Hey guys. Thank you all for all of the positivity and greatness around this primer. I ran into a new player who was trying to make Soul Sisters work and realized how absent I've been from here for a while due to life getting in the way. I'm still grinding and have Sisters at the ready, but I've mostly been allowing others to borrow it. My current sleeved list, which I enjoy a lot, is as follows:
The two of Mindcensor or two of Sorin will likely one day be Gideon of the Trials, as I think that's such a good beater against combo. Right now, with UWx and Tron dominating the meta, we're obviously at a disadvantage.
To go into unfair territory, I may pick the parts for this up and give it a try. What do you guys think? I know there's been more discussion on the reddit than here, and that's awesome, but I'd like to know the thoughts of folks I trust. What do you guys say?
I've been inching towards that for a while and been fine with it. Sorin gives me a similar body to Ranger when he hits the board if I need it (2/2 kills just as well as a 3/2, most of the time), or allows me to curve into 4-6+ lifelink damage if I just casted hit Spirits, which is just as good. Too often, Ranger was hitting the board and getting me two sisters or a Serra that wasn't ready to win me the game, so I cut him.
2 Wayfarer feels great to me in a lot of situations because people really target it. Getting your wayfarer Pathed may fix your colors, but it's nice to know there's another one waiting to establish Emeria if that goes that way.
Skynight is interesting. Sky Hussar might be a more consistent value engine, though. You'll be drawing a lot of cards with him and Thraben. In that sense, I might avoid Sphinx's Rev, but I've always wanted to experiment with Rev, too.
I cut Prisons for a while, but everything I put in place of them was never worth it, in my opinion. It's either a brick wall of a blocker in the early game or a completely oppressive "You're going to lose this game" move. It's never bad, even if it's sometimes just okay. Landing two against most decks in the format is a frustrating experience for them and having the out of "Oh, you're a deck that doesn't run a lot of basics and I've got Crucible, Ghost Quarter and Prison in my hand. GG?" is so helpful.
I saw an un-experienced pilot play against it last night. Meddling Mage on Pridemate is rough on the play. Ghostly Prison seemed to help the battle a lot. It was really difficult for the SS player to resolve a threat for very long.
Lots of great conversation going on here. I did not do well at the GP, but it was due to a lot of my draws and misplays more than anything else. I have gone back to no Hawks in response, as my meta is very unfriendly to them and it has allowed me to main Weathered Wayfarer and big Elspeth, which have closed out games in a big way for me recently. Last night, a lot of players (including a Scapeshift player, which has been unfavorable for me.) had to overcommit to kill Wayfarer, which never felt bad. I think, with the meta trying to outgrind us in a lot of ways, Wayfarer gives us an incredible ability to consistently make things happen and it's easily sided out against faster or combo decks. For the person who mentioned the Esper build, which I am on, it's been such a treat to smooth out my colors with it.
As for the discussion about Surgical, I've taken out my Surgical effects, as well (replacing them with Castigate, which has overperformed recently.) Often, unless we have Serra loaded, Tron is going to get to the mana they need against us if we Surgical them off of Tron, whereas Wayfarer or Crucible lock keeps them down for quite a bit. I've won more games thanks to those two than thanks to the Surgicals. I found Extirpate (my surgical effect) was at its best, oddly enough, when it was getting a combo piece or counterspell out of their deck, which means they had to cast at least one. Castigate has provided me a way to sideout narrow removal against them to just rip their biggest threat out of their hand. "Oh, I'm playing Tron and these Orzhov Charms are dead? Bring in Castigate to rip Ugin out of their hand."
As for Sky Hussar and Lingering Souls, I played it for a while in my early days and it seemed to be at its best in the late game, where we are already excellent. Lingering Souls is not as consistent of a damage reducer as Ghostly Prison in my testing and it only really helps you win mid-range races, where I would much rather be casting removal and Wraths to get to the late game. I also found myself discarding cards last night as I was trying to close out, so more card draw wouldn't have really helped in the only match where I think Sky Hussar would have been relevant (which was against an Esper Draw-Go deck.)
Is 3 non-creature hate spells the standard right now? I run four, but would love space for a one-of. Might let main Blood Baron and free up some needed sideboard slots.
Here's my list for context. The only change I might consider is -1 Spell Queller, +1 Aven Mindcensor
Limited printing, unique effect that is really powerful, has eternal application forever.
I don't hit it often, but when I do, it is absurdly powerful. Even when I don't get it, it smooths out mana so easily in my 3-color build. I would crack a fetch every turn if I could.
Interesting meta. One of my big frustrations with Sisters is that it can sometimes lose to non-tier decks that we're just too linear to fight, particularly with UB Mill doing really well at the recent Modern event. If we can fetch, there may be a small benefit to the Squadron Hawk/Mistveil Plains plan to consistently generate clocks and not lose to decks going for mill kills.
I have lost a decent number of games due to not hitting 4 mana quickly enough on 23 lands, as well.
Over the last few weeks, this Esper list has been killing for me, including my best finish at a PPTQ (4th, I punted to Storm). 9-2-1, with a record of 2-1 against Storm, wins against Abzan, Grixis Control, Grixis Shadow, Stompy, Burn, Affinity, UW Control, loss to UWR Mid-Range. The draw was to a UR Kiki deck where I punted in a fast game 2, Orzhov Charming back Ethersworn Canonist in my hand instead of just leaving it up when they went for Kiki. I'll be taking it to GP Phoenix. I was originally in the main event, but I've enjoyed it so much that I switched over to the Modern package. I think the deck can feast, especially if I tighten up my play, but I am worried about how absent Eldrazi has been in my testing.
I'll probably track down a third Verdict and go 3/1 split with Wrath, but I'm very happy with how smoothly it runs. For the person who asked about Crucible - I'm getting a lot of wins just from dropping turn 3 Ghostly, turn 4 Crucible and locking them with Ghost Quarter. That stole games from Abzan, Grixis Shadow and Affinity and is just an easy way to punish other decks, especially if you don't want to hurt yourself by running Blood Moons out of the side.
My only change I'm curious about is Spell Queller for other blue decks (to counter a counter) but I just don't think there is room. It would probably mean cutting Extirpate, which is too good against Tron, Dredge and Snapcaster decks, where it usually takes Cryptic Away and allows me to better play around their counters.
Potato pretty much nailed it - Martyr into Serra is the best way to kill decks that need to be killed quickly - Storm game 1, Tron, Scapeshift. Serra also, with Ranger, gives you a fetchable win condition if you meet the life total. It's not very good in the meta because Fatal Push is such a beating against us and it's often a 1/1.
I'd definitely put Blood Moon over Wear//Tear for Boros. tbh, Wear//Tear is only slightly better than Disenchant in the first place, and it's not really the reason you splash red, I'd consider verdict as being similar for that matter, and do people even splash for Leak?
As a side note, while it is obviously it's own animal, if I were to splash green, I'd do it for a glittering wish package, and not really Rallier.
I use Blue for D-Sphere and Verdict, which are just upgrades over cards available in White. I rarely use black for discard effects, as well. The black splash is almost exclusively for Orzhov Charm, which hasn't been as strong as in the past. It's making me consider dropping it for just a UW build.
I'm going to assume he only had one land left untapped since it was turn three? Depending on what cards he has left, you can try to Path one Death's Shadow on end step (and pay through Stubborn Denial if he tries it), then see if you draw the 3rd mana to cast Mirran, as Mirran is your ticket to the win here. If you don't, then I think you have to Path again on your main phase to avoid it being Stubbed. This is assuming Grixis colors, not Jund. Jund makes the decision tree a little easier because you don't have to play around Stubbo.
Since your mission there is to get to 4 mana (I'm assuming it was 4-mana Elspeth not 6), there's an outside argument for Pathing your own Serra after blocking with it since you're very likely to die before you get to Ranger for any Martyrs to make Serra relevant.
Part of the strength of having access to cards like Wear and Tear is when you know you're up against decks where the only problem is the artifacts. You side out higher costed removal to hit specific decks. Like, Path ends up being bad against Affinity, so you replace it with a Wear//Tear. Anguished Unmaking is comes out when you don't need to remove a planeswalker but do need to blow up an enchantment.
I don't normally dedicate sideboard slots to that, but you can.
Whenever I do my best with the build, it's always on the most basic build, so I hear you.
Like, yeah, you could absolutely do all that spicy stuff with indestructible creatures to beat Death's Shadow under a Worship. Or you could just run Auriok Champion, which is practically as indestructible as anything else against that deck.
Unfortunately for us, most of the innovation in our deck has been done. That doesn't mean we should stop testing and trying it, though! Remember, Amulet Bloom could have been a deck for years before it was and then suddenly existed. Grixis Shadow and Lantern were the same deal. One day, we'll get our day.
My favorite card is Serra Ascendant. It's so limited and restrictive in the decks you play it, but getting it online just excites my inner timmy so much.
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
3 Auriok Champion
3 Archangel of Thune
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Aven Mindcensor
9 Plains
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Flagstones of Trokair
2 Godless Shrine
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Swamp
2 Stony Silence
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Anguished Unmaking
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Fragmentize
1 Celestial Purge
1 Brave the Elements
The two of Mindcensor or two of Sorin will likely one day be Gideon of the Trials, as I think that's such a good beater against combo. Right now, with UWx and Tron dominating the meta, we're obviously at a disadvantage.
To go into unfair territory, I may pick the parts for this up and give it a try. What do you guys think? I know there's been more discussion on the reddit than here, and that's awesome, but I'd like to know the thoughts of folks I trust. What do you guys say?
http://tuesdaytastic.blogspot.com/2017/12/modern-quest-for-holy-soul.html
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
3 Auriok Champion
2 Archangel of Thune
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
1 Secure the Wastes
2 Legion's Landing
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Gideon of the Trials
11 Plains
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Repel the Abominable
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Worship
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Sundering Growth
1 Celestial Purge
Skynight is interesting. Sky Hussar might be a more consistent value engine, though. You'll be drawing a lot of cards with him and Thraben. In that sense, I might avoid Sphinx's Rev, but I've always wanted to experiment with Rev, too.
I cut Prisons for a while, but everything I put in place of them was never worth it, in my opinion. It's either a brick wall of a blocker in the early game or a completely oppressive "You're going to lose this game" move. It's never bad, even if it's sometimes just okay. Landing two against most decks in the format is a frustrating experience for them and having the out of "Oh, you're a deck that doesn't run a lot of basics and I've got Crucible, Ghost Quarter and Prison in my hand. GG?" is so helpful.
As for the discussion about Surgical, I've taken out my Surgical effects, as well (replacing them with Castigate, which has overperformed recently.) Often, unless we have Serra loaded, Tron is going to get to the mana they need against us if we Surgical them off of Tron, whereas Wayfarer or Crucible lock keeps them down for quite a bit. I've won more games thanks to those two than thanks to the Surgicals. I found Extirpate (my surgical effect) was at its best, oddly enough, when it was getting a combo piece or counterspell out of their deck, which means they had to cast at least one. Castigate has provided me a way to sideout narrow removal against them to just rip their biggest threat out of their hand. "Oh, I'm playing Tron and these Orzhov Charms are dead? Bring in Castigate to rip Ugin out of their hand."
As for Sky Hussar and Lingering Souls, I played it for a while in my early days and it seemed to be at its best in the late game, where we are already excellent. Lingering Souls is not as consistent of a damage reducer as Ghostly Prison in my testing and it only really helps you win mid-range races, where I would much rather be casting removal and Wraths to get to the late game. I also found myself discarding cards last night as I was trying to close out, so more card draw wouldn't have really helped in the only match where I think Sky Hussar would have been relevant (which was against an Esper Draw-Go deck.)
Is 3 non-creature hate spells the standard right now? I run four, but would love space for a one-of. Might let main Blood Baron and free up some needed sideboard slots.
Here's my list for context. The only change I might consider is -1 Spell Queller, +1 Aven Mindcensor
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
2 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Sun Titan
3 Orzhov Charm
2 Wrath of God
2 Supreme Verdict
4 Path to Exile
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Ghostly Prison
2 Detention Sphere
4 Marsh Flats
2 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Plains
2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2 Mistveil Plains
1 Swamp
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Irrigated Farmland
1 Island
1 Shambling Vent
3 Spell Queller
2 Castigate
2 Stony Silence
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
I don't hit it often, but when I do, it is absurdly powerful. Even when I don't get it, it smooths out mana so easily in my 3-color build. I would crack a fetch every turn if I could.
Over the last few weeks, this Esper list has been killing for me, including my best finish at a PPTQ (4th, I punted to Storm). 9-2-1, with a record of 2-1 against Storm, wins against Abzan, Grixis Control, Grixis Shadow, Stompy, Burn, Affinity, UW Control, loss to UWR Mid-Range. The draw was to a UR Kiki deck where I punted in a fast game 2, Orzhov Charming back Ethersworn Canonist in my hand instead of just leaving it up when they went for Kiki. I'll be taking it to GP Phoenix. I was originally in the main event, but I've enjoyed it so much that I switched over to the Modern package. I think the deck can feast, especially if I tighten up my play, but I am worried about how absent Eldrazi has been in my testing.
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Sun Titan
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Orzhov Charm
2 Wrath of God
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Path to Exile
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Detention Sphere
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Crucible of Worlds
4 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2 Mistveil Plains
1 Swamp
1 Irrigated Farmland
1 Island
1 Shambling Vent
2 Extirpate
2 Weathered Wayfarer
2 Stony Silence
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
I'll probably track down a third Verdict and go 3/1 split with Wrath, but I'm very happy with how smoothly it runs. For the person who asked about Crucible - I'm getting a lot of wins just from dropping turn 3 Ghostly, turn 4 Crucible and locking them with Ghost Quarter. That stole games from Abzan, Grixis Shadow and Affinity and is just an easy way to punish other decks, especially if you don't want to hurt yourself by running Blood Moons out of the side.
My only change I'm curious about is Spell Queller for other blue decks (to counter a counter) but I just don't think there is room. It would probably mean cutting Extirpate, which is too good against Tron, Dredge and Snapcaster decks, where it usually takes Cryptic Away and allows me to better play around their counters.
I use Blue for D-Sphere and Verdict, which are just upgrades over cards available in White. I rarely use black for discard effects, as well. The black splash is almost exclusively for Orzhov Charm, which hasn't been as strong as in the past. It's making me consider dropping it for just a UW build.
Since your mission there is to get to 4 mana (I'm assuming it was 4-mana Elspeth not 6), there's an outside argument for Pathing your own Serra after blocking with it since you're very likely to die before you get to Ranger for any Martyrs to make Serra relevant.
I don't normally dedicate sideboard slots to that, but you can.
Like, yeah, you could absolutely do all that spicy stuff with indestructible creatures to beat Death's Shadow under a Worship. Or you could just run Auriok Champion, which is practically as indestructible as anything else against that deck.
Unfortunately for us, most of the innovation in our deck has been done. That doesn't mean we should stop testing and trying it, though! Remember, Amulet Bloom could have been a deck for years before it was and then suddenly existed. Grixis Shadow and Lantern were the same deal. One day, we'll get our day.