That being said, I don't agree that Champions are essential, at least not a playset. Google "SCG States Soul Sisters" and you'll see several lists that top 8'd and ran few to none. I like them, and play with 3, but the deck is highly customizable, which is one of the reasons I love playing it.
Champions are quite high considering how few decks actually play them, but they make it incredibly difficult for Twin or Burn to win. They're resistant to every removal spell played besides Path, and Twin needs to bounce with a Cryptic Command or go off using Pestermite. But I think the real reason they're not going down is because the Mothership has said they don't like printing cards with protection from colors, since it keeps people from interacting, which is the "fun" part of the game (tell that to a Lantern player..). Serra Ascendant is also highly unlikely to see a reprint, since the technicalities of its text make it totally broken in commander. Even though these cards are expensive, they'll probably never be cheaper, so you may just have to pony up if you want to play them.
So I just got home from a 6-round local tourney, and I'm not going to write a real report, because 6 round is beyond exhausting, but here are a few highlights:
-Round 1 vs Naya Allies: He takes G1 with a surprise Coco mid-combat that got him exactsies, G2 I steamrolled him, G3 he almost killed me but I played my SB Worship to stay alive. He got up to 300+ life with his lifelinking allies, but I still beat him on the back of Soul Warden, Archangel of Thune, and several Lingering Souls, eventually attacking with an army of 16/16 flyers while everyone in the room watched in awe
-Round 2 I lost to Twinning End. Lame.
-Round 3 I got my first ever victory over GR Tron, with a miserable G1, an early Stony Silence G2, and an amazingly timed G3 that involved Stonying after he already had tron to keep him from O-Stoning, and a Mana Tithe on Sundering Titan that just felt... amazing. Killed him in the air with tokens after a too-late Wurmcoil from him the following turn.
-Round 4 I played against a newbie with 5 Color Slivers, and went to time in G2 with a Worship out, that he Necrotic'd away a turn too late. Snore
-Round 5 I played against Melira Coco, and had 3 awesomely interactive and interesting games, starting each with a T2 Leonin Arbiter. The deck has a bunch of ways to prevent us locking them out, but Leyline, Archangel, and good ol' Soul Warden + Soul's Attendant saved the day. He couldn't combo off without giving me infinitely tall creatures. Fun one.
-Round 6 I played against this monstrosity of a deck: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/much-abrew-about-nothing-modern-free-win-red
He took G1 in the soul-crushing way that only Ensnaring Bridge can create. G2 he could only Blood Moon, which I didn't really care about. G3 I won on a mull to 4, and through a turn 1 Bridge that I was able to Oblivion Ring away. Stealing victory from the degenerate decks always feels great (reminiscent of my 2-0 against Lantern Control last night), so I didn't mind placing 6th out of 32, two positions shy of the money.
Long, good, fun, looong day of Magic. I'm going to go sleep for infinity hours now.
I ulted Sorin in a very grindy game last night vs Amulet Bloom. I thought that would let me win, but he just kept using Karoos to bounce his Khalni Garden and get extra tokens. It probably has more play vs a fair deck, but I find once you tick Sorin up once or twice in those matches, you've already won.
I've been debating sneaking in a very light Green splash for some sideboard Choke and Painful Truths. Some folks in my Legacy meta are doing it with Token builds and Abzan builds and enjoying it.
I've avoided it because I think for my build, that means cutting some Honor of the Pure or Secure the Wastes, which I'm not prepared to do. It would also mean warping the mana base entirely and fetching and shocking to the point of losing too much life for it to be worth it. Turn 1 Plains and a Sister, turn 2 fetch shock to get a Pridemate or Champion, turn three fetch, shock for truths means being triple bolted by turn three (Because the Painful truths is a bolt, too.) At that point, I'm at 12 at best before my opponent even does anything to me. Burn has killed me, BG/x has landed a Goyf or Ooze, Twin can go off if I'm on the draw - there's just no situation where taking that much damage from your land base and from your card draw is that good. BG/x doesn't even hurt itself that much and we're playing a much slower, less explosive deck.
I'd really like repeatable card draw rather than just one shot, but nothing has worked out quite as well as hoped yet. I think Phyrexian Arena or Dark Confidant are the closest I've gotten to what I want, but Confidant is dangerous with Thune and Spectral and Arena is hard to hit on double black when I only have 4 lands that produce Black (either Fetches into Shocks, Pain Lands or Check Lands). Until we find something the works, I think we just have to be content generate card advantage from token spells rather than from drawing more cards. Planeswalkers might be helpful for repeated effects. I'm currently debating 1 Sorin and 1 Elspeth Tirel, those might be helpful at getting there.
I've been thinking a light green splash wouldn't hurt too bad, just to get Choke and Gaddock Teeg in the SB. These two hosers do much better against our problem decks than anything in W or B. It would put a lot of stress on the mana base, though.
I'm not sure we need more card advantage. Windbrisk Heights is a "one for zero" that also sometimes gets the opponent to bolt a spirit token out of fear. Lingering Souls grinds better than almost any other card, and we have hard-to-deal-with permanents like Leyline of Sanctity that grant us virtual card advantage by blanking a third of the spells in the typical BGx list. An effect like Phyrexian Arena would be nice, but I'd hesitate before sleeving up a one-time draw spell that doesn't affect the board.
Also, I like Elspeth, Knight Errant over Elspeth Tirel. One mana cheaper, and her ult is much more relevant. But I like Sorin SV better than either
The Mistveil ability is only worth anything if you're using it to recur something. Every time you play a Squadron Hawk, you get to search your library for the rest, so putting a dead hawk in your library means you get to draw it when you cast the next one. In this list, Mistveil just looks like a etb-tapped Plains. I wouldn't play Emeria, either-- it's great in Martyr-Proc, but that's a control deck, whereas this list is much more White Weenie. Seraph sanctuary isn't doing much work, so I'd replace all of the above with Plains and a 4th Windbrisk, or 4x Flagstones of Trokair. I would ditch the Avengers for Secure the Wastes.
@Xarnithru: Could you post your list if you haven't? I'll do a search and discuss in this post if you already have...
You can find my list on page 85, although I've made some changes since then:
-1 Serra Ascendant
-3 Ranger of Eos
-1 Worship (moved to SB)
-1 Windbrisk Heights
+1 Return to the Ranks
+2 Secure the Wastes
+1 Martyr of Sands
+1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
+1 Shambling Vent
I made these changes mainly due to a prevalence of control in my local meta. The Secures help me because I can make them Waste (heh) their mana by passing my turn without playing anything, and/or respond to them tapping out at my EoT. Return is good too, bringing countered/killed creatures back, and Negating (damn I'm good) any card advantage they've accrued through things like Engineered Explosives. Sorin, SV is great because I've found that most control decks have few/no ways to deal with planeswalkers, short of countering them when they come down, and most blue decks have traded Negate and Spell Pierce for Dispel at this point, to speed up vs all the combo out there.
Of course it's very meta dependent, but if you wanted to know, my current sideboard is:
3x Stony Silence
2x Rest in Peace
2x Celestial Flare
2x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Mark of Asylum
1x Wrath of God
1x Spellskite
1x Worship
1x Oblivion Ring
Can anyone explain why we moved away from Martyr of Sands builds?
Martyr-sac gain 9-15 is a powerful turn two play, especially when following a turn one Ascendant, but it's a terrible topdeck, unless you're also running Squadron Hawk. Squawks are underpowered and overpriced when you consider the alternatives (Spectral Procession, Lingering Souls, Secure the Wastes). Plus they're a mandatory 4-of if you're playing any, and drawing a second Hawk before you cast your first is really bad. Squawks don't really deserve a spot in the deck, which means Martyrs aren't as good, and some argue that without Martyrs, Ranger of Eos isn't worth running. I've taken out my Rangers and Squawks for now, although I am including a 1-of Martyr to make the god hand possible. My build is also Wb, so the extra slots mean I can run Lingering Souls and Sorin, Solemn Visitor, as well as a couple flex slots for attacking the meta (one of the few things that White is best at). Hope that helps
Yeah, I have 3x Champ and 2x Spectral. I don't play the full set of either because I find that WWW doesn't always happen on time with 4x Ghost Quarter and 3x Windbrisk Heights. Admittedly, every game I've lost against burn has involved 2 or 3 back-to-back skullcrack effects. I think being able to respond with a Secure is pretty useful here, even if it is not as efficient as other token spells (plus I like having an instant speed threat against control decks). In the game with the 2 Eidolons, I won by casting both my Processions, which count as CMC 6 (also nice against Inquisitions). I'm tempted to go up on these, and do a 3-3 split with Lingering Souls, but I also think Souls is better against more of the meta.
Yeah, zoo has a pretty tough time against sisters. I don't think I've lost a game yet against any creature based aggro decks. It's just not a winning proposition to try to race against the deck, unless the sisters player stumbles seriously. I also play 8 token spells main deck, and with a couple sisters out, every turn with a token spell basically gets an incidental fog effect. Not to mention the wall that is Ajani's Pridemate, and the fact that Bolts are almost never worth pointing at face. Bolting a sister is a good idea, but most lists play at least 8, so they're pretty difficult to keep off the field. Luckily it's not a common matchup for the zoo player
That list looks pretty trill. I'm starting to come back around on Martyr-- it's just so huge against burn, which I have not found to be a bye like I assumed. Last night, I played a small 3-round event with my first matchup being burn, Martyr'd for 12 life, and I still came within one turn of a loss (he had 2 Eidolons in play). He actually stole G1 with turn 3 and 4 Skullcracks on my upkeeps, with a punt from me on the second (should have responded with a Secure the Wastes for 3). I'm running Martyr as a one-of to give the possibility of the Martyr-Serra god hand, while minimizing the chance of a late-game topdeck. For sure it's not as good without Ranger of Eos, but since I'm not running Squawks, I'm not really trying for a mid or late game Martyr any way.
Thoughtseize in the main seems good too-- it's an extremely versatile way to deal with the myriad combo decks seeing play right now, and the reason some decks hesitate to run a bunch (life loss) is mitigated in our deck. I might try it out. Right now I'm still using my flex slots for 2 Leonin Arbiters and a 1 Aven Mindcensor, which I love. Opponents never play around them, and they hit basically every deck pretty-to-really hard (and the ones who take it the hardest are GR Tron and Amulet!). The fact that they also beat down, and are bolt magnets, is just gravy.
I think this new guy is gonna go a long way in the RG Tron matchup. The second ability is exactly what we need for it, and they generally don't disturb our plans in the first couple turns, which may be a good enough reason to switch back to a Martyr plan. If it's real, I know I'll want to pick up a playset and experiment.
We need Path. Going full linear would make sense if we were doing something so powerful that we can completely ignore the opponent, like Infect or Bogles (which also sometimes runs paths). Tarmogoyf isn't one of them, but there are creatures that just need to be killed. Bob, Primetime, Pestermite, Scooze (if we want to use Lingering Souls/ Return to the Ranks)... I've even been beaten by a UW control player who boarded in a Baneslayer Angel. We are doing something that beats creature-based fair aggro decks, but we can still die to a creature that needed to be removed.
For being in white, we get a card that says "one mana, exile a creature". I wish I could play with 8!
I think Mark of Asylum is great. It answers the most common spot removal in the format (Lightning Bolt), blanks some of our worst enemies (Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm), and stops some of the best sideboard cards against us (Grim Lavamancer, Izzet Staticaster). I have 2x in my board, right next to 2 Leyline of Sanctity, and I'm thinking about going up to 3x each.
I'd be interested in seeing some tournament reports for the Green splash. RogueDeckbuilder did a couple videos with it, but not many. I took the BW variant to a ~20 man FNM today, and came in second (only loss was to Twinning End). It was a long, 5 round day, and I don't even remember what my first opponent was playing, otherwise I'd write something up. But the nuns with guns are still makin' it happen!
-Round 1 vs Naya Allies: He takes G1 with a surprise Coco mid-combat that got him exactsies, G2 I steamrolled him, G3 he almost killed me but I played my SB Worship to stay alive. He got up to 300+ life with his lifelinking allies, but I still beat him on the back of Soul Warden, Archangel of Thune, and several Lingering Souls, eventually attacking with an army of 16/16 flyers while everyone in the room watched in awe
-Round 2 I lost to Twinning End. Lame.
-Round 3 I got my first ever victory over GR Tron, with a miserable G1, an early Stony Silence G2, and an amazingly timed G3 that involved Stonying after he already had tron to keep him from O-Stoning, and a Mana Tithe on Sundering Titan that just felt... amazing. Killed him in the air with tokens after a too-late Wurmcoil from him the following turn.
-Round 4 I played against a newbie with 5 Color Slivers, and went to time in G2 with a Worship out, that he Necrotic'd away a turn too late. Snore
-Round 5 I played against Melira Coco, and had 3 awesomely interactive and interesting games, starting each with a T2 Leonin Arbiter. The deck has a bunch of ways to prevent us locking them out, but Leyline, Archangel, and good ol' Soul Warden + Soul's Attendant saved the day. He couldn't combo off without giving me infinitely tall creatures. Fun one.
-Round 6 I played against this monstrosity of a deck: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/much-abrew-about-nothing-modern-free-win-red
He took G1 in the soul-crushing way that only Ensnaring Bridge can create. G2 he could only Blood Moon, which I didn't really care about. G3 I won on a mull to 4, and through a turn 1 Bridge that I was able to Oblivion Ring away. Stealing victory from the degenerate decks always feels great (reminiscent of my 2-0 against Lantern Control last night), so I didn't mind placing 6th out of 32, two positions shy of the money.
Long, good, fun, looong day of Magic. I'm going to go sleep for infinity hours now.
I've been thinking a light green splash wouldn't hurt too bad, just to get Choke and Gaddock Teeg in the SB. These two hosers do much better against our problem decks than anything in W or B. It would put a lot of stress on the mana base, though.
I'm not sure we need more card advantage. Windbrisk Heights is a "one for zero" that also sometimes gets the opponent to bolt a spirit token out of fear. Lingering Souls grinds better than almost any other card, and we have hard-to-deal-with permanents like Leyline of Sanctity that grant us virtual card advantage by blanking a third of the spells in the typical BGx list. An effect like Phyrexian Arena would be nice, but I'd hesitate before sleeving up a one-time draw spell that doesn't affect the board.
Also, I like Elspeth, Knight Errant over Elspeth Tirel. One mana cheaper, and her ult is much more relevant. But I like Sorin SV better than either
You can find my list on page 85, although I've made some changes since then:
-1 Serra Ascendant
-3 Ranger of Eos
-1 Worship (moved to SB)
-1 Windbrisk Heights
+1 Return to the Ranks
+2 Secure the Wastes
+1 Martyr of Sands
+1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
+1 Shambling Vent
I made these changes mainly due to a prevalence of control in my local meta. The Secures help me because I can make them Waste (heh) their mana by passing my turn without playing anything, and/or respond to them tapping out at my EoT. Return is good too, bringing countered/killed creatures back, and Negating (damn I'm good) any card advantage they've accrued through things like Engineered Explosives. Sorin, SV is great because I've found that most control decks have few/no ways to deal with planeswalkers, short of countering them when they come down, and most blue decks have traded Negate and Spell Pierce for Dispel at this point, to speed up vs all the combo out there.
Of course it's very meta dependent, but if you wanted to know, my current sideboard is:
3x Stony Silence
2x Rest in Peace
2x Celestial Flare
2x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Mark of Asylum
1x Wrath of God
1x Spellskite
1x Worship
1x Oblivion Ring
Martyr-sac gain 9-15 is a powerful turn two play, especially when following a turn one Ascendant, but it's a terrible topdeck, unless you're also running Squadron Hawk. Squawks are underpowered and overpriced when you consider the alternatives (Spectral Procession, Lingering Souls, Secure the Wastes). Plus they're a mandatory 4-of if you're playing any, and drawing a second Hawk before you cast your first is really bad. Squawks don't really deserve a spot in the deck, which means Martyrs aren't as good, and some argue that without Martyrs, Ranger of Eos isn't worth running. I've taken out my Rangers and Squawks for now, although I am including a 1-of Martyr to make the god hand possible. My build is also Wb, so the extra slots mean I can run Lingering Souls and Sorin, Solemn Visitor, as well as a couple flex slots for attacking the meta (one of the few things that White is best at). Hope that helps
Thoughtseize in the main seems good too-- it's an extremely versatile way to deal with the myriad combo decks seeing play right now, and the reason some decks hesitate to run a bunch (life loss) is mitigated in our deck. I might try it out. Right now I'm still using my flex slots for 2 Leonin Arbiters and a 1 Aven Mindcensor, which I love. Opponents never play around them, and they hit basically every deck pretty-to-really hard (and the ones who take it the hardest are GR Tron and Amulet!). The fact that they also beat down, and are bolt magnets, is just gravy.
For being in white, we get a card that says "one mana, exile a creature". I wish I could play with 8!
I think Mark of Asylum is great. It answers the most common spot removal in the format (Lightning Bolt), blanks some of our worst enemies (Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm), and stops some of the best sideboard cards against us (Grim Lavamancer, Izzet Staticaster). I have 2x in my board, right next to 2 Leyline of Sanctity, and I'm thinking about going up to 3x each.
I'd be interested in seeing some tournament reports for the Green splash. RogueDeckbuilder did a couple videos with it, but not many. I took the BW variant to a ~20 man FNM today, and came in second (only loss was to Twinning End). It was a long, 5 round day, and I don't even remember what my first opponent was playing, otherwise I'd write something up. But the nuns with guns are still makin' it happen!