If you're going to run some swords, why would you pick B&M over L&S? The protections are better, as are both triggers.
Basilisk Collar is probably better overall than Gift of Orzhova; though it doesn't count as white or grant evasion, it gives you more outs against Geists with all of your fliers, and makes it so you don't get 2-for-1ed. Your Pridemates will still work by plowing through the board and gaining you life.
its a hard match up because even without the combo they just become 4 color beatdown. A person I know who runs the deck has even said his sideboard is transformational into the beatdown deck.
Pod Tops out on Sigarda who is really hard to get rid of if she sticks.
There isnt really a good sideboard option against them.
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Right now I dont have a light and shadow, and W/P Triggers pridemate for each and every card
I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Ajani's Pridemate does *not* trigger multiple times on Sword of War and Peace. I'm pretty sure it is all one instance.
Yeah, it triggers just once, similar to how he only triggers once off of Martyr. You gain X life in one step where X is the number of cards in hand, not you gain 1 life X times.
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I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Ajani's Pridemate does *not* trigger multiple times on Sword of War and Peace. I'm pretty sure it is all one instance.
You are correct. It's per instance of life gain, not per point of life gained. There is one trigger that gains you life and the amount of life varies, but it's always one trigger.
Surgical Extraction has been helping out a lot in testing against Melira pod. As long as you can snipe their Murderous Redcap with it, the games become relatively "fair." If they try to gain oodles of life with Kitchen Finks, any Sisters remaining on the board either make that an exercise in putting you both out of reasonable kill-range, or turn the game into "whose deck has the most cards left in it/who won game 1 since this is going to time?" The issue with SE not being worth 3 life through martyr is notable.
Suppression Field didn't seem to help as much, because it just meant their Redcap having a fun murder-romp through your team had to do it over the course of a few turns. That, and if they want to, they can just tutor up a Qasali Pride-Mage to remove it and go crazy if you only have one out.
Ajani's Pridemate and Serra Ascendant tend to be bigger threats than any of the people copying Pardee's list can cobble together.
But beyond any side-board effects, the matchup really just feels like it comes down to how many Path to Exiles you draw, rather than anything else. Which is definitely not a positive thing.
Does anyone have a general strategy for UWR control? My friend is playing something along the lines of this. Though Spell Snare is in the main. Which I think just might be a hate on me personally (I have trounced him for weeks with Sisters). I'm thoroughly lost as what to bring in against this match up.
Auriok Champion dodges pretty much all their removal except Verdict and Path.
Immortal Servitude to recur all your threats.
Engineered explosives is really dangerous as most of your deck are 1 and 2 drops.
Hero of Bladehold if she sticks is great against them, constantly pumps out dudes and is out of bolt range
Elspeth, Knight-Errant increases your board presence each turn, turns anything into a threat, and if her ult goes off you've pretty much have just won the match.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin lets you recur all your creatures and while I am personally running one mainboard i have never gotten to the 7 plains to trigger it.
Personally Im running 3 Auriok Champs main board, and ive got 2 Immortal Servitudes and 1 Hero of Bladehold in my side. My GQ playset deals with any Celestial Colonnades but ive also got a Tron deck and a few Robots decks in my meta. Inkmoth Nexus is my nemesis...
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As long as your life total is greater than or equal to your starting life total, creatures you control get +1/+1.
Whenever one or more creatures you control attack, you gain life equal to the number of attacking creatures.
Worth playing? Possibly over Honor of the Pure?
It costs 1 more mana and the pump is contingent on your current life total. Staying above 20 life shouldnt be a problem for Soul Sisters unless the deck is losing.
The life gain on attack declaration is nice, provides more pump for Ajani's Pridemate but its only one trigger per attack declaration rather than 1 trigger per attacking creature.
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I knew someone would propose this, and honestly no it's not. The only card its really good with is Spectral Procession.
The anytime +1/+1 off Honor can save your guys when your behind. To me that and 1 less mana matters.
Now the good news is you only have to be 20+ so I could see running it for extra copies. I just think its out of curve.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
My sideboard is a a cluster. From looking at online results, seems like UWR Midrange and Pod are the two decks to beat. Should I throw out the Thalia's and Jotun Grunts and add more Suppression Fields and Rest in Peace? Splinter-Twin now maindecks cards like Flame Slash, Izzet Charm, and even Lightning Bolt. Having a sister (or two!) on the field can't just guarantee us safety... do I need more Auriok Champion's? Is Ghostly Prison needed?
I'm considering for my sideboard something more like
The additional Stony Silence because any Tron variant seems strong against us, and Affinity can be a race so I rather shut them down fast if possible. Do I want Sundering Growth for that match-up? (or Pod)
As for Sundering Growth, you don't want to be removing too many bodies from your main board when sideboarding. Kataki, War's Wage is probably the best answer against artifacts, I plan on replacing my own Growths once I pick up 2 copies
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Has anybody tried out Surgical Extraction>Other forms of graveyard hate in the side? I've been playing with it a little bit and it seems to improve the Tron matchup and has been pretty effective against Melira as well (Removing their win condition from the deck in response to the combo)
I was a fan of it when I rocked it. I mostly brought it in for Tron and Pod match-ups. It catches them off guard, and completely changes their gameplan. However, there were a few times when the off-color black, and/or paying the Phyrexian Mana made it so I couldn't start beating ass with Serra Ascendant on turn 2. It depends how you feel about it... Right now I dropped it in favor of having more consistent hands/life gain from Martyr, and not awkward mana situations with Ghost Quarter.
It fell out of flavor quickly a while back, but playing Hide // Seek doesn't go against Martyr's life-gain. Playing a turn 1 Serra Ascendant into a turn 2 Seek, gaining 15, and then swinging for 6 (thus gaining 6 more) was always a good feeling.
I've just noticed that all the Soul Sisters decks that have done well at the PTQ's last season, and on the Online Dailies mostly just rock grave-hate like Rest in Peace. Maybe I'm being too much of a conformist, but it sure seemed to work for them, so I'm trying that gameplan right now as well.
edit
GP KC is tomorrow. Scapeshift is a deck that's gaining a lot of steam, and continually top 8's the last few Modern Grand Prix's. I've never seen anyone in my city play it, but I'm sure people will travel far and wide to come smash with it. What's the game-plan... just beat face as fast as possible, and hope I hit a lot of Martyrs? Seems like a favorable match-up, but I'm definitely going in blind on that one!
Scapeshift is probably one of the easiest match ups as if you gain enough life they cannot burn you out with Scapeshift itself. However some are now running a one or two copies of Primeval Titan in the main or sideboard. Prime Time, from my experience is a genuine threat in that it can get Valakut online and its a 6/6 trampler so you cant chump block, you need to kill it with Serra's or a big enough Ajani's. Most people side out all their creature removal game 2 against it, I'd keep at least 1 or 2 Paths
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Against UGr Scapeshift, I'd aim for mid-game Martyrs, especially post-Squadron Hawk. Early Martyrs are great, too, but you need to hit 40 life against them (39 life dies to Bolt into 8-land Scapeshift). They beat your no-Martyr draws, so be careful out there.
I got pooped on
I started off the day beating Affinity and Jund. But I faced 2 Tron times in a row... and then faced a Gifts Control deck. I was so close to beating Gifts Control, especially game 3. I was sitting over 40 life, and just used a Ranger to grab 2 Serra Ascendants. He was at 6. Just one had to hit him... he plays Unburial Rites on Iona, naming White. A slow painful death ensues (I had a Rest In Peace under Windbrisk Heights, which he Tectonic Edged before I could activate it).
Even after I went X-3, I still played for fun and points, because the points is insane. I played against a really sloppy Twin player... that was fun. 3 Sisters in play and an Ajani's Pridemate that was a 35/35 before he scooped. Game 3 I had possibly the greatest starting hand I ever saw...
1 Martyr of Sands, 1 Serra Ascendant, 1 Auriok Champion, 1 Soul's Attendant, 2 Ajani's Pridemate, 1 Plains
I was on the draw, and I had to keep it. I wish I drew hands like that all day.
I lost every single die-roll that day, but I won every single game 1. How is that possible?
Most of my wins were because of
1) maindeck Hero of Bladehold
2) Spectral Procession
3) a mixture of 1 and/or 2 with Honor of the Pure.
I can't remember a game I lost when Hero of Bladehold was in play with Honor. I actually kept a lot of midrange hands and won with those. Hands like these were stable:
3 Plains, 1 Spectral Procession, 1 Hero of Bladehold, 1 Ranger of Eos, X card
Stuff like that were the ones that won me games. A lot of the games where I started with a turn 1 Serra Ascendant or a turn 2 Ajani's Pridemate, so many decks were able to rip apart. I was taken back by how well prepared some of my opponents were. A lot of my testing I won by having the quick aggro hands, rather than these slow turn 3-4 hands.
Anyway, it was a fun weekend. Lots more tweeking and testing to do.
played a few games with people at my local store
vs Affinity: they managed to kill me with Inkmoths game 1. Game 2, no inkmoth but 2 cranial platings and me not drawing any sideboard cards meant i died even after gaining around 40 life throughout the game
vs RWU Control: game 1 didnt really draw into anything good and died to double golem tokens from splicer. Game 2 even though i managed to repeatedly gain huge amounts of life off of my Martyrs I was unable to get a single threat to stick onto the board. The only point when I had Serra's Ascendants out on the field was when I had already fallen below 30 life so they were not particularly useful. They had so many counterspells and I just could not resolve anything.
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Basilisk Collar is probably better overall than Gift of Orzhova; though it doesn't count as white or grant evasion, it gives you more outs against Geists with all of your fliers, and makes it so you don't get 2-for-1ed. Your Pridemates will still work by plowing through the board and gaining you life.
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
Pod Tops out on Sigarda who is really hard to get rid of if she sticks.
There isnt really a good sideboard option against them.
-Anonymous
I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Ajani's Pridemate does *not* trigger multiple times on Sword of War and Peace. I'm pretty sure it is all one instance.
-Anonymous
Suppression Field didn't seem to help as much, because it just meant their Redcap having a fun murder-romp through your team had to do it over the course of a few turns. That, and if they want to, they can just tutor up a Qasali Pride-Mage to remove it and go crazy if you only have one out.
Ajani's Pridemate and Serra Ascendant tend to be bigger threats than any of the people copying Pardee's list can cobble together.
But beyond any side-board effects, the matchup really just feels like it comes down to how many Path to Exiles you draw, rather than anything else. Which is definitely not a positive thing.
Immortal Servitude to recur all your threats.
Engineered explosives is really dangerous as most of your deck are 1 and 2 drops.
Hero of Bladehold if she sticks is great against them, constantly pumps out dudes and is out of bolt range
Elspeth, Knight-Errant increases your board presence each turn, turns anything into a threat, and if her ult goes off you've pretty much have just won the match.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin lets you recur all your creatures and while I am personally running one mainboard i have never gotten to the 7 plains to trigger it.
Personally Im running 3 Auriok Champs main board, and ive got 2 Immortal Servitudes and 1 Hero of Bladehold in my side. My GQ playset deals with any Celestial Colonnades but ive also got a Tron deck and a few Robots decks in my meta. Inkmoth Nexus is my nemesis...
-Anonymous
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
Path of Bravery 2W
Enchantment
As long as your life total is greater than or equal to your starting life total, creatures you control get +1/+1.
Whenever one or more creatures you control attack, you gain life equal to the number of attacking creatures.
Worth playing? Possibly over Honor of the Pure?
It costs 1 more mana and the pump is contingent on your current life total. Staying above 20 life shouldnt be a problem for Soul Sisters unless the deck is losing.
The life gain on attack declaration is nice, provides more pump for Ajani's Pridemate but its only one trigger per attack declaration rather than 1 trigger per attacking creature.
-Anonymous
The anytime +1/+1 off Honor can save your guys when your behind. To me that and 1 less mana matters.
Now the good news is you only have to be 20+ so I could see running it for extra copies. I just think its out of curve.
It's currently
2 Windbrisk Heights
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Martyr of Sands
4 Soul Warden
2 Soul's Attendant
1 Auriok Champion
4 Squadron Hawk
3 Ranger of Eos
2 Hero of Bladehold
4 Spectral Procession
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Brave the Elements
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Jotun Grunt
2 Stony Silence
2 Suppression Field
2 Rest in Peace
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
My sideboard is a a cluster. From looking at online results, seems like UWR Midrange and Pod are the two decks to beat. Should I throw out the Thalia's and Jotun Grunts and add more Suppression Fields and Rest in Peace? Splinter-Twin now maindecks cards like Flame Slash, Izzet Charm, and even Lightning Bolt. Having a sister (or two!) on the field can't just guarantee us safety... do I need more Auriok Champion's? Is Ghostly Prison needed?
I'm considering for my sideboard something more like
3 Stony Silence
2 Brave the Elements
2 Suppression Field
2 Immortal Servitude
2 Auriok Champion
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
ex-Moderator
Legacy love.
As for Sundering Growth, you don't want to be removing too many bodies from your main board when sideboarding. Kataki, War's Wage is probably the best answer against artifacts, I plan on replacing my own Growths once I pick up 2 copies
-Anonymous
It fell out of flavor quickly a while back, but playing Hide // Seek doesn't go against Martyr's life-gain. Playing a turn 1 Serra Ascendant into a turn 2 Seek, gaining 15, and then swinging for 6 (thus gaining 6 more) was always a good feeling.
I've just noticed that all the Soul Sisters decks that have done well at the PTQ's last season, and on the Online Dailies mostly just rock grave-hate like Rest in Peace. Maybe I'm being too much of a conformist, but it sure seemed to work for them, so I'm trying that gameplan right now as well.
edit
GP KC is tomorrow. Scapeshift is a deck that's gaining a lot of steam, and continually top 8's the last few Modern Grand Prix's. I've never seen anyone in my city play it, but I'm sure people will travel far and wide to come smash with it. What's the game-plan... just beat face as fast as possible, and hope I hit a lot of Martyrs? Seems like a favorable match-up, but I'm definitely going in blind on that one!
ex-Moderator
Legacy love.
-Anonymous
I started off the day beating Affinity and Jund. But I faced 2 Tron times in a row... and then faced a Gifts Control deck. I was so close to beating Gifts Control, especially game 3. I was sitting over 40 life, and just used a Ranger to grab 2 Serra Ascendants. He was at 6. Just one had to hit him... he plays Unburial Rites on Iona, naming White. A slow painful death ensues (I had a Rest In Peace under Windbrisk Heights, which he Tectonic Edged before I could activate it).
Even after I went X-3, I still played for fun and points, because the points is insane. I played against a really sloppy Twin player... that was fun. 3 Sisters in play and an Ajani's Pridemate that was a 35/35 before he scooped. Game 3 I had possibly the greatest starting hand I ever saw...
1 Martyr of Sands, 1 Serra Ascendant, 1 Auriok Champion, 1 Soul's Attendant, 2 Ajani's Pridemate, 1 Plains
I was on the draw, and I had to keep it. I wish I drew hands like that all day.
I lost every single die-roll that day, but I won every single game 1. How is that possible?
Most of my wins were because of
1) maindeck Hero of Bladehold
2) Spectral Procession
3) a mixture of 1 and/or 2 with Honor of the Pure.
I can't remember a game I lost when Hero of Bladehold was in play with Honor. I actually kept a lot of midrange hands and won with those. Hands like these were stable:
3 Plains, 1 Spectral Procession, 1 Hero of Bladehold, 1 Ranger of Eos, X card
Stuff like that were the ones that won me games. A lot of the games where I started with a turn 1 Serra Ascendant or a turn 2 Ajani's Pridemate, so many decks were able to rip apart. I was taken back by how well prepared some of my opponents were. A lot of my testing I won by having the quick aggro hands, rather than these slow turn 3-4 hands.
Anyway, it was a fun weekend. Lots more tweeking and testing to do.
ex-Moderator
Legacy love.
vs Affinity: they managed to kill me with Inkmoths game 1. Game 2, no inkmoth but 2 cranial platings and me not drawing any sideboard cards meant i died even after gaining around 40 life throughout the game
vs RWU Control: game 1 didnt really draw into anything good and died to double golem tokens from splicer. Game 2 even though i managed to repeatedly gain huge amounts of life off of my Martyrs I was unable to get a single threat to stick onto the board. The only point when I had Serra's Ascendants out on the field was when I had already fallen below 30 life so they were not particularly useful. They had so many counterspells and I just could not resolve anything.
-Anonymous