve any of these deck!
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
3x Bomat Courier
3x Birds of Paradise
4x Sylvan Caryatid
3x Troll Ascetic
1x Scab-Clan Berserker
1x Reclamation Sage
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Drogskol Reaver
4x Soulflayer
Spells x9
4x Faithless Looting
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
1x Grisly Salvage
4x Ancient Ziggurat
1x Blooming Marsh
3x Forest
1x Mountain
2x Swamp
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Fulminator Mage
2x Golgari Charm
2x Collective Brutality
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Blood Moon
1x Crumble to Dust
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Oketra the True
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
Hey guys I have been playing this deck on MTGO for a while and just wanted to post the list. I have always called it "Voltron" because in this version, even post board your plan is to make "Voltron" by bestowing Chromanticore on a Troll Ascetic.
I have found this build to be more resilient to gy hate post board due to being able to cast/bestow Chromanticore onto Troll Ascetics. Also, I find this version more consistent due to being able to traverse for Soulflayer more easily due to the Bomat Couriers. I'm not a super big fan of the Lotleth Troll plan imo.
One card that I have found great is Bomat Courier because it just makes everything work. It gives us more haste in the gy and makes delirium easier. It is also a great topdeck in grindy matches to let you get back some cards in hand. Specifically, my favorite play is when you have all the creatures in hand except a Soulflayer: with an a Bomat Courier in play, you can cast Traverse the ulvenwald holding priority and then in response sack the Bomat Courier A) giving yourself delirium and B) putting all the creature piecies in your hand in the gy. Traverse the ulvenwald resolves letting you grab Soulflayer and cast your hasty doublestriking.... etc that turn.
Post board, I board out 1-2 Traverse the ulvenwald, 1 Grisly salvage, 1 Faithless looting, and 1-2 Drogskol Reaver for the two Golgari charm and whatever the match dictates. The post board plan is to grind out most opponents who brought in gy hate by hardcasting all the creatures. Golgari charm really is the best SB card for us IMO because it lets us clear RIP and protects against most board wipes.Samut, Voice of Dissent is great against control because it gives you something to cast it at the end of their turn to bait counterspells.
So far the only decks I have consistently had a hard time with are tron and storm when they just have the nuts.
Rest in Peace make things more difficult as well but it is beatable. I really love this deck. Thoughts?
I was unaware about the Traverse the Ulvenwald and Bomat Courier synergy, thank you for bringing it up! I will test Bomat Courier in my deck too. Bestowing a creature with Chromanticore is also my favorite sideplan, although probably not as consistent as your deck due to lack of Birds of Paradise and Troll Ascetic. Bestowing Samut, Voice of Dissent is a blast though.
4 Ancient Ziggurat is interesting. Maybe with your mana base it possible to play all 5 color. Only drawback I see is it restricts the number of noncreature spells you can play. I personally favor playing playset of Grisly Salvage but that just my preference. Even with playing Bomat Courier, I still feel like Lotleth Troll is worth a spot in mainboard. Not a playset but just a few for discard outlet.
Mainboard Reclamation Sage is interesting. Maybe having 1 or 2 silver bullet creature in mainboard might not be a bad idea.
Overall I like your deck a lot! Thanks for sharing!
4x Soulflayer
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
3x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Hazoret the Fervent
Spell x12
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
2x Thoughtseize
4x Collective Brutality
3x Nihil Spellbomb
4x Ancient Grudge
1x Golgari Charm
1x Maelstrom Pulse
Edit 10/11/2017: Mishra's Bauble and Ghor-Clan Rampager replaced by Birds of Paradise and Blood Crypt.
4x Soulflayer
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
3x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Hazoret the Fervent
Spell x12
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
2x Thoughtseize
4x Collective Brutality
3x Nihil Spellbomb
4x Ancient Grudge
1x Golgari Charm
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2-2 Modern Challenge 10/21/2017
Grixis Death's Shadow 2-1
Not much to fear as long as Soulflayer has indestructible or deathtouch.
GW Aggro 2-0
Not much to fear beside graveyard hate and Blessed Alliance.
Affinity 0-2
Unfortunately I couldn't draw any Ancient Grudge.
Storm 1-2
I learned from this match that I needed to swap out all the lifelink fodders against storm because it pointless against it. Storm can deal over 100 damage.
3-1 Modern Challenge 10/22/17
GR Tron 1-2
Always always give Soulflayer indestructible and hexproof if possible. That will at least protect Soulflayer from Karn Liberated, and Oblivion Stone.
Storm 2-0
This time I sided out 3 Vampire Nighthawk, 3 Chromanticore, and 4 Lotleth Troll and added 2 Thoughtseize, 1 Maelstrom Pulse, 3 Nihil Spellbomb and 4 Collective Brutality. Plan went well.
GW Human 2-1
Not much to fear beside graveyard hate, Blessed Alliance and Thalia, Heretic Cathar.
Ad Nauseam 2-1
On game 2 I made a mistake of using Collective Brutality to discard Lightning Storm instead of Ad Nauseam, or Angel's Grace in the opponent's hand. I thought the only wincon was Lightning Storm, I was wrong. My opponent used Angel's Grace and Ad Nauseam to find Conflagrate on his turn and killed me. I surprisingly won without using Soulflayer on game 3. My opponent kept a hand with Leyline of Sanctity but slow.
Overall I am content with my current decklist. I think I just need better sideboard strategy against some deck.
I used 3 different Soulflayer deck, Deck 1 is a standard Soulflayer deck I use, it will be used as control variable. Changes in Deck 2 compared to Deck 1 is, -4 Lotleth Troll +4 Cathartic Reunion. Changes in Deck 3 compared to Deck 1 is, -4 Lotleth Troll +4 Cathartic Reunion -1 Stinkweed Imp +1 Darkblast -1 Blood Crypt +1 Overgrown Tomb. I tweaked the land base for Deck 3 just to see if there are any chanegs to how often I mulligan. I goldfished for total of 270 times, 90 times for each deck using cockatrice.
Deck1
4x Soulflayer
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Rhonas the Indomitable
1x Stinkweed Imp
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
Land x20
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Cavern of Souls
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
4x Soulflayer
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Rhonas the Indomitable
1x Stinkweed Imp
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Cathartic Reunion
Land x20
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Cavern of Souls
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
+4 Cathartic Reunion
4x Soulflayer
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Chromanticore
4x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Rhonas the Indomitable
4x Traverse the Ulvenwald
4x Faithless Looting
4x Grisly Salvage
4x Cathartic Reunion
1x Darkblast
Land x20
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Cavern of Souls
3x Overgrown Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Stomping Ground
1x Swamp
1x Forest
-1 Stinkweed Imp
-1 Blood Crypt
+4 Cathartic Reunion
+1 Darkblast
+1 Overgrown Tomb
Statistical Data
Deck 1
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.13 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 36%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 81%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.67
Abilities; Double strike 72% Deathtouch 28% First strike 84% Flying 92% Hexproof 78% Haste 84% Indestructible 58% Lifelink 84% Trample 92% Vigilance 97%
Deck 2
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.15 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 30%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 74%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.54
Abilities; Double strike 72% Deathtouch 27% First strike 83% Flying 91% Hexproof 77% Haste 82% Indestructible 58% Lifelink 83% Trample 83% Vigilance 96%
Deck 3
Average turn it took to cast Soulflayer; 4.01 turn
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn three 36%
Frequency of Soulflayer cast within turn four 83%
Average number of starting hand I kept; 6.63
Abilities; Double strike 67% Deathtouch 26% First strike 77% Flying 91% Hexproof 81% Haste 82% Indestructible 61% Lifelink 77% Trample 77% Vigilance 94%
Conclusion
Overall the average timing I was able to cast Soulflayer was basically the same for all the deck. However, frequency of casting Soulflayer by turn 4 was highest for Deck 3 which may be attributed to either Darkblast or additional Overgrown Tomb or both. Darkblast has less dredge number then Stinkweed Imp but it counts as an instant which helps with delirium and it good on it own. I assumed my opponent had a creature out for darkblast to target during this experiment. It was surprising to see Deck 2 having the least frequency of Souflayer cast within turn 3 and 4 compared to Deck 1 and 3. This may indicate that Cathartic Reunion has negative effect on deck without playing it with Dakrkblast. This will mean Darkblast single handedly increased the likelihood of Soulfayer cast within turn 4 by 9%. Intuitively, I don't think Overgrown Tomb had any influence on rate of Souflayer cast within turn 4. Perphaps, 90 games weren't enough data to provide the real effect of replacing Cathartic Reunion over Lotleth Troll. With this in mind, I would still prefer playing with Lotleth Troll over Cathartic Reunion because having additional attacker/blocker is useful.
Minor land tweak on Deck 3 showed no significant effect on mulligan rate. I was able to keep most starting hand with 1 land due to Birds of Paradise and Faithless Looting. I would not recommend decreasing the land any less then 20.
The data indicate that having at least 8 ability fodder of certain ability will guarantee Soulflayer will gain that ability 91%~97% of the times, in this case it was flying and vigilance. This means having at least 8 hexproof fodders should guarantee Souflayer gaining hexproof 91%~97% of the times. Having at least 4 ability fodder of certain ability guarantee Soulflayer will gain that ability 67%~84% of the times, in this case it was double strike, first strike, hexproof and lifelink. And finally, having only 1 ability fodder of certain ability will guarantee 26%~28% of the times, in this case it was deathtouch.
https://deckstats.net/decks/96826/857235-soulflayer-gifts-2-0
—Nicol Bolas
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Griselbrand
2 Hazoret the Fervent
1 Pharika, God of Affliction
3 Samut, Voice of Dissent
4 Soulflayer
3 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Vault Skirge
1 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
1 Unburial Rites
4 Collective Brutality
4 Faithless Looting
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Search for Azcanta
Land 19
2 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Polluted Delta
2 Mana Confluence
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
1 Cavern of Souls
I like your 3 Vault Skirge and 1 Wurmcoil Engine. I've been wanting to add some artifact creature in my deck too. I'm not quite convinced that you need Gifts Ungiven in your deck though. Although it may provide consistent Unburial Rites plan it doesn't help Soulflayer as much. Even if you have Birds of Paradise and Sylvan Caryatid in your deck, with your current land base it doesn't seem like flashback Unburial Rites is a reliable plan. Adding a single Godless Shrine might help. I like your deck though, let me know if you update anything!