[Deck] Ascension

[Tru3z3rox]

You havent played against zoo with a high red/removal shell, stoneforge equipment looses vs pridemage and with 16 removal spell it can be hard for our important drops like mother to stay alive.
Same vs new tezz affinity with stoneforge shell, even with lifegain a swinging cranial plating or shooting tezzeret can be a hard match.

Yes, generally aggro is easy to handle for our deck but i wouldnt call it an auto win.

If you have problems with control try the new m12 cleric. For me a good mana curve and CA like ranger, proclamation and stoneforge a solid enough. Throw in protection from mother and enough life to deal with big win conditions it isnt much harder to play against control. The key is a sideboard with more card advantage, let them throw out counters and answer with a longer breath and solutions they didnt suspect.

Control runs tons of pernicious deeds, wraths, damnations, ee, etc. It is quite hard to keep anything on the board especially with a slow tempo.

With our CA we generally beat decks that bolt or path our dudes. They accelerate us and then we can afford to take some hits because of the life gain. Then stabilize and regain your life to overwhelm them. Zoo has a terrible mid-late game.

[Elleran]

Slightly off subject, but what do people think about this:

Drop 1 Elspeth for another Ranger of Eos, then add some more variety of 1 cmc creatures into the deck? This way, we can add about 1-2 Martyr of Sands and fetch it with Ranger when we need it rather then becoming burdensome dead draws.

Also, what do everyone think about running Figure of Destiny in this deck? Unlike Student of Warfare, it doesn't get First Strike, but its 'level up' is at instant speed and it can grow fairly quickly.

[ateu89]

Slightly off subject, but what do people think about this:

Drop 1 Elspeth for another Ranger of Eos, then add some more variety of 1 cmc creatures into the deck? This way, we can add about 1-2 Martyr of Sands and fetch it with Ranger when we need it rather then becoming burdensome dead draws.

Also, what do everyone think about running Figure of Destiny in this deck? Unlike Student of Warfare, it doesn't get First Strike, but its 'level up' is at instant speed and it can grow fairly quickly.

I personally wouldn't like running less than 2 Elspeth, but RoE is very good too. It would need some testing.

Figure of Destiny... Well, I like it in paper, but you need 6 lands to his final level, while Student in fact would work even with only 1 land. And Student gets final level with the total of 8 mana spent (1 casting cost and 7 levels), while Figure needs 11 (1+1+3+6). Plus, Double Strike + Equips really rock. If I would run one of them, would probably run Student.

[Tru3z3rox]

I think going below 2 Elspeth is a huge mistake. She is so good and can sometimes be better than ranger. She protects herself while growing and eventually making your dudes indestructible. I think 3 ranger is quite enough.

@Figure of Destiny
I ran him in my original build but switched to student because of the enormous mana requirements. Student is strictly better because at level 2 he is GOOD ENOUGH.

I think at this point we'd add utility 1CC dudes like nova cleric or elvish hexhunter. Recycling those dudes with Sword of Light and Shadow and Proclamation is a pretty sweet deal.

[TheS3an]

I feel as though the deck needs Karakas. It gives a response to Emrakul and it stops Iona from completely shutting the deck off.

[Tru3z3rox]

I feel as though the deck needs Karakas. It gives a response to Emrakul and it stops Iona from completely shutting the deck off.

Agreed. Karakas is just too pricey for me to afford right now. Also we have no way to tutor for it so it must be a random 2 of.

[Elleran]

Agreed. Karakas is just too pricey for me to afford right now. Also we have no way to tutor for it so it must be a random 2 of.

I can't afford it either, but if Reanimator or SnT are in your meta, then SB-ing few Karakas is not a bad idea. However, I would oppose MD-ing Karakas since it is Legendary, and because it is vulnerable to Wastelands. Like Tru3z3rox said, this deck can't tutor for it, so I don't actually know how effective they will be.

[Caleblost]

i used ascension (the exact list you posted) saturday in a tournament and my final place in standing has been 8th on 21 players. My opinion is that there are few things to consider :

1) knight of white orchid is futile
2) opponent jitte or opponent removals are too many for the "little" sisters

i would try to consider this change for the main deck :

out :

2 knight of the white orchid
1-2 ranger of eos

in

2-4 spellskite

it could be a right shield to take advantage considering he takes on himself all the opponents spells and ability paying 2 life points (and we haven't problems to pay life points)

someone of you tried this ?

In the tournament i've done i had problems with : Goblin sharpshooter (that killed all my sisters) and the opponent jitte. With spellskite on the field i think i could win at least 1-2 games more.

However i really like this deck.

[Elleran]

I have never considered Goblin Sharpshooter. Jitte has been addressed as a potent threat. My opinion is that this deck should have at least 1 (and preferably 2) in its 75 just because an opponent's Jitte really hurts.

I have never used Spellskite in this deck. lol I actually traded my pre-ordered Spellskites (bought them for 4 bucks) while they were 10 bucks, so I don't have any left.

Knight of the White Orchid has been addressed to be one of the weaker cards in the deck, and has already been taken out of the Core of the deck.

[laxkiddan]

I don't know if this has already been addressed, but why not play squadron hawks?

[Elleran]

Look at the thread from Post 184.

Link: Post 184 (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?20582-Deck-Ascension&p=567260&viewfull=1#post567260)

[Caleblost]

we can't remove Aether vial from the deck, like every mono colored deck we lose against Iona which is played from a lot of decks. Aether Vial give us the opportunity to play drops at 1 without problems.

Probably Thide is now the futile card in the deck.

[ateu89]

we can't remove Aether vial from the deck, like every mono colored deck we lose against Iona which is played from a lot of decks. Aether Vial give us the opportunity to play drops at 1 without problems.

Probably Thide is now the futile card in the deck.

You should take some time and read the topic if you want to collaborate. All your posts are from discussions we already had.

[Tru3z3rox]

You should take some time and read the topic if you want to collaborate. All your posts are from discussions we already had.

2nded. We only have 14 pages of thread, so its not that difficult to go back and read through it.

By the way...I hate having to sideboard 8 cards for 1 match up...

[ateu89]

Currently I can't find any good card to improve the bad match ups.

I'm hoping for some cool card in [ISD].

[Tru3z3rox]

Currently I can't find any good card to improve the bad match ups.

I'm hoping for some cool card in [ISD].

Yes I was specifically referring to hivemind. We cannot really deal with emrakul other than o-ring. Pacts just make us lose no matter how much life we've gained.

[Elleran]

Yes I was specifically referring to hivemind. We cannot really deal with emrakul other than o-ring. Pacts just make us lose no matter how much life we've gained.

Angel's Grace would make us win rather than lose. The opponent probably can't pay for the Pact of the Titan or Summoner's Pact or whatever either. If your meta has Hive Mind in it, then SB some Angel's Grace.

EDIT: But Angel's Grace doesn't do anything against Emrakul.. I suppose if it gets Show and Tell'ed onto the Battlefield, we can drop an O-ring in response, but that's only if we have it in hand.

EDIT 2: We can always SB Phyrexian Metamorph.

[Tru3z3rox]

Angel's Grace would make us win rather than lose. The opponent probably can't pay for the Pact of the Titan or Summoner's Pact or whatever either. If your meta has Hive Mind in it, then SB some Angel's Grace.

EDIT: But Angel's Grace doesn't do anything against Emrakul.. I suppose if it gets Show and Tell'ed onto the Battlefield, we can drop an O-ring in response, but that's only if we have it in hand.

EDIT 2: We can always SB Phyrexian Metamorph.

Yes I know..hence I said I have to board in 8 cards against them. Metamorph is a good card, but frankly I think O-ring answers more of what we want to answer than metamorph. I board in o-rings quite often against many decks. Metamorphs only come in against proggy and emrakul. Even then you have to cast it...he doesn't do anything if you show and tell him...

[Elleran]

Yes I know..hence I said I have to board in 8 cards against them. Metamorph is a good card, but frankly I think O-ring answers more of what we want to answer than metamorph. I board in o-rings quite often against many decks. Metamorphs only come in against proggy and emrakul. Even then you have to cast it...he doesn't do anything if you show and tell him...

Wait, it doesn't work when you show and tell it? Maybe I'm understand the rule wrong...

When Show and Tell resolves, does Metamorph and Emrakul enter the battlefield at the same time? i.e. Metamorph can't copy Emrakul because it's not on the field yet?

Also another question about timing: If I cast Proc and I choose to bring back 1 sister and 2 other creatures, does the sister activate on the other two creatures if I bring it back 'first' (in relative to the other two)?

[Tru3z3rox]

Wait, it doesn't work when you show and tell it? Maybe I'm understand the rule wrong...

When Show and Tell resolves, does Metamorph and Emrakul enter the battlefield at the same time? i.e. Metamorph can't copy Emrakul because it's not on the field yet?

Also another question about timing: If I cast Proc and I choose to bring back 1 sister and 2 other creatures, does the sister activate on the other two creatures if I bring it back 'first' (in relative to the other two)?

In response to your first question: This doesn't work because the metamorph is put into play as a 0/0 and will subsequently die. I learned this at my last tournament, but feel free to verify.

second question: All creatures enter the field at the same time and therefore trigger each other accordingly. If you get 3 wardens then each warden sees the other 2 and you gain 6 life.

[Elleran]

In response to your first question: This doesn't work because the metamorph is put into play as a 0/0 and will subsequently die. I learned this at my last tournament, but feel free to verify.

second question: All creatures enter the field at the same time and therefore trigger each other accordingly. If you get 3 wardens then each warden sees the other 2 and you gain 6 life.

I see. Thanks for the clarifications. I'll try to confirm your first response from a pretty legitimate source.

[Maveric78f]

About the Metamorph question, it can copy something when it's put into play, but with SnT, it won't be able to copy the other permanent that is put into play, because as it comes into into play it's not in play yet and thus the other card is not in play neither. You'd have to wait your turn to play it and hope it does not get countered.

About the Proc question, Tru3z3rox explained it right.

[Elleran]

About the Metamorph question, it can copy something when it's put into play, but with SnT, it won't be able to copy the other permanent that is put into play, because as it comes into into play it's not in play yet and thus the other card is not in play neither. You'd have to wait your turn to play it and hope it does not get countered.

About the Proc question, Tru3z3rox explained it right.

Okay, that's the way I'm currently understanding Metamorph and SnT interaction. I'll still check though.

[Caleblost]

Tomorrow i will try my list in a tournament i will report my results after the tournament

Lands:
19 Plains

Sorceries:
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

Instants:
3 Swords to Plowshares

Artifacts:
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 sword of light and shadow

Creatures:
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendent
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Serra Ascendent
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Grand abolisher

Sideboard:
2 Halo rune
4 Oblivion Ring
2 tormod's crypt
2 leyline of sanctity
2 phyrexian revoker
1 Aethersworn Canonist
2 festival (i put this card only because there will be some "emrakul based decks" in the tournament and the only thing i can do is to play this card in the opponent upkeep hoping to have an oblivion ring in my hand, it's the first time i try it and i haven't better cards like peacekeeper).

[Tru3z3rox]

How has grand abolisher been working for you? Seems quite good against control, but the issue is that those decks run wrath and other wipe effects. Just because you've resolved something doesn't mean it will stick around. Abolisher is quite good with Armageddon!

[Caleblost]

Grand abolisher is used aganist : Force of will mental misstep (all counters not work with him in play) and against sensei's divining top.

in my meta 90% of decks have FOW and Mental misstep for the rest of decks He is the card i sideback for first.

But i assure he give us the possibility to raise quick and when i play my turn NO COUNTERS! (or they must counter G. A. )

it's really a good card in the deck.

my sideboard is weak i used the cards i have :laugh:


5 minutes ago i tested this deck against dreadstill result 4-1 :D

[bakofried]

You could try Retribution of the Meek against Emmy and Progenitus. Probably better than festival.

[Caleblost]

You could try Retribution of the Meek against Emmy and Progenitus. Probably better than festival.

it's a sorcery when i can cast it they already raped me :laugh:

in my meta there is the deck "food chain elves" this deck cast emrakul from hand and take another extra turn. when he attacks we are dead (annihilator 6).

I can side in phyrexian revoker (or beter pithing needle) calling food chain (activated ability not works) so he has difficult to eat his elves and add 15 manas.

retribution of the meek it's too slow.

Against progenitus i side in runed halo calling him and progenitus it's not a problem.

I like the option of phyrexian metamorph too.

[Tru3z3rox]

Grand abolisher is used aganist : Force of will mental misstep (all counters not work with him in play) and against sensei's divining top.

in my meta 90% of decks have FOW and Mental misstep for the rest of decks He is the card i sideback for first.

But i assure he give us the possibility to raise quick and when i play my turn NO COUNTERS! (or they must counter G. A. )

it's really a good card in the deck.

my sideboard is weak i used the cards i have :laugh:


5 minutes ago i tested this deck against dreadstill result 4-1 :D

But wouldn't he be a better sideboard card? Seems like he is taking up valuable space in the mainboard simply to slightly improve one match up. Retribution is good, but I prefer O-ring. It hits more things than retribution does. Stax can be quite a problem for us. Geddon stax is even worse.

@Metamorph
Well O-ring answers emrakul and frankly I think we can easily race progenitus.

[Elleran]

About Grand Abolisher, I think it's a great choice depending on the meta. I really hate getting Mental Missteped or FoW'd on a key threat in my hand. Grand Abolisher attracts both counters and spot removals onto itself. Saying 'it'll just get killed even if it resolves' is a good thing since we want to draw those cards out from the opponent's hand. Obviously board sweepers are and always will be annoying, but there are less than handful cards that can deal directly with those. Against control decks, Grand Abolisher is a great choice.

[Tru3z3rox]

About Grand Abolisher, I think it's a great choice depending on the meta. I really hate getting Mental Missteped or FoW'd on a key threat in my hand. Grand Abolisher attracts both counters and spot removals onto itself. Saying 'it'll just get killed even if it resolves' is a good thing since we want to draw those cards out from the opponent's hand. Obviously board sweepers are and always will be annoying, but there are less than handful cards that can deal directly with those. Against control decks, Grand Abolisher is a great choice.

Yes I agree and I was referring to the most popular anti aggro deck (Landstill) in particular. Hence why I also said maybe it is a better sideboard card. Afterall what would you pull for it? It is too tough. Elspeth is too good against control...so is proclamation...so is stoneforge...so is ranger...

Frankly I'd rather drop stoneforge t2.

[Elleran]

Yes I agree and I was referring to the most popular anti aggro deck (Landstill) in particular. Hence why I also said maybe it is a better sideboard card. Afterall what would you pull for it? It is too tough. Elspeth is too good against control...so is proclamation...so is stoneforge...so is ranger...

Frankly I'd rather drop stoneforge t2.

But you'd risk getting Dazed. I'd almost always drop Grand Abolisher first if I have it in hand if I know the opponent runs Daze (EDIT: or any other counter) in his/her deck. It's just a much more safer play with no drawback other than a turn loss of tempo. If opponent doesn't counter the Abolisher, then I'd feel safe knowing that Stoneforge will hit the battlefield guaranteed.

[Caleblost]

grand abolisher give the answer to all counters. i sideback GA in the second game if my opponent have not counters decks or similar.
Consider in my metagame 90% of decks play misstep or Force of will or sensei divining top : GA is the answer.

misstep is very bad for us with a lot of drops at 1 mana.


if they counter grand abolisher we will play easily another thing like stoneforge mistic calling batterskull.

or they have 60 counters? :-D

Trust me we have too many quick drops they can't stop us.

[TheMetalGuru]

Hey, all. I have been keeping an eye on this thread for awhile now, as well as running and testing alternate builds for this deck for a couple of months. The discussion here has been a BIG help, and this deck seems to get stronger and stronger the more I play it.
That being said, here are some things I have discovered about this deck in my months of playtesting:

-I prefer when the deck is played with a bit of control. A card that I haven't seen in any build here that has made a HUGE difference in many-a-battle for me is Ghostly Prison (sorry, I don't know how to make a direct link to the card). I have started running 4 maindeck, mostly because my meta is very aggro-intensive. This makes an opponent's pace very slow, giving you the time you need to ramp up, pump your dudes, and swing for a win.
Of course an opening hand Martyr + an Ascendant is always the ideal start, but that doesn't happen often. If the game drags out, and you are in control, late-game Martyr draws aren't so irrelevant anymore.
Since most of our game-changing creatures are run as four-ofs, Prison has taken place of Proclamation of Rebirth in my deck. Rebirth, for me, was always very underwhelming, and seldom did I retrieve a whole three creatures with it. A turn three that puts the brakes on your opponent's plans has always turned out to be a better investment for me. Not to mention these stack, and having to tap four or even six mana per creature to attack gives us so much more time to develop if the draws just aren't going our way.
To boot, it's NEVER a dead draw. Not to mention it's basically an auto-win against manaless Dredge.

-Another thing I'm surprised by is the fact no one has even mentioned Honor the Fallen as our main graveyard hate. It NEEDS to be included. I've had amazing results with it. Two-drop instant, removes all creatures from graveyards, pumps your life by one for each creature removed. Much preferred to the Crypt, in my experience so far.

-When playing Ghostly Prison, Mana Tithe can be a very relevant card, regardless of what turn you play it.

-Final note, anyone who's looking for a casual way to mix things up a bit, Student of Warfare + Basilisk Collar is a BLAST. Auto-kills, major life gain if he's level 7. Not to mention Feast and Famine to get him there faster.

Anyway, this was just to inspire people to keep the deck going, and keep trying out new stuff. It's a blast to play, and I hope we get some more good stuff to play with in the near future.

Critiques always welcome.
Cheers.

[Elleran]

@TheMetalGuru: Ghostly Prison + control strategy sounds very interesting. I haven't thought of that (I always thought of Ghostly Prison as a SB card). I'll definitely be trying that out.

I've also been testing Basilisk Collar with some good results. The deathtouch is my favorite ability because it allows a sister to trade with goyf, essentially acting as Moat in this deck. The lifegain is just a bonus that happens to be very relevant.

[Elleran]

Have anyone else read about the potential Modern format? This deck is actually pretty viable for that. (Replace Mother of Runes with Brave the Elements, and Tithe with Plains) In case anyone was interested.

[Ace/Homebrew]

I've been lurking on this thread since it started.
I already have Ascension/Soul Sisters sleeved up for when Modern sees paper. =)

I think it will do quite well there

[jonny]

Can anybody put an actual decklist??

[Ninakoru]

I like a lot this deck, it seems it totally rapes aggro decks, has his chances against most of the format, but is doomed against decks like high tide deckers or Countertop.

¿Any successful hits on any tourney?

I like more the initial version than the SFM one, and yes, basilisk collar could make a good mate in the deck, but... is really necessary? I mean, you already have advantage on creatures, the problem is mainly combo, I guess.

[Elleran]

Can anybody put an actual decklist??

Currently, we have established the Core of this deck, but we do not have any finalized decklist. Therefore, I'll post what I think is the currently established Core with some variation suggestions:

The MixedCore

Primary Win Cons
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate

Secondary Win Cons
1 Batterskull
0-X Student of Warfare
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Assists
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
0-4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes

Win Con / Utility Fetchers
3 Ranger of Eos
3 Stoneforge Mystic

Utilities
0-3 Proclamation of Rebirth
0-4 Ghostly Prison
0-2 Oblivion Ring
0-3 Timely Reinforcements (This has been suggested before... Not sure if it's part of the Core. Depends on your meta, I guess. It is suggested that this card and Proclamation of Rebirth should add up to appx 3)
1 Umezewa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Tithe

Lands
16 Plains
2 Flagstones of Trokair

***The Sideboard has not gone through the same level of discussion and is therefore mostly left to your meta. Some suggestions:
Ethersworn Canonist (vs. Storm / heavy control decks)
Abolish (vs. Countertop / Affinity)
Angel's Grace (vs. Tendrils / Hive Mind)
Oblivion Ring (vs. SnT / etc.)
Standard graveyard hates like Relic of Progenitus, Faerie Macabre, Tormod's Crypt, etc. (vs. Dredge / Reanimator / graveyard based decks even like Loam Aggro)
Sword of X and Y (Probably a 1-of for different color combination depending on your matchup.)

-----

Explanation of variations:

(Original) Soul Sisters - Uses Martyr of Sands for an explosive opening hand. Risks getting dead draws toward late game.

Ghostly Prison Control - Ghostly Prison is used for massive creature control. Unfortunately, Ghostly Prisons directly replace Proclamation of Rebirth's spot on the mana curve.

Martyrless Soul Sisters - Uses no Martyr of Sands for a more consistent game plan. Serra Ascendant is no longer a primary win con and the opening hand is no longer as explosive. No Martyrs in the deck leaves room for random utility cards and more Batterskull, Stoneforge Mystic, or other win cons.

You can always mix these variations around. You can run 2-3 Martyrs instead of 0 or 4, etc.



If I forgot something, please post them. :)

[ateu89]

Currently, we have established the Core of this deck, but we do not have any finalized decklist. Therefore, I'll post what I think is the currently established Core with some variation suggestions:
(...)


Very good Elleran. Nice compilation.

[TheMetalGuru]

Can anybody put an actual decklist??

This is what I'm currently running:

4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Mother of Runes
3 Serra Ascendant
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Ranger of Eos
2 Martyr of Sands

2 Elspeth, Knight Errant

1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull

2 Tithe
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Swords to Plowshares

18 Plains

SIDEBOARD
4 Honor the Fallen (VASTLY superior to all other gravehate in our deck)
3 Null Rod
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Angel's Grace (I HATE Hivemind)

Explanations:
-3 Serra Ascendant
-2 Martyr of Sands
I use a small number of each of these because I like playing them more as mid-late game bombs as opposed to early-game. Early on they tend to get countered/blown up right away. I usually grab them both with a Ranger fetch once I've had an opportunity to establish some board presence with Ghostly Prison and Stoneforge (Elspeth hanging out never hurt either). My life is generally where it needs to be to push me over the 30 mark with a Martyr drop, but if it isn't, hopefully I've managed a pretty beefy Pridemate by this point that's swinging with a sword for direct damage.

-1 Sword of Fire and Ice
I use this over the Jitte for protection/card advantage purposes (God knows we're pretty screwed on card advantage). Jitte has been consistently underwhelming for me, but I do keep it sideboarded (mostly to blow up opposing Jittes that are wreaking havoc on my Sisters).

hope this helps.
cheers.

[Tru3z3rox]

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122481&stc=1&d=1313035431

[jonny]

I like it!!!

I will change the titles for 1 plain 1 Oblivion and 4 Prision for 1 Oblivion 3 Proclamation, but I like how it´s going

[MD.Ghost]

my current build:

// Deck: Ascension (60)

// Lands
2 Flagstones of Trokair
17 Plains

// Creatures
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Angel's Grace
SB: 1 Heap Doll
SB: 1 Nova Cleric
SB: 3 Null Rod
SB: 3 Phyrexian Metamorph
SB: 1 Salvage Scout
SB: 3 Summoning Trap

I agree with Ellerans "The MixedCore" and wouldn't rely on the serra/martyr combo.

My new tech against Counter/Control Decks is Summoning Trap to support our Creaturebase. My opponents never expect such an answer, or try to play around the trap - a mindgame to slow down your opponent. My Sideboard heavily depends on creature solutions, so Summoning Trap is direct support. Board in 4-7 cards is ok for me. Angels Grace is my prefered solution against Combo/Hive Mind.

@Tru3z3rox: I like the new Spoilercard, maybe 1 as a ranger target.

[Elleran]

I also like the Spoilercard. Can't believe that it's fetchable with Ranger lol.

[Tru3z3rox]

I also like the Spoilercard. Can't believe that it's fetchable with Ranger lol.

Haha..yep...its perfect as a 1 of bomb. Too bad it doesn't give trample as well or something...haha. I think the more is spoiled the more I take out martyr.

Edit: Although it does seem a bit slow. I'd still love to see some 1CMC utility dudes.

By the way...I've seen honor of the fallen in some lists...I have to mention that this is completely subpar. It only hits creatures....

Does not hit:
Loam shenanigans
Academy Ruins shenanigans
Knight
Goyf
Etc.

[Elleran]

Come on guys.. Apparently I had forgotten Mother of Runes in the list above and no one pointed it out, lol.

Personally, I would prefer Faerie Macabre or Relic than Honor of the Fallen for many reasons:
Faerie Macabre is uncounterable by anything less than Stifle.
Faerie Macabre can be used for free at an instant speed.
Relic costs 1 to cast.
Relic cantrips.
They can both hit the items stated by Tru3z3rox.

[Tru3z3rox]

Come on guys.. Apparently I had forgotten Mother of Runes in the list above and no one pointed it out, lol.

Personally, I would prefer Faerie Macabre or Relic than Honor of the Fallen for many reasons:
Faerie Macabre is uncounterable by anything less than Stifle.
Faerie Macabre can be used for free at an instant speed.
Relic costs 1 to cast.
Relic cantrips.
They can both hit the items stated by Tru3z3rox.

I also like Macabre, because I hate losing to reanimation targets...

[ateu89]

Haha..yep...its perfect as a 1 of bomb. Too bad it doesn't give trample as well or something...haha. I think the more is spoiled the more I take out martyr.

Edit: Although it does seem a bit slow. I'd still love to see some 1CMC utility dudes.

By the way...I've seen honor of the fallen in some lists...I have to mention that this is completely subpar. It only hits creatures....

Does not hit:
Loam shenanigans
Academy Ruins shenanigans
Knight
Goyf
Etc.

I think it's slow too. Maybe dropping it with 3 counters and pump till suicide would be the way to play it.
Sure sometimes we will want him to just pump himself and fly above with Elspeth, sometimes we will want to keep it in play to slowly grow all our creatures, but both alternatives are slow.

[Tru3z3rox]

I think it's slow too. Maybe dropping it with 3 counters and pump till suicide would be the way to play it.
Sure sometimes we will want him to just pump himself and fly above with Elspeth, sometimes we will want to keep it in play to slowly grow all our creatures, but both alternatives are slow.

Yes agreed, although he is not a bad top deck later in the game. He almost seems like Joraga warcaller for white.

[Elleran]

I like his second tap ability. I feel like it'll make all our soldier tokens, sisters, ascendants, etc all powerful. The first ability should be used once the guy is at like 1/1 imo.

[ateu89]

Have anyone else read about the potential Modern format? This deck is actually pretty viable for that. (Replace Mother of Runes with Brave the Elements, and Tithe with Plains) In case anyone was interested.

I would use 3x Scrying Sheets and 17 Snow Plains. Benevolent Bodyguard is another option to substitute Mother of Runes, but I still belive they will make some Mother-alike creature or even reprint it.

[Tru3z3rox]

I like his second tap ability. I feel like it'll make all our soldier tokens, sisters, ascendants, etc all powerful. The first ability should be used once the guy is at like 1/1 imo.

Yes it does do that, but that is a very slow scenario...Lots of things can take care of him before that happens.

I think this is a good sign though since they will likely print more clerics.

[Qweerios]

A friend of mine is getting into MTG and asked me for a good cheap deck that he could build. I surfed the forums and stumbled upon this thread and, wow, is this deck cost/efficient. I am not very experienced with the deck myself but I did sleeve it up and gave my merfolk/zoo infested meta a run for their money.


Creatures (28)
1 Student of Warfare
4 Mother of Runes
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Ranger of Eos

Spells (11)
2 Tithe
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Artifacts (3)
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull

Lands (18)
18 Plains

Sideboard (15)
4 Grand Abolisher
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Serenity
1 Aura of Silence


I think the tutor sideboard offers a great toolbox when facing combo/control decks. As long as you can tutor something that has a major impact on the matchup or nets you additional cards, losing 1 card is completely acceptable.

[Tru3z3rox]

Not a bad call. I have another deck with a tutor sideboard and it works quite well generally. The only issue is that mental misstep ruins your plan.

[ateu89]

A friend of mine is getting into MTG and asked me for a good cheap deck that he could build. I surfed the forums and stumbled upon this thread and, wow, is this deck cost/efficient. I am not very experienced with the deck myself but I did sleeve it up and gave my merfolk/zoo infested meta a run for their money...

Im still a Martyr fan and I keep using it, but that would be my Martyrless build.

[Elleran]

Im still a Martyr fan and I keep using it, but that would be my Martyrless build.

Personally I run 2-3 Martyrs now. I usually draw only about 1, which makes it much more useful than drawing too many especially in the late game. Just because it's in the deck, I can fetch it with Ranger in late game for an epic life gain then play Serra Ascendant for the win. I never run 4 anymore because the "frequency of explosive first hand vs dead card later" trade-off is much much better when run 1~3 than 4.

[calvzroks]

My decklist for Modern format

25 creatures
4x soul attendant
4x soul warden
4x serra's ascendant
1x loyal sentry
2x student of warfare
3x martyr of sands
4x ajani pridemate
3x ranger of eos

17
4x path to exile
3x brave the elements
3x proclamation of rebirth
2x oblivion ring
2x elspeth
2x safewright quest
1x sword of light and shadow

18
2x flagstones
16x plains

15
4x angel's grace
3x ghostly prison
3x aven mindcensor
2x leonin relic warder
2x relic of progenitus
1x sword of war and peace

since there is no Mother of runes in this format, i've decided to use brave the elements but i was also thinking of emerge unscathe with the rebound ability.

replaced tithe with safewright quest, placed a one-of loyal sentry to be the ultimate blocker. Im not sure about the SoLaS since there is no stoneforge who acts as tutor.

for the sb i think aven mindcensor will help a lot, there are lots of players who uses boros landfall deck, green sun zenith, there are also birthing pod decks, etc.

the leonin relic warders are for chalice of the void since that card is a problem.

angel's grace for hivemind.

i was also thinking about the relic-warder metamorph combo but i dont know what to cut.

[Mikeleroi]

Don´t know if it has been already posted (didn´t find it), but there's an ascension deck that made 8th on a 21 people tournament 20 days ago.

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=6614&iddeck=47939

[Elleran]

Don´t know if it has been already posted (didn´t find it), but there's an ascension deck that made 8th on a 21 people tournament 20 days ago.

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=6614&iddeck=47939

Good stuff. The deck basically looks the same as one of the earlier Ascension builds. (the one without the Stoneforge package)

---

@calvzroks: I don't like the Safewright Quest in the list. In order to replace Tithe, we should try to mimic and even up one the effects of the said card. Therefore, I suggest Weathered Wayfarer. It's basically a Tithe, except it may be slightly more mana intensive, but it can trigger Sisters in mid-late game.

I like Loyal Sentry. I didn't even know such card existed, lol.

Also another suggestion for the Modern format: Since you have Relic-Warders in there anyway, why not put in Phyrexian Metamorph for infinite life? Seems viable since Force of Will no longer exists and Mental Misstep doesn't do anything to stop the combo.

[MD.Ghost]

Last Saturday i played my first Legacy Tournament with Ascension:

Finally i made 10th on a 20 people tournament in the local store.
----------

First Round against Goblins. Very experienced opponent and a hard time against the green horde. Finally i lost 1:2 before Timeout, but my opponent praised rouge deck.

Secound Round against Sneak & Show...Game 1 Sneak Attack with Emrakul gave me an empty board and before he played intuition into emrakul i cant find new lands... Game 2 i started with Nova Cleric and a couple of soul sisters, with 44 Life an active serra ascendant i faced emrakul & progentius and made a mistake... i feared an emrakul attack and made an careless attack, before let me sacrifice and drop below 30 life...but with a soul ascendant on the field and one soul warden in hand, i should have get back to 30 with an unblockable serra flyer....so he was on 2 life and i lost... 0:2

Third Round i played exciting games vs another Goblin Player. First Game he got me with lackey and Warren Instigator. the following Games i showed the potential ofAscension and won 2:1

Fourth Round i depressed my opponent who played burn and won 2:0

Last Round i played against Zoo and won 2:1 in an epic timeout round. 5 Soulsister and some Mothers are marvelous.

-------------------
Finally i went 3:2 and won a bunch of experience. Salvage Scout was an unexpected pleasure, against equipment hate.
Naturally my meta is full with NO Bant/Rug and UW Stoneforge, so my sideboard was prepared. But last weekend the tournament was flooded with aggro decks and i missed timely reinforcments :rolleyes: ... I think that the next tournament natural order & control is back and my board contains the correct answer.

I thought about emrakul and will try every trick in the book: -1 serra ascendant / +1 Goldmeadow Harrier maindeck.

[ateu89]

I thought about emrakul and will try every trick in the book: -1 serra ascendant / +1 Goldmeadow Harrier maindeck.

I was also thinking about Gideon's Lawkeeper / Goldmeadow Harrier.

I will test 1 MD and 1~2 SB.

[Elleran]

@MD.Ghost: Aww, that was an unfortunate round against the first Goblin player. I test out vs. Goblin often, and I get favorable results, but I've lost more rounds than I expected. I would never say Ascension autowins against Goblin anymore.

Tap Creature ability sounds useful. The only catch: it doesn't have haste. If you topdeck it vs. Emrakul, it won't help much...

[MD.Ghost]

I was also thinking about Gideon's Lawkeeper / Goldmeadow Harrier.

I will test 1 MD and 1~2 SB.

I suggest Goldmeadow Harrier over Lawkeeper to counter Engineered Plague against Humans.

Yes, with Ascension we produce a lot of life, but against most attacking creatures our blockers are 1/1... so a creature (besides mother) who keeps away gofy, knight, batterskulls, emrakul (if you are fast enough you can even tap a lavamancer)

Tutorable, fast and remove attacker and blocker and you can bring him back with proclamation. Serra Ascendant without Martyr Combo isnt my main threat.

@Elleran, with enough permanents a top deck is still ok, you need only him and one land to stop emrakul and rebuild your position.

-----
Against Goblins and Zoo i would play mother turn1, all my opponents fear the old mom. Usually you force your opponent to play removal first turn.

[Elleran]

Against Goblins and Zoo i would play mother turn1, all my opponents fear the old mom. Usually you force your opponent to play removal first turn.

Completely agreed. In addition, I would even be bold to say that playing Mother first turn against MOST decks is a good move.

[ateu89]

@MD.Ghost: Aww, that was an unfortunate round against the first Goblin player. I test out vs. Goblin often, and I get favorable results, but I've lost more rounds than I expected. I would never say Ascension autowins against Goblin anymore.

Tap Creature ability sounds useful. The only catch: it doesn't have haste. If you topdeck it vs. Emrakul, it won't help much...

Martyred Rusalka is a nice option against Emrakul. But I think tapping is better most of the time.

[Elleran]

I'm at college now and I'll finally be able actively play against good players.

Today, I played against a Merfolk player. Fortunately, BattlefieldMedic (the friend who helped me write this primer) plays Merfolk and was a prime playtest opponent. Therefore, the deck shone incredibly with every one of its card selections. Something I did not know before; Batterskull loves eating Merfolk.

[Elleran]

Found an awesome CA engine in the new set Innistrad:

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_ISD/xmtqbmA5zGweynHAtAN2MFwzBPnB6YRL.jpg

[ateu89]

Found an awesome CA engine in the new set Innistrad:

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_ISD/xmtqbmA5zGweynHAtAN2MFwzBPnB6YRL.jpg

Wow, exciting news.

Are we going to turn our decks in an Human deck? :tongue:

Edit:
I will give a try:
//31 Creatures
4x Soul's Attendant
4x Ajani Pridemate
3x Mother of Runes
3x Soul Warden
3x Serra's Ascendant
3x Martyr of Sands
3x Mentor of the Meek*
3x Stoneforge Mystic
2x Ranger of Eos
1x Goldmeadow Harrier
1x Rhys the Redeemed**

//11 Other Spells
3x Swords to Plowshares
3x Proclamation of Rebirth
2x Elspeth, Knight Errant
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Batterskull
1x Umezawa's Jitte

//19 Lands
2x Flagstones
17x Plains

//15 Sideboard
4x Angel's Grace
4x Phyrexian Revoker
3x Runed Halo
2x Oblivion Ring
1x Salvage Scout
1x Sword of Body and Mind

*Mentor of the Meek: Thinking more about this card, it DOESN'T say nontoken and it's not Legendary. It's VERY good, it's indeed the draw engine for our decks.
**Rhys the Redeemed: can't remember if someone already talked about this guy. I was already testing it and it's a nice tutorable Mobilization-alike card. Now with Mentor of the Meek it it's even better. 3W to 1/1 and buy card (and probably gain some life, pump some Cats), pretty nice.

I am trying out the deck without Tithe, 19 lands instead of 18 lands + 2 Tithe, manly because that I prefer playing +1 Creature.

[Tru3z3rox]

I like the card. I'm thinking as a 2-3 of at most though. The card draw seems a bit mana intensive, but could really boost us mid-late game.

He is also pretty amazing with our other draw engines. Ranger fetches 2 dudes + 2 draws. proc gets 3 dudes and 3 draws. SWOLS gets your dudes back for + 1 draw each time.

The other card I wanted to suggest was:
Fiend hunter

It is a swords and a dude in one. Discuss.

[ateu89]

I like the card. I'm thinking as a 2-3 of at most though. The card draw seems a bit mana intensive, but could really boost us mid-late game.

He is also pretty amazing with our other draw engines. Ranger fetches 2 dudes + 2 draws. proc gets 3 dudes and 3 draws. SWOLS gets your dudes back for + 1 draw each time.

The other card I wanted to suggest was:
Fiend hunter

It is a swords and a dude in one. Discuss.

Unfortunatly i don't think it's a swords and a dude in one.

The fact that when he leaves the battlefield the creature come back doesn't please me. We would depend on our mom's to keep it in play.

Sure it's a nice card, but probably not in this deck. I would probably always prefer Oblivion Ring instead of this guy.

[Elleran]

I like the card. I'm thinking as a 2-3 of at most though. The card draw seems a bit mana intensive, but could really boost us mid-late game.

He is also pretty amazing with our other draw engines. Ranger fetches 2 dudes + 2 draws. proc gets 3 dudes and 3 draws. SWOLS gets your dudes back for + 1 draw each time.

The other card I wanted to suggest was:
Fiend hunter

It is a swords and a dude in one. Discuss.

In my opinion, it's Journey to Nowhere on legs that cost 1 more for a 1/3 which isn't really impressive.

[ateu89]

In my opinion, it's Journey to Nowhere on legs that cost 1 more for a 1/3 which isn't really impressive.

That. And creatures are normally easier to destroy than enchantments.

Are you guys trying out MotM?

[Elleran]

That. And creatures are normally easier to destroy than enchantments.

Are you guys trying out MotM?

I'm planning on trying him. Haven't found enough time to delve into him yet, though. He looks really good on paper.

EDIT: Btw, I've updated the decklist on the first post (I provided the link to the decklist that have been more or less agreed to be better then the original).

[Tru3z3rox]

Yes it is true. He works better in a death and taxes shell than in SS.

I'll see if I can test the new mentor at some point this week or next week. Seems like he could be good, but only in the late game. At this point it would be martyrless sisters since we want to stay consistent with our wincons, control, and CA.

[Elleran]

Eh, I still run 2 or 3 Martyrs, but that's just me.

And Mentor can definitely be useful before late game. The turn after it is cast, Mentor can get us CA right away. Most of our creatures cost 1 anyway, so we'll have plenty of mana to spend on Mentor's cantrip ability.

[Tru3z3rox]

Eh, I still run 2 or 3 Martyrs, but that's just me.

And Mentor can definitely be useful before late game. The turn after it is cast, Mentor can get us CA right away. Most of our creatures cost 1 anyway, so we'll have plenty of mana to spend on Mentor's cantrip ability.

I consider turn 4 to be mid-late game. ;)

Also 2 martyrs doesn't seem very good. You'll never have her opening hand, so she will never be that explosive. It is either 3-4 or none at all in my opinion.

[Caleblost]

Don´t know if it has been already posted (didn´t find it), but there's an ascension deck that made 8th on a 21 people tournament 20 days ago.

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=6614&iddeck=47939

It's my deck :laugh:

from that tournament i modified my list in :


3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Grand Abolisher
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant



Instants [2]
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Brave the Elements

Sorceries [1]
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

Artifacts [3]
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of light and shadow

Lands [19]
19 Plains


1 Brave the Elements
2 Abolish
3 Serenity
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Relic of progenitus
2 Phyrexian revoker
2 Angel's grace

With this list i will do another tournament this sunday (about 40 people).

However i continue to read you and your opinion i think innistrad will give us some human lords :laugh:

[Elleran]

lol If we put any more humans in, might as well to change the name from Ascension to Apotheosis.

@Caleblast: How are those Brave the Elements working for you? And how are the 4 Martyrs working for you?

[ateu89]

I'm crossing fingers for a good W cost creature. I would like an artifact destroyer.

[Tru3z3rox]

I'm crossing fingers for a good W cost creature. I would like an artifact destroyer.

Would be nice, but extremely unlikely. This is not an artifact heavy block, so we're more likely to get a W dude that deals with demons or vampires in some way.

On another note...anyone been testing mentor? I tried testing a few games against mono block, but I never got a chance to use him.

[Elleran]

I've managed to test him a few times (not very well..), and I've come to this conclusion; Mentor of the Meek competes in the 75 with Ranger of Eos.

[Caleblost]

lol If we put any more humans in, might as well to change the name from Ascension to Apotheosis.

@Caleblast: How are those Brave the Elements working for you? And how are the 4 Martyrs working for you?

last tournament i've done 3 win 1 draw 2 loss (42 players)

No rug : won (i had 3 adjani pridemate 10/10 9/9 8/8 and i won with difficulty only with the 4th mother of rune he had his little progenitus can't attack me) i gave protection from blue and i won.

2nd match Rock lost i lost because i had no protection for my crature

3rd match dragon stompy won

4th match rubin zoo lost (cause punishing fire + Grove of the Burnwillows) inb this case protection was necessary to win i had a adjani pridemate 36/36 and he had more creature of me indistructible by elspeth) if i had brave of element i had the win card. mothers died when they appears.

5th match jace landeed WON

6th match merfolk draw by time but i can won.

the other tournaments were very similar so i will try 2x of brave of the element.

[Caleblost]

after 30 games in tournament i decided :

- 4 ranger of eos (they have been really useless )

i keep martyrs of sands because they are an autowin with dredge cause theyr ability to be sacrificied. And they are important to reach 30 points (Serra Ascendant become 6/6 flying)

other slots are in test i tried some of your suggestion like elspeth (good if you meet aggro useless with other kinds of deck but against aggro i can won without elspeth)

[Elleran]

after 30 games in tournament i decided :

- 4 ranger of eos (they have been really useless )

i keep martyrs of sands because they are an autowin with dredge cause theyr ability to be sacrificied. And they are important to reach 30 points (Serra Ascendant become 6/6 flying)

other slots are in test i tried some of your suggestion like elspeth (good if you meet aggro useless with other kinds of deck but against aggro i can won without elspeth)

Oh wow, I didn't even notice that there was no Ranger of Eos in your 75... Can you elaborate on that more? Whenever I played games in which I had Ranger in my hand, usually it attracts Thoughtseize and FoW against it. In my experience, it had been an extremely powerful late game card. I want to know the reasoning behind taking them out.

[ateu89]

after 30 games in tournament i decided :

- 4 ranger of eos (they have been really useless )

i keep martyrs of sands because they are an autowin with dredge cause theyr ability to be sacrificied. And they are important to reach 30 points (Serra Ascendant become 6/6 flying)

other slots are in test i tried some of your suggestion like elspeth (good if you meet aggro useless with other kinds of deck but against aggro i can won without elspeth)

Can't see myself playing with less than 2 Rangers. Why you find them useless? Can't understand.

[Blynx]

Rangers are staple, they help you get out for Serras. rofl.

[MD.Ghost]

[ISD]Spoiler looks god so far :

Champion of the Parish / :w:
Creature - Human Soldier

Whenever another Human enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Champion of the Parish.

"I stand for every cobbler, tanner, and fool in this town--and they stand for me."
Illus. Svetlin Velinov #6/264 1/1

Can we use him? I mean Ascension is full of Human Creatures, but our Slots are rare to bring in a new playset of a Beatstick. He is only good if you can bring him fast enough. On the other side, he works similar to Ajani Pridemate.

@Mentor of the Meek: In my mind, Ranger of Eos is better, because you can Tutor 1 ofs and immediately get your best two guys.

@Mikaeus, the Lunarch: He can be a 1 of, tutor target. Maybe he replaces my Student of Warfare. Mikaeus can work as a Beater (similar to Student), and with enough Mana he enters the board out of Bolt/Lavamancer Range. The outstanding feature is, that he can be a lord for all the soulsisters. Often i have a board full of 1/1 clerics, unable to attack and block for my advantage (unless i have proclamation :wink:)

[Elleran]

[ISD]Spoiler looks god so far :

Champion of the Parish / :w:
Creature - Human Soldier

Whenever another Human enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Champion of the Parish.

"I stand for every cobbler, tanner, and fool in this town--and they stand for me."
Illus. Svetlin Velinov #6/264 1/1

Can we use him? I mean Ascension is full of Human Creatures, but our Slots are rare to bring in a new playset of a Beatstick. He is only good if you can bring him fast enough. On the other side, he works similar to Ajani Pridemate.

@Mentor of the Meek: In my mind, Ranger of Eos is better, because you can Tutor 1 ofs and immediately get your best two guys.

@Mikaeus, the Lunarch: He can be a 1 of, tutor target. Maybe he replaces my Student of Warfare. Mikaeus can work as a Beater (similar to Student), and with enough Mana he enters the board out of Bolt/Lavamancer Range. The outstanding feature is, that he can be a lord for all the soulsisters. Often i have a board full of 1/1 clerics, unable to attack and block for my advantage (unless i have proclamation :wink:)

Champion of the Parish looks like a 5-8 of Ajani essentially, except definitely slower. While Ajani can go up insanely quickly, Champion will probably only go up about one +1/+1 per turn. Good find. Definitely a card to think about.

But Mentor of the Meek can and probably will net more than 2 cards... And it costs 1 less to cast.

[Elleran]

Double Post

[ateu89]

I'm testing 3 MotM and so far they are doing very well.

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=123709&d=1315368030

Well, about this guy, I think he is very good, but he doesn't have all that synergy with our decks. Maybe we will see a Tribal Human in legacy, with Ranger of Eos, MoM, Mikaeus, but probably not Serra Ascendant, Pridemate and Soul's Sisters.

[Tru3z3rox]

I think we have to be careful with MotM because it does basically replace ranger. I think that we cannot possible have both in the deck. Also MotM needs to be run as a 4 of for good CA since he triggers himself.

MotM:
Positives:
1) 1 mana cheaper so that you can do more the following turn.
2) Improves our mana curve by adding a 3 drop.
3) Multiples trigger multiple times on each dude (can create a chain of draws which functions similarly to glimpse of nature in combo elves)
4) Triggers itself so drawing it isn't so bad (playing too many rangers can eat up the entire turn if all you have is 4 mana)
5) Functions AMAZINGLY with proclamation and sword of light and shadow

Negatives:
1) The draw is mana intensive
2) Does not provide an immediate benefit if he gets plowed as ranger does
3) Not a good chump blocker like ranger is
4) Not a strong beater
5) Is dependent on other cards to provide CA

There are good arguments for both sides, but it seems like that MotM is at least worth testing over ranger. If not simply for the fact that he is AMAZING with proc and makes late game martyrs into cantrips.

[Elleran]

Today, I tried a Modern version of this deck and decided that it sucked. No Stoneforge and Mother of Runes equal less threats. I think it's good if this deck sticks with Legacy instead.

[Tru3z3rox]

Stoneforge is banned in modern?!

Anyway...I'll be testing the Rangerless build that runs 3-4 MotM. I'm hoping that it will be quite good. I can foresee it being strictly worse against decks like landstill and zoo.

[ateu89]

Stoneforge is banned in modern?!

Anyway...I'll be testing the Rangerless build that runs 3-4 MotM. I'm hoping that it will be quite good. I can foresee it being strictly worse against decks like landstill and zoo.

I'm currently testing 3 MotM and 2 Ranger of Eos.
I'm loving searching for Rhys the Redeemed and drawing like crazy.

And - I'm surprised too - yes, Stoneforge is banned: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrmodern

[Tru3z3rox]

I'm currently testing 3 MotM and 2 Ranger of Eos.
I'm loving searching for Rhys the Redeemed and drawing like crazy.

And - I'm surprised too - yes, Stoneforge is banned: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrmodern

Rhys is OK, because he just prolongs the game. We already don't have a problem prolonging the game and robbing tempo. Our issue is always ending the game asap. How aggressive is he exactly?

3 and 2 split? That seems rough. What is your clock like?? Do you ever prefer one over the other?

[mdc1010]

This is my friend's favorite archetype in all of magic and I have been working with him on brewing up something spicy that fits the deck theme. Together we came up with a G/W Legacy brew that is quite good, and easily portable to Modern.

G/W Soul Sister Tokens

//Lands
4 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath
5 Plains
3 Forest
2 Stirring Wildwood

//Soul Sisters
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Essence Warden
4 Serra Ascendant

//Beaters & Tokens
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Ranger of Eos
1 Rhys the Redeemed
4 Spectral Procession (MVP)

//Trample and life
2 Behemoth Sledge

// Pump and life
3 Ajani Goldmane (MVP #2)

//Removal & Answers
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Oblivion Ring

SB: 4 Scavenging Ooze
SB: 4 Qasali Pridemage
SB: 2 Gaddock Teeg
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 1 Ranger of Eos

Here are the notes we have on this deck and why we splashed green. First we absolutely love having access to 3 more soul sisters in Essene Warden. It makes the deck hum along much more consistently. The deck plays out similar to the G/W token decks in Standard almost 2 years ago. However it's more consistent and has excellent beaters to compliment the Processions/Rhys with.

We tested the mono white version very extensively and had several issues with different versions of it. First we come to a love hate relationship with the Matyr. If it was in your opening hand, then great. At any other time it was just so freaking bad. The deck had no reach in the mid to late game despite what is being said. If you got your first few turns disrupted or creatures removed you had little redundancy in your game plan and it was very had to reset yourself help and get your beaters back online.

This is where the extra sister, Spectral procession, Rhys, the sledge, goldmane, and more come into play. If you have just 2 sisters in play and cast a procession you are gaining 6 life, and 6 triggers for your pridemate. It's ridiculousness! The nobel's are there to help the mana curve and provide more value for the deck.

If you notice this deck already has a heavy human tribal element so the new INN spoiler may even find it's way in the deck as an additional early drop beater. The deck still could use a little tweaking, however in our testing circle we feel it's a very strong version and take on soul sisters that is competitive. Try it out and give us some feedback.

[Tru3z3rox]

Well we have discussed green here before, but I think that if we splashed green then we would not need any more sisters. Too many of those and that is all you will top deck later in the game. Aside from essence and hierarch there is nothing that you run that cannot be in mono white. Immunity from wastelands is a bigger + than 3 more wardens.

If I were to splash green I'd imagine it'd be better to run other creatures:
Quasali Pridemage (WAYYYY better than O-ring in this build)
Gaddock Teeg (if you're not running Elspeth)
Goyf (yes he is a good beater)

I think that you're version is a bit more inconsistent than the mono white stoneforge version. No offense, but there is really need for an extra sister. 8 is quite enough, but I do know what you mean about the martyr. I'm still debating on her.

EDIT:
Personally if I had to splash a color then it'd be for BLACK.

Vindicate
Thoughtseize
Hymn
Bitterblossom
Go for the Throat
Cabal Therapy (good with proclamation)
Dark Confidant

If the dual lands and bob weren't so expensive then I'd legitimately give it a try, but all those cards together are too much.

[ateu89]

Rhys is OK, because he just prolongs the game. We already don't have a problem prolonging the game and robbing tempo. Our issue is always ending the game asap. How aggressive is he exactly?

3 and 2 split? That seems rough. What is your clock like?? Do you ever prefer one over the other?

Well, IMHO I think this deck is about prolonging the game until you can beat your opponent. And Rhys is a draw engine with MotM in play, that makes the deck a lot faster.

Never prefered one over the other, I think it's a good combination. The decklist seems ugly with a lot of 3 ofs, but it works for me this way. With 3 Proclamations, 3 MotM and 2 Rangers I really don't need a lot of 4 of's.

[Tru3z3rox]

Yes, but you can prolong the game all you want, but without good win condition the sisters are just overpowered. Which is why you must have a balance. I'm not too sure about running both rangers AND Motm as it could get clunky.

I've been testing it against the like of affinity and goblins and I think that I almost always prefer ranger. Motm just doesn't work as well as it does on paper. I would have loved it to work, but it just doesn't. There must be something to be said about getting two of the exact cards that you want into your hand upon resolution.

[Elleran]

Has anyone tested out Champion of the Parish yet?

[Tru3z3rox]

Has anyone tested out Champion of the Parish yet?

I'm not going to even bother. Every other 1 drop in our deck is way better.

[ateu89]

I'm not going to even bother. Every other 1 drop in our deck is way better.
Agreed.

Some other interesting cards from Innistrad:

Budget creature "removal" and pump to our creatures, not so good, but nice card:
Bonds of Faith 1W
Enchantment - Aura Common
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 as long as it's a Human. Otherwise, it can't attack or block.
Illus. Steve Argyle #5/264

Nice sideboard:
Nevermore 1WW
Enchantment Rare
As Nevermore enters the battlefield, name a nonland card.
The named card can't be cast.
"By the law of Avacyn, the following thoughts, words, and deeds are henceforth disallowed."

[Elleran]

I would prefer Journey to Nowhere than Bonds of Faith. Nevermore looks interesting... I would compare it to Grand Abolisher or Phyrexian Revoker.

[Tru3z3rox]

Anyone else test MotM and have the same results?

[MD.Ghost]

Ok folks, today i played the Grand Prix Trial Amsterdam in my local store (Berlin, Germany)

I love the underdog-bonus and led Ascension into the field.

// Deck: Ascension (60)

// Lands
2 Flagstones of Trokair
17 Plains

// Creatures
4 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
3 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Angel's Grace
SB: 2 Enlightened Tutor
SB: 1 Goldmeadow Harrier
SB: 1 Heap Doll
SB: 1 Null Rod
SB: 1 Oblivion Ring
SB: 2 Phyrexian Metamorph
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Salvage Scout
SB: 1 Sword of Body and Mind
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt

-----

Round 1 vs Goblins
Game 1 i knew him from the last tournament (lost 1:2) and sought for revenge. A fast Jitte and a big Pridemate let me win the first match with a smile.
Game 2 he cast pyrokinesis against soul warden and pridemate and i draw/drop 6 lands and died without resistance...
Game 3 i cast enlightened and countered his vial with an oblivion ring, and after his all in attack a single 7/7 pridemate hold the line followed by a game changing Proclamation of Rebirth.

win = 2:1

Round 2 vs UW Stoneblade
Game 1 he realised that i play a "Pet-Deck" and i overrun him quickly with enough creatures and mother/pridemate setup.
Game 2 he was surprised to see a stoneforge package. I used batterskull and jitte to overcome his board with hawks, jace and equiped (sword of feast and famine) clique. Enough creatures and sword of body and mind win the long war with 3 Proclamtions :wink: till timeout.

win = 2:0

Round 3 vs NO RUG
Game 1 i cant build up enough board presence and lost against scavenging ooze with punishing fire combo backup...
Game 2 we played a long war, my equiped with sword of body and mind equiped batterskull fought against clique with active jitte. I lost my concentration and forgot my jitte on the bottom of the library (my first stoneforge with jitte was countered from his first clique). So we played until he recieved 6 counters on his jitte to kill my 6/6 batterskull. Some minutes before timeout he was at 1 ! life and controlled the board (active jitte and 2 punishing fires+lands...). During the game i cast all my stoneblades and searched every equip exect jitte... So i gave away the final draw.

Lost = 0:2

Round 4 vs Hivemind
Game 1 he cast turn 3 show & tell into hivemind + pact...
Game 2 he underrated my deck and after a mulligan my hand was filled with an game winning angels grace (he lost against his own pact upkeep)
Game 3 Mulligan till 4 cards.. (with hands only full with 6! plains) No Angels Grace and after turn 3 he show & telled into hivemind combo....grrr

Lost = 1:2

Round 5 vs Merfolk
Game 1 i win easly with mother, soul warden, pridemate, stoneforge into batterskull.
Game 2 i cant counter his vials and he stole me one mother. Again batterskull, pridemate and sword of body and mind won me the match.

Win = 2:0

Round 6 vs WhiteStaxx
Game 1 he played Chalice (1) and Smokestack. I have enough lands and bring Elspeth on the board. After Armageddon i lost my board to smokestack but draw 3 lands and sealed the game with proclamation in hand (you can cast 1 drops against chalice :wink: )
Game 2 i get enough creatures on the board and a stoneforge into batterskull made him scoop.

Win = 2:0

I ended 4:2 with 12 Points and miss top 8 because of rating. So Ascension finally got the 9th place. (33 Player)

[Elleran]

Very well done, and congratulations on your 9th place! So close to 8th, but regardless very well done.

In the last game, I loved reading the Proclamation's use against Chalice at 1. The opponent becomes very confused when I begin casting 1 cmc creatures right into his Chalice... Only to become very surprised when a Proclamation brings back Martyr, Serra Ascendant, and Mother or something like that. Hehe.

Nice job with Angel's Grace vs. Hive Mind. I haven't met a Hive Mind deck yet, but it's always good to see cards work.

The Punishing Fire/Grove combo always worries me. I haven't seen a deck use it against me yet, but the concept is scary: it can take out ANY creature from our deck, even Ajani's Pridemate while its +1/+1 triggers are on the stack. Sounds like a difficult game.

Also, what's a "Pet-Deck"?

[Namida]

Also, what's a "Pet-Deck"?

A deck that isn't "established." Basically the opponent assumed that the player who wrote this report was a bad/budget player because he wasn't playing a more popular netdeck. That also explains why he was so surprised to see the Stoneforge package, because he didn't expect to see good cards in this deck that he assumed was bad.

[r0ckstAr]

I was about to suggest wastelands to deal with Grove but hey, they don't even need it since this deck gains HP all the time.
What you can do is :
A - play the new innistrad meddling mage enchantment (it's also useful against a lot of other stuff)
B - side in grave hate from the board

Otherwise this deck seems really cool (and has put up some interesting results in my testing). The SFM package is a great addition, it gives more threats to the deck, because the ascendants and the pridemate don't seem to be enough...

[Tru3z3rox]

Split top 3 today in a tough meta. :D

My match ups:

Aggro Loam (2-0)
Order Show (0-2)
Four Horsemen (2-0)
Dredge (2-0)
Junk (1-1)

Top 8:
TES (2-1)

Split top 3 with Hivemind and U/W Landstill

[Elleran]

Split top 3 today in a tough meta. :D

My match ups:

Aggro Loam (2-0)
Order Show (0-2)
Four Horsemen (2-0)
Dredge (2-0)
Junk (1-1)

Top 8:
TES (2-1)

Split top 3 with Hivemind and U/W Landstill

Incredible. Wins against Four Horsemen and TES? 2-0 against Aggro Loam? Wow. Great job. I'm still waiting for some Legacy tournament to happen around here so that I can attend.

How did those three rounds that I mentioned go? Can you elaborate please? In fact, it'd be helpful if you could explain all of them. :)

[Tru3z3rox]

Many thanks to the 24 who show up to sling some cards

The results are below
(Decklists will be up either Monday Afternoon if I come in on my one day off
or Tuesday Afternoon if I don't)

don't forget, next up in three (3) weeks is 2x each dual on 10/9/11


Location: Knight Ware Inc. Studio City, CA.
Store Credit Legacy
Date: 09/18/2011
Players:24

payout $240 in store credit

1st/2nd Weston [Hive Mind]
1st/2nd Todd Idashkin [Soul Sisters]
3rd John Harduvel [U/W Landstill]
4th Shai Shaham [Junk]
5th Mark Shorter [NO Show]
6th Tony Deveyra [ANT]
7th Daniel Batterman Eureka]
8th Ryan Bogner [Esper Mystic]
9th BUG Control
10th Dredge
11th B/G Infect
12th Aggro Loam
13th Dredge
14th Charbelcher
15th Burn
16th Aggro Loam
17th U/G Infect
18th 4 Horsemen
19th White America
20th Cephalid Breakfast
21st Mono Red
22nd Planeswalkers
23th ANT
24th U/W Standstill


Round 1: Aggro Loam

Game 1 I started with ascendent and followed up with martyr for a quick kill

Game 2 it was a similar situation, but with pridemate. It was a slower game. He had the loam engine going, but didn't really draw into any threats other than crusher (who got plowed).

Round 2: Order/Show
Game 1 I got stomped quickly by emrakul turn 2-3.
Game 2 was basically the same...nothing much to report.

Round 3: Four Horsemen
Game 1 I got an aggressive start and he didn't put his combo together in time.
Game 2 I was disrupted a bit, but managed to land a wheel of sun and moon to seal the game completely with oring as back up for emrakul.

Round 4: Dredge
Game 1 I started with 1 land, a martyr, an ascendent, and XXX. I didn't draw another land the rest of the game, but won swinging over his zombies with the ascendent.
Game 2 he actually won, because of an early elesh norn. Brutal
Game 3 I start with hate, but he keeps a hand to hate on my hate. Luckily it was an iffy hand and I beat down quickly with double pridemates.

Round 5: ID

Round 1 Top 8: TES

These games were full of mistakes, so I don't know if they should be taken at face value. Anyway game 1 I legitimately won when he tendrils, but forgot I had martyr on the board. I survived then beat face with pridemate.

Game 2 He emptied for 34 goblins. I could have dealt with it though but then he grapeshot my jitte equiped blocker as well as having a defense grid that didnt let me use angel's grace.

Game 3 was longer. I had 3 dudes out (1 ascendent, 1 mom, and 1 sister). I was at 23 and eventually he goes off at 13. Brings himself down to 3 and then empties for 16 tokens. I gain 16 life putting me above 30 and beat him with the flying ascendent.

Nightmare MUs:
Hivemind
SNT Emrakul
Hightide
Infect

[MD.Ghost]

Congratulations Tru3z3rox! Nice report, we can compare our decklists, especially because you successfully use marty-combo.

I agree with your worst matchups, combo especially show&tell are very hard. With Goldmeadow Harrier and Oblivion Ring i added some hate against emrakul. If you can draw a hand with Angels Grace you can beat Hivemind, but this works only once against a good opponent. I wait for the Ban-List Update, if they ban Mental Misstep and/or Show&Tell it will be in our favour and we can concentrate on other matchups. Without Mental M. (especially in my control meta...) i would switch back to martyr.

Against High Tide we need Canonist with Mother Protection.
Infect is usually a complete anti game plan, but serra brother is a star if you can jump over 30 life. Use Swords angainst flying creatures(lands..) and block every attacker, normally we have more creatures so a long game is in our favour. Or use Wing Shards as a sideboard options (works also against emrakul & progenitus)

[Tru3z3rox]

Heh..actually the report is a bit half assed. My deck list is the same as it was a few pages back, but the sideboard is always in transition.

Does the goldmeadow harrier actually help you? Seems like you'd have to run it as a 4 of to see it since getting it off of ranger is just too slow. I'd rather run extra orings in the board to hit other things as well. I think that I will drop angels grace from the board because it is just too narrow and only beats half of their gameplan. It works against other decks such as cephalid breakfast (sometimes), but it is just not that amazing.

[MD.Ghost]

@Goldmeadow: I havent played against Emrakul since i test him. But every opponent removed this little creature very fast. If i can stick him on the board, he quickly shuts down the game plan of your opponent. Most Controlbuilds needs only a few strong critters, especially with equipment - i tapped enough to win games, or to draw a counter/removal from opponents hand.
I play 1 main, because i can ranger-tutor and he isnt a "must have" every game. One more waits in my sideboard, without marty combo i often need only one tutorable serra (most opponents can keep you under the 30 life border), so i tried to control the board against most creature based decks.

@Combo, if the combo-meta changed i would try canonist as our combohate (especially with my best sideboard friend Salvage Scout).

@INNISTRAD: I think Mikaeus, the Lunarch is my new Student of Warfare. Mikaues enters the board as a huge creature if needed (you can easly get him out of bold, jitte, mancer, punishing fire range) and lategame you have a way to change your weak soulsisters to an heavy army. Sure if you can level up your knight, he is a much stronger equipment carrier. But in my experience this deck needs mikaues skills more.

[Tru3z3rox]

I don't think I agree about Mikaeus. He doesn't do enough fast enough and is an extremely bad investment against a heavy control deck. It doesn't help against sweepers at all. It seems a little win more as you're dragging out the game a lot more. I think I'd almost just rather play ajani goldmane...

[Elleran]

I don't think I agree about Mikaeus. He doesn't do enough fast enough and is an extremely bad investment against a heavy control deck. It doesn't help against sweepers at all. It seems a little win more as you're dragging out the game a lot more. I think I'd almost just rather play ajani goldmane...

The problem with Goldmane is that it doesn't affect the battlefield at all especially if you're losing. The best card to draw when losing is Proclamation of Rebirth, imo. Or even Timely Reinforcement.

[Elleran]

Finally, an effective mono-white artifact hate:

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_ISD/StonySilence.jpg

[Tru3z3rox]

The problem with Goldmane is that it doesn't affect the battlefield at all especially if you're losing. The best card to draw when losing is Proclamation of Rebirth, imo. Or even Timely Reinforcement.

Yes I know, but I was comparing it to Mikaeus and how bad both of them were. They're basically the same and win more. I'd rather run Rhys (also win more, but way better).

[Elleran]

Stony Silence completely shuts down Affinity, btw. It's probably just as deadly as Serenity but a turn faster.

[Tru3z3rox]

Stony Silence completely shuts down Affinity, btw. It's probably just as deadly as Serenity but a turn faster.

Agreed and also hits storm hard. It is good to board in against MUD too.

[Elleran]

Agreed and also hits storm hard. It is good to board in against MUD too.

Tell me if I'm crazy, but I'd take Stony Silence than Revoker in my SB. Stony Silence covers the tricky artifact effects that StP can't handle. Stony Silence also blocks equipping artifacts and deals with Affinity, Meandeck MUD, and Storm. Any thoughts?

Actually, I just thought of Jace for Revoker..

Anyway, thoughts?

EDIT: Revoker also deals with manlands.

EDIT 2: Revoker DOES NOT deal with manlands.

[Tru3z3rox]

Also remember that Stony shuts off our jitte and SOLS.

Doesn't revoker stipulate non lands?

[Elleran]

Doesn't revoker stipulate non lands?

My bad.

[Elleran]

Another card from Innistrad. This might be a great graveyard hate card. 1 cmc and an instant with flashback, which means that it is basically uncoutnerable (gets countered, lands int he graveyard, play it again on top of the stack for 1).

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_ISD/PurifytheGrave.jpg

[MD.Ghost]

Another card from Innistrad. This might be a great graveyard hate card. 1 cmc and an instant with flashback, which means that it is basically uncoutnerable (gets countered, lands int he graveyard, play it again on top of the stack for 1).

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_ISD/PurifytheGrave.jpg

without mental misstep it is a great removal, i like it a lot. Ban of mental is meta shifting and
Ascension is a winning deck, marty combo (now i will try it) is much easier to cast. We profit from more aggro decks (timely reinforcements!) and must prepare for upcoming combo matchups.

With new white graveyard and artefact hate innistrad, ascension with marty moves one step forward.

[Tru3z3rox]

How is this card any good?

[Elleran]

How is this card any good?

It's a good SB card vs decks that specifically have Reanimate type strategy.

Why it's better than Relic:
-Purify the Grave is less mana costly.
-it can get rid of two different cards twice at different times (where as Relic nukes then disappears).
-can be used even after it gets countered.
-it can be cast twice, which is CA (Relic cantrips, but that cantrip card probably isn't going to be another graveyard hate).
-it's white, so Martyr synergies with it.
-it doesn't need to be on the field at the time, which makes the opponent unsure whether you have it in hand or not (psychological effect).

[MD.Ghost]

How is this card any good?

+white Spell for marty-combo (most anti graveyard cards are artefacts or black)
+cost only one mana against most reanimate/dredge decks you need fast answers
+flashback for only one white, remove two or play around counters (thanks mental is gone)
+exiles any cardtyp

-you get only one-two cards, not so good against dredge
-easier counterable compared to faery macabre, tormods and leyline

Yeah it isnt the best, but its good enough for some tests.

[Tru3z3rox]

Yes so in other words its basically only good against reanimator in which case I think that macabre and surgical are strictly better. It is cool that it synergizes, but at that point you've shut them down and dont really need to gain an extra 3 life. I'm looking at effectiveness here and not cute tricks. It doesn't hit other combo like surgical does either. Imagine pulling all of the opponents dark rits or other such goodies.

[Elleran]

Yes so in other words its basically only good against reanimator in which case I think that macabre and surgical are strictly better. It is cool that it synergizes, but at that point you've shut them down and dont really need to gain an extra 3 life. I'm looking at effectiveness here and not cute tricks. It doesn't hit other combo like surgical does either. Imagine pulling all of the opponents dark rits or other such goodies.

I completely agree with Surgical, but only partially with Macabre. Macabre can't be countered (except Stifle), is free, and is also instant speed. But like I said, it can't be used twice at two different occasions. I wouldn't say Macabre is strictly better.

EDIT: Ooops, didn't see MD.Ghost's post. Yeah, what you said. I'm not saying Purify the Grave isn't the best said either. Just saying that it's worth mentioning and testing.

[Oibade]

I've been playtesting this deck for a few weeks when... MM got banned! And I have not played any tournaments yet.

So now, post-MM metagame. What do you expect to face and what do you expect to be the hardest match ups?

As I have read in the past pages, Merfolk looks like a favorable match-up and that is fine.

I'm also sure Storm combo will return in great numbers.
First of all, is it a good idea to dedicate sideboard slots against Storm Combo?
What could you sideboard in? Are Silence and Aethersworn Canonist worth anything?

As I have considered maindecking Canonist, I have to say that it slows down our deck a lot, by reducing the number of 1 drops we could play turn after turn. It improves our matchup against Storm, though.

Also, the possible return of Countertop could be a significant issue with the presence of 20+ 1 drops in the maindeck. Is it the time to consider maindeck Aether Vial?

Thank you for your answers.

[Tru3z3rox]

I've been playtesting this deck for a few weeks when... MM got banned! And I have not played any tournaments yet.

So now, post-MM metagame. What do you expect to face and what do you expect to be the hardest match ups?

As I have read in the past pages, Merfolk looks like a favorable match-up and that is fine.

I'm also sure Storm combo will return in great numbers.
First of all, is it a good idea to dedicate sideboard slots against Storm Combo?
What could you sideboard in? Are Silence and Aethersworn Canonist worth anything?

As I have considered maindecking Canonist, I have to say that it slows down our deck a lot, by reducing the number of 1 drops we could play turn after turn. It improves our matchup against Storm, though.

Also, the possible return of Countertop could be a significant issue with the presence of 20+ 1 drops in the maindeck. Is it the time to consider maindeck Aether Vial?

Thank you for your answers.

It is true that countertop can be quite an annoying mu, but it just means that we must rely on oblivion ring and proclamation that much more. A resolved proc is usually gg or if you can get to 6 mana then that is a free dude per turn against them (forecast).

[Elleran]

I've been playtesting this deck for a few weeks when... MM got banned! And I have not played any tournaments yet.

So now, post-MM metagame. What do you expect to face and what do you expect to be the hardest match ups?

As I have read in the past pages, Merfolk looks like a favorable match-up and that is fine.

I'm also sure Storm combo will return in great numbers.
First of all, is it a good idea to dedicate sideboard slots against Storm Combo?
What could you sideboard in? Are Silence and Aethersworn Canonist worth anything?

As I have considered maindecking Canonist, I have to say that it slows down our deck a lot, by reducing the number of 1 drops we could play turn after turn. It improves our matchup against Storm, though.

Also, the possible return of Countertop could be a significant issue with the presence of 20+ 1 drops in the maindeck. Is it the time to consider maindeck Aether Vial?

Thank you for your answers.

Regarding the Aether Vial, I believe not maindecking Vial is still fine. Speaking of vials though, I have an idea that might be worth testing. By putting in both Mentor of the Meek as well as Ranger of Eos, Vial may become more useful as our mana curve becomes more Vial-friendly. Thoughts?

I don't think (and I never did) maindecking Canonist is a good idea. Slows down the deck's tempo wayyy too much. Against non-Storm decks (which are the majority of decks unless your area has a very odd meta), Canonists are more harmful to our own tempo than to the opponent's. SB-ing Canonists is probably the best if you're going to put her in the 75. Otherwise, Angel's Grace is always great against any deck with a combo win con. The new Stony Silence can also prevent Storm from going off without dealing with it first.

[Tru3z3rox]

Putting in vial is nice and all, but what does it really solve? List the pros and cons. I can foresee many more cons than pros in our deck.

Pros:
1) Allows us to play things for free and in conjunction with mentor could prove to be a good CA engine.
2) Allows us to dodge chalice and counterbalance
3) Helps prevent us from mana screw

Cons:
1) Awful topdeck
2) Doesn't trigger ANYTHING
3) Playing it removes threats from our deck
4) Unnecessary since we play mostly 1-2 drops
5) Doesn't help martyr at all
6) Does not provide any CA of any sort


I think mentor AND ranger is just too much of a ca engine. We'd have fewer threats.

Agreed on the md canonist. Just not worth it, although better if you run vial as well.

[MD.Ghost]

My thoughts about the primer post misstep:

// Deck: Ascension (60)

// Lands

2 Flagstones of Trokair
16 Plains

18 Lands (+2 Tithe!) are enough for our low manacurve. If you play with Elspeth i would suggest 19 Lands. Flagstones isnt a must have, but it is nice versus pox or white staxx.
I wouldnt include more special lands, because this decks want to avoid opponent wastelands.

// Creatures

4 Serra Ascendant
4 Martyr of Sands
Our primary win condition, with misstep this combo was a risk, but after the ban i think it is a must have again.

4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
For permanent lifegain we prefer the "soulsister" package, it works well with opponent creatures (and the comeback of aggro decks like goblins) and together with pridemate you have a creature that easily overwhelms any tarmo. If you didnt need a "flex slot" you can play 8 soulsisters.

4 Mother of Runes
Protection! Against most decks you want 4 in the board, protect your wincondition, blocks big creatures or creates an unblockable pridemate to smash your opponent.

3 Ranger of Eos
The tutor and card advantage machine. I feel that 3 is the right number. I think he performs better compared to the new mentor of the meek, because you get your prefered two dudes and with 3/2 he has a good body

3 Stoneforge Mystic
Mr.Equipment, this guy comes with nice toys and can win games alone with his back full of annoying artefacts.

1 Flex Slot
I love a tutorable creature, that can win games alone and provides a backup if the game goes wrong. Most of the time i played with one Student of Warfare. But you can also go with Figure of Destiny or the new mikaeus from innistrad (i think i prefer this new cleric, because he is immun vs most removal stuff like, lavamancer, bolts, some jitte counters.) You can also use utility creatures like Goldmeadow Harrier

// Spells

1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Equipment for the Stoneforgeengine, Batterskull can win alone and stops aggro very well, Sword of Light and Shadow is tailormate for this decks and you always want a jitte to win games against most tribal decks or to counter a devasting jitte from your opponent.

3 Proclamation of Rebirth
Come on Dudes, this tool provides Card Advantage and makes life much better for our army of one drops. I think against counterbalance we have an answer maindeck.

4 Swords to Plowshares
Removal - i want always 4 in the board against every creature based deck, especially without misstep. Sword against our own creatures can bring back enough life for our serra dude

2 Tithe
If you play with few lands, i suggest some tithe. Compared to additional lands tithe works good with martyr-combo.

----

Sideboard/Matchups

I think without misstep combo and some aggro decks celebrate their comeback. Against aggro we have a good deckplan, against combo we need some tools. Dredge and Reanimate with Iona can also completely shuts down our deck, so you need answers.

4 Solutions against Combo:
Angels Grace works against Hivemind and a game plan like TES. Against tendrils our maindeck provides fast lifegain, so i wouldnt fear this deck to much. But we lose against High Tide. I think Leyline of Sanctity is the best solution. It works against most combo strategies and you can avoid annoying turn 1-2 wins... with leyline you also improves the matchup against discard and burn strategies. A plus is also, if you draw multiples you can cast it or have a white card for martyr.

4 Solutions against Graveyard:
We discussed about it. I give the new Purify the Grave a chance. (White, fast, flexible and works against counter backup - who mourns about misstep :wink: ) But with Faery Macabre, Tormods Crypt, Leyline etc. you can chose between enough weapons.

This leaves 7 Slots open.

I would go with 3 Oblivion Ring (Against Emrakul / Counterbalance etc.) Than 1 Toy for Stoneforge (i prefer Sword of Body and Mind) and 3 Solutions against Meta or Aggro (Timely Reinforcments or Path to Exile etc.) Matchups.

---------

Feel free to discuss :smile:

[Elleran]

Well written, MD.Ghost. Good analysis.

I'll comment better later, but for now I would add some Artifact hates into the SB as well, especially against Storm and Affinity. With the new Stony Silence, our deck can absolutely kill artifact based-decks.

[MD.Ghost]

Well written, MD.Ghost. Good analysis.

I'll comment better later, but for now I would add some Artifact hates into the SB as well, especially against Storm and Affinity. With the new Stony Silence, our deck can absolutely kill artifact based-decks.

Thanks.

Against single Artifacts Oblivion Rings are enough, against combo i would use the 4 Sideboard Slots, maybe we combine it with Surgical Extraction.

My 3 "Meta/Aggro" Slots can be filled with this flexible answer, so we can use 7 Slots against Combo and 7 against Graveyard hate (all options have enough speed to deal up with fast game ending strategies) and have 4 slots left. So it is enough space for other tools.

I suggest that Stony Silence is good, i played null rod a while and this is a better null rod for martyr-combo.

[Tru3z3rox]

I agree that stony silence is a great addition to our sideboard. I will run it as soon as it is out.

Note: Angel's Grace isn't a good sb card anymore. It is too narrow and does not actually work against storm. You can cast it against a tendrils, but you will just end up dieing on your untap phase the next turn.

Leyline of Sanctity is a good card, but I think that I prefer the versatility of runed halo with a tutor package. It can be cast against anything. I'd prefer to not have to mulligan into a leyline if I can help it. We shouldn't be too scared of burn and discard....

Note: I also think that note running elspeth is a mistake. Especially against stax and countertop. Elspeth will win you the game against them and usually be out of cb range. At the very least she is a vindicate against their own elspeth (which just leaves them with tarmo and jace).

[tinker]

I'm interested in building this deck and have been tinkering with the black/white version. Here's my decklist, any advice/comment would be appreciated.
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Bitterblossom
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
2 Vindicate
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Swamp
11 Plains
1 Volrath's Stronghold

[Tru3z3rox]

I'm interested in building this deck and have been tinkering with the black/white version. Here's my decklist, any advice/comment would be appreciated.
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Bitterblossom
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
2 Vindicate
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Swamp
11 Plains
1 Volrath's Stronghold

6 wardens arent enough. I'd say:
-1 Martyr
+1 Warden

Especially if you're running bitterblossom. It is a great engine with mentor.

[Elleran]

I'm interested in building this deck and have been tinkering with the black/white version. Here's my decklist, any advice/comment would be appreciated.
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Bitterblossom
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
2 Vindicate
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Swamp
11 Plains
1 Volrath's Stronghold

I agree with Tru3z3roz. With Bitterblossom, maximizing on the Sisters is a great idea. Also Mentor engine is fantastic.

Since you are running black, my advise would be to take out Martyr of Sands all together and focus less on an explosive hand but more of control-long term game. With additional black cards, Martyrs become less useful. Also, Bitterblossom would absolutely break multiple sisters.

-4 Martyr
+4 Black cards (removals, hand disruptions, etc)

[ateu89]

I'm interested in building this deck and have been tinkering with the black/white version. Here's my decklist, any advice/comment would be appreciated.
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Bitterblossom
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
2 Vindicate
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Swamp
11 Plains
1 Volrath's Stronghold

Why not 1 Sword of X and Y?

[Tru3z3rox]

Any nonmartyr builds think of using phyrexiam metamorph main? It seems pretty good. It copies a win con, a CA engine, or just an opponents legend to act as removal(counters iona, jin gitaxis, etc). The only thing really stopping me from running it is its dissynergy with martyr...

[Elleran]

Any nonmartyr builds think of using phyrexiam metamorph main? It seems pretty good. It copies a win con, a CA engine, or just an opponents legend to act as removal(counters iona, jin gitaxis, etc). The only thing really stopping me from running it is its dissynergy with martyr...

Also, if we don't have a CA engine or a win con out, Metamorph sits in our hand doing nothing. Copying a Sister probably isn't too useful for 3 mana and 2 life either. I think Metamorph is a SB material.

[Tru3z3rox]

Also, if we don't have a CA engine or a win con out, Metamorph sits in our hand doing nothing. Copying a Sister probably isn't too useful for 3 mana and 2 life either. I think Metamorph is a SB material.

Well yes, but same could be said with proc and no dudes in the grave or an equipment with no dudes to equip it to...

[Elleran]

Well yes, but same could be said with proc and no dudes in the grave or an equipment with no dudes to equip it to...

Not necessarily. Proclamation can be used with basically any 1 cmc creatures in the deck. Anything from 3 Sisters to Martyr + Ascendant + Mother combination. Equipments can also be equipped to weak creatures and make them powerful (such as Jitte on a Sister). Metamorph, on the other hand, can only copy something that's already on the field. This means that Metamorph is much more dependent about what it can copy than Proclamation or equipment. If there's no good creature worth copying (such as another Martyr or another Sister), then it won't do anything. Even against creature based decks, Metamorph won't be able to do much by copying Tribal creatures (such as Merfolk or Goblin). Only against creatures like Tarmagoyf, Tombstalker, or Progenitus/Emrakul is Metamorph really useful (copying Knight of the Reliquary won't do anything either. Maybe Bob?). Therefore, I still stand by my statement that Metamorph belongs in the SB against the matchups previously mentioned rather in the MD.

But I see your point. Metamorph definitely has potential. If someone posts some successful data with him, I would be glad to be proven wrong.

[264505]

For all this Sideboard discussion, could a E. Tutor board be relevant? Maverick and D&T decks have been known to run it and with the Meddling Mage and Null Rod enchantments in the new sets, we have access to a lot of singleton answers.

[candellum]

If you are thinking of adding Metamorph to the deck i would suggest adding 2-3 leonin relic warders as well, having an infinite life combo seems like a good out against some strats, and the relic warder isnt useless on his own.

[Tru3z3rox]

For all this Sideboard discussion, could a E. Tutor board be relevant? Maverick and D&T decks have been known to run it and with the Meddling Mage and Null Rod enchantments in the new sets, we have access to a lot of singleton answers.

I've already been running one for a while now. It is even better now that MM is gone.

[Elleran]

I'm planning on on attending a tournament this Saturday. It is a new meta and I will report how things go. First post-MM ban meta. Hehehe

[ateu89]

I'm planning on on attending a tournament this Saturday. It is a new meta and I will report how things go. First post-MM ban meta. Hehehe

Good luck, hope you get at least TOP 8.

And please, your SB must have combo hate, storms everywhere!

[Tru3z3rox]

good luck, hope you get at least top 8.

And please, your sb must have combo hate, storms everywhere!

and reanimator!

[Elleran]

The tournament was a series of a bad matchup and bad lucks. I went 1-2 in a 6 people tournament.

Round 1: Elf Combo

This was my most feared matchup. Nothing really to say. I lost both games when the opponent resolved a harcasted Emrakul with no answer to be seen in my 75 (I had taken out my Oblivion Rings for Abolish in my SB).

0-1 (0-2)

Round 2: Merfolk

A standard merfolk deck, I was confident of my victory because his deck was basically identical to my friend's deck who I used to extensively playtest against.

Game 1:
The game started off with FoW on my Martyr of Sands on turn 1. Then he proceeded to use a Mutavault with Lords to beat me down. Eventually, I managed to draw Batterskull and hardcasted it, turning the tide of battle. The life went from 9 to 16 to his favor to 25 to 0 in my favor in the matter of few turns.

Game 2:
I mulliganed to 6 when I had a 1-land hand with only 2 1 cmc cards in my hand. My 6-card hand also only included 1 land, but I kept because I was afraid to mulligan down to 5 and also because the hand had 2 1-cmc cards. Needlessly to say, I never saw another land in the 6-7 turn game and lost with no resistance.

Game 3:
He started off with Standstill after Dismembering both my Sister and Ajani's Pridemate on turn 2. He had 2 Vials and a Mutavault. I broke Standstill to send his Silvergill Adept farming, but he continued to pressure with his Mutavault and eventually Lords. I drew another StP and with the second StP from my opening hand, I StP'ed two more of his Lords. I drew into Ranger of Eos, which I played to fetch chump blockers like Mother and a Sister. When he had 1 card in hand, I tried to resolve a Batterskull but lost to a hardcasted Daze. I ended up with only a Mother on the field against 2 Lords and a Mutavault. I topdecked a Sword of Body and Mind, and played it, providing me with another turn. My next topdeck was Elspeth, but turned out that my opponent's topdeck was Force of Will, which he hardcasted with no other card in his hand to counter my Elspeth, sealing my fate.

0-2 (1-4)

I was extremely disappointed after this round. I could have easily won 2-0 had I drawn another land in the second game (with 2 Stoneforges in hand, Ajani's Pridemate, and Jitte...). Perhaps mulliganing down to 5 cards was the right answer, but that might have posed more problems.

Round 3: Junk (Modern version)

Game 1:
I lost my first game due to lack of lands once again. I had 4 1-cmc cards in my opening hand, including Stoneforge, Ranger of Eos, Mother of Runes, 2 Soul Sisters, and Serra Ascendant, and 1 land. I kept, imagining that I would draw into another land and own the game. Once again, I never saw a land for 6-7 turns and lost to his Doran and Dark Confidant.

Game 2:
The game started with my Mother of Runes and his Birds of Paradise. I played a Sister and he followed with Dark Confidant. I resolved a Ajani's Pridemate, but on his turn, put a Putrefy on my Mother, which I responded (HORRIBLE MISPLAY) by tapping my Mother to give my Pridemate Pro White against Path to Exile which I suspected he had. Obviously, he did what any sane players would have done and put a Path to Exile on the stack and killed by Ajani and Mother at the same time. He followed his moves with more Birds and Doran. I then started having amazing topdecks, featuring Elsepth, Batterskull (with enough mana to hardcast), and 2 Ranger of Eos. The opponent killed my Elspeth after many turns using his Birds of Paradise (with Doran's ability), but not before I could hit him with Batterskull-equipped-flying Ranger of Eos to bring him down to 4. After my second Ranger of Eos hit the field and no way to remove his own Dark Confidant, he conceded when he had 1 life left.

Game 3:
I started off with a wonderful hand, including 3 lands, Ajani's Pridemate, Mother of Runes, Soul Sister, and Jitte. I played Mother first turn, topdecked another Mother, and played my Sister second to get ready to resolve Pridemate. On his turn, he resolved a Tidehollow Sculler and took away my Jitte. I resolved my Pridemate, however and followed it up with another Mother. He spent Putrefy to make me use a Mother, then another Putrefy on his turn on my Pridemate again to get me to use my second Mother, he blew my Mothers away with a Maelstrom Pulse. I followed on my turn with a Proclamation of Rebirth to bring my Mothers back. With a 7/7 Pridemate, Student of Warfare, and 2 Mother of Runes on the field, and him having spent all his removals, he conceded.

1-2 (3-5)

[ateu89]

The tournament was a series of a bad matchup and bad lucks. I went 1-2 in a 6 people tournament...

Post your deck and SB, please?

Well, about the "tournament", I wouldn't keep 1 land hands, this deck needs at least 2 of them to workout. Probably you need more training as well.

About round 2, game 3:
Could you had killed Mutavault instead of Silvergill Adept?
Also, you fetched Serra with low life? Sounds terrible. No Goldmeadow Harrier or Rhys, even another MoM?
Did you hitted him once with Sword of Body and Mind?

[Elleran]

And should we pay attention to a guy that call a "casual 6 guy playing" a tournament?

And the worst, it doesn't have valuables cards in his SB, cause he couldn't gather the field with 5 anothre decks?

Nice, now I can see how good player you are...

Okay, to be honest, it was't really much of a tournament. I had no idea of the attendance until I arrived. The meta was also completely new to me with no information available (other than the Merfolk player who I had met before). I had intended to put the cards that were most valuable to the widest range of decks. O-ring wouldn't even have helped since Emrakul was hardcasted (i.e. I die before my turn). At that point, anything less than a Karakas or Goldmeadow Harrier played on turn 1 would not have saved me.

==========

The Decklist:

Creatures: [29]
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Soul Warden
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
3 Martyr of Sands
1 Student of Warfare
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Ranger of Eos

Instants and Sorcery: [6]
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

Planeswalkers: [2]
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Artifacts: [3]
1 Umezewa's Jitte
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Batterskull

Lands: [20]
20 Plains

--

Sideboard:
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Abolish
2 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Runed Halo

========

Few explanations:
I noticed that 3 Stoneforge was much less consistent than I had tested. I never managed to cast Stoneforge except once against the Elf deck which didn't matter.

I've had problems with running 19 lands and switched over to 20. Especially with Elspeth, inconsistent lands could mean big problems during midgame. Apparently, 20 lands didn't help though..


@ateu89:
Oops, I believe he had no Mutavault when I casted Swords. I think he had an Island and Wasteland or something... The 3 games are kind of blurred in my mind. If he had a Mutavault and I sent his Silvergill farming, then that would have been a misplay, yes.

When did I fetch Serra Ascendant with a low life? I definitely remember during one of the rounds seeing Serra Ascendant as I was looking through my library with Ranger, thinking that it wasn't an option exactly because I had low life.

I don't own any Goldmeadow Harrier or Rhys. Currently I'm focusing on building another deck and I forgot to obtain Goldmeadow or Gideon's Lawkeeper. I was able to obtain Abolishes but not E. Tutor or the like. What is MoM (sorry if this was mentioned)?

No, I played my Sword of Body and Mind a turn before I died. Had I attacked, I would have died either way. Basically, I died because I didn't have enough blockers (I did manage to kill a Lord with the Mother with Sword by blocking on his turn).

Yeah, I haven't played with this deck in real life in a looooong time (probably for about 2 months). Please excuse my performance. I am not the best player in any regards and I am prone to mistakes, especially when it comes down to SB design (which hopefully explains why my comments regarding the SB is always so ambiguous).

[ArthurGress]

Good luck, hope you get at least TOP 8.

And please, your SB must have combo hate, storms everywhere!

haha, in a 6 players tournament, there's no chance he wont be in the top 8.

I wouldnt even call that a tournament, BTW, what about the prizes?

[Elleran]

haha, in a 6 players tournament, there's no chance he wont be in the top 8.

I wouldnt even call that a tournament, BTW, what about the prizes?

lol like I said, I had no idea about the attendance till I arrived.

The prizes were 6 packs for 1st place (Innistrad/M12) and 4 packs for 2nd and 3rd.. Or something like that.

[tinker]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the tips for the b/w version of this deck. I've been tinkering with the 3 slots mainboard, but haven't found anything useful for it. I have stumbled upon an interesting card, Children of Korlis, which seems really helpful late games vs opponents which has bigger creatures than ours. Not to mention the fact that it can also be recurred via proclaimation. It acts as a stall down agent, which can help drag the game for us and gain us life in the process. The black white deck has been good for me so far..bitterblossom is just a bomb.

[ateu89]

@ateu89:
When did I fetch Serra Ascendant with a low life? I definitely remember during one of the rounds seeing Serra Ascendant as I was looking through my library with Ranger, thinking that it wasn't an option exactly because I had low life.

I don't own any Goldmeadow Harrier or Rhys. Currently I'm focusing on building another deck and I forgot to obtain Goldmeadow or Gideon's Lawkeeper. I was able to obtain Abolishes but not E. Tutor or the like. What is MoM (sorry if this was mentioned)?

No, I played my Sword of Body and Mind a turn before I died. Had I attacked, I would have died either way. Basically, I died because I didn't have enough blockers (I did manage to kill a Lord with the Mother with Sword by blocking on his turn).


1)I read it wrong, sorry, my mistake.
2)Mother of Runes.
3)But when you say "I topdecked a Sword of Body and Mind, and played it, providing me with another turn" shouldn't you have attacked to put a token into play and start milling him? Take the damage in his turn, then in the next turn you would have 1 Mother attacking again and 2 wolf tokens into play? 2 Wolf tokens blocking in his turn would give you another turn? The you would mill 30 cards and do 9 damage in 3 turns. Maybe it wouldn't be enough to kill him, but you would still have another draw, maybe a plains, maybe Ranger of Eos, who knows... Just saying that could be a better strategy.

[Elleran]

3)But when you say "I topdecked a Sword of Body and Mind, and played it, providing me with another turn" shouldn't you have attacked to put a token into play and start milling him? Take the damage in his turn, then in the next turn you would have 1 Mother attacking again and 2 wolf tokens into play? 2 Wolf tokens blocking in his turn would give you another turn? The you would mill 30 cards and do 9 damage in 3 turns. Maybe it wouldn't be enough to kill him, but you would still have another draw, maybe a plains, maybe Ranger of Eos, who knows... Just saying that could be a better strategy.

Oh I see what you mean. Yeah, I think I could have done that? I'm not sure if my life at the time would have allowed me to do that, but probably.

[Kring]

I love this deck. I think it wrecks aggro and control easily - combo being the weakest MU.

1- Reanimator. You have to get graveyard hate AND oblivion ring for the show and tell in the same hand. Damn impossible.
2- Hive mind. If you kill the Hive mind.... you get the show and tell. Better than reanimator because we have access to angel's grace to combat the main combo.
3- Storm. Martyr of sands is stellar here, putting yourself at 30 life at first turn is tough for them to get the 15 storm count.

What can i do? I'm using 3 Oblivion ring 3 Angel's grace 3 Relic of progenitus, and in due to recent times (metagame, scg tourneys) i get to play against all of these decks in my local store, being my only losses. I do think a maindeck addition to the deck would be in order...

[ateu89]

I love this deck. I think it wrecks aggro and control easily - combo being the weakest MU.

1- Reanimator. You have to get graveyard hate AND oblivion ring for the show and tell in the same hand. Damn impossible.
2- Hive mind. If you kill the Hive mind.... you get the show and tell. Better than reanimator because we have access to angel's grace to combat the main combo.
3- Storm. Martyr of sands is stellar here, putting yourself at 30 life at first turn is tough for them to get the 15 storm count.

What can i do? I'm using 3 Oblivion ring 3 Angel's grace 3 Relic of progenitus, and in due to recent times (metagame, scg tourneys) i get to play against all of these decks in my local store, being my only losses. I do think a maindeck addition to the deck would be in order...

Have you ever tried out Ethersworn Canonist? And maybe Leonin Arbiter? There is Nevermore and Aven Mindcensor too, but think 3cmc would be too slow.

[Neil]

haven't played the deck but how would mirran crusader do in this deck instead of knight of the white orchard

[Elleran]

haven't played the deck but how would mirran crusader do in this deck instead of knight of the white orchard

Knight of the White Orchid was taken out a while ago. Please read the newer decklist and explanations (there is a link on the first post).

[Vandalize]

haven't played the deck but how would mirran crusader do in this deck instead of knight of the white orchard

Mirran Crusader is a really nice beater, and if he's equiped with Sword of War and Peace, he's a 4/4 Double Striker Progenitus.

If he can be taken in consideration, perhaps as a 2-of, I'd place him in the Student of Warfare spot in the main deck.

Any thoughts on Doomed Traveler and Honor of the Pure? The guy can 2-1 on soul triggers when he dies, and the second is a pretty nice enchantment for a deck that needs raw power sometimes.

[Tru3z3rox]

Mirran Crusader is a really nice beater, and if he's equiped with Sword of War and Peace, he's a 4/4 Double Striker Progenitus.

If he can be taken in consideration, perhaps as a 2-of, I'd place him in the Student of Warfare spot in the main deck.

Any thoughts on Doomed Traveler and Honor of the Pure? The guy can 2-1 on soul triggers when he dies, and the second is a pretty nice enchantment for a deck that needs raw power sometimes.

I think that Mirran Crusader isn't a bad call. The problem is the decklist is extremely tight. What would you pull for him?

[ateu89]

I think that Mirran Crusader isn't a bad call. The problem is the decklist is extremely tight. What would you pull for him?

Agreed. You would have to cut out something cmc>=3, the "worst" card is Elspeth IMHO, but still better than Mirran Crusader in most of the situations.

[aimammut]

Hi everyone.

I have a question about martyr of Sands and Ajani's Pridemate.

If i Sacrafice a Martyr of Sands with an Ajani Pridemate in play, does Ajani gain 3 +1/+1 counters? Because the description of martyr says " you gain three times X live"

Can please someone tell me how this works?

Thank you

[Ace/Homebrew]

No, Pridemate triggers only once each time you gain life regardless of the amount.
Now if Martyr read "you gain X life 3 times" that would be a different story...

[Elleran]

You gain life equal to "3 times X amount" once. Therefore, Ajani's Pridemate triggers only once.

[Tru3z3rox]

Hey dudes. Sorry I've not posted in a while as I've been busy. I went to a tournament with this deck a while back and places 2nd with my list. I took it again, but made so many mistakes that day that I was knocked out of top 8. Those were my fault though. Anyway the deck seems to be testing quite well!

[ateu89]

Hey dudes. Sorry I've not posted in a while as I've been busy. I went to a tournament with this deck a while back and places 2nd with my list. I took it again, but made so many mistakes that day that I was knocked out of top 8. Those were my fault though. Anyway the deck seems to be testing quite well!

I thought you all had given up this deck! Wich list are you running right now?

I'm currently running:
//30 Creatures
4x Soul's Attendant
4x Ajani Pridemate
3x Mother of Runes
3x Soul Warden
3x Serra's Ascendant
3x Martyr of Sands
3x Mentor of the Meek
3x Stoneforge Mystic
2x Ranger of Eos
2x Goldmeadow Harrier

//11 Other Spells
3x Swords to Plowshares
3x Proclamation of Rebirth
2x Elspeth, Knight Errant
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Batterskull
1x Umezawa's Jitte

//19 Lands
2x Flagstones
17x Plains

[Tru3z3rox]

My list is the same as it was before except for some land changes:

Lands:
18 Plains
2 Karakas
:
8 Wardens
4 Mom
3 Martyr
4 Ascendant
4 Ajani Pridemate
3 Stoneforge
1 SLS
1 Jitte
1 Batterskull
3 Ranger
2 Elspeth
2 Proc (although I think maybe in this meta it isn't necessary)
4 Plow

Sb:
3 E Tutor
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Stony Silence
1 Serenity
3 Faerie Macabre
2 Relic
2 Canonist
1 Chalice

[ateu89]

My list is the same as it was before except for some land changes...

You don't like Mentor of the Meek? I like it very much.
Have you ever tested Goldmeadow Harrier? What do you think about him?

Wich meta you are talking about? Tell me the decks you faced.

[Tru3z3rox]

You don't like Mentor of the Meek? I like it very much.
Have you ever tested Goldmeadow Harrier? What do you think about him?

Wich meta you are talking about? Tell me the decks you faced.

My meta has tons of reanimator, stoneblade, storm, and snapcaster control.

Mentor is usually too slow for me and doesn't do much when he eats removal so I don't bother using him. He is good in the mid to long games when they have little to no removal. He is too slow for combo (both are too slow anyway) and not good against control.

I don't see much emrakul anymore, so goldmeadow harrier is just a random dude for me. He could be good in the meta, but not mine. If you see big fatties coming down then play him.

[Elleran]

Has anyone determined which is better between Null Rod and Stony Silence in the SB?

[Tru3z3rox]

Has anyone determined which is better between Null Rod and Stony Silence in the SB?

Stony Silence I think. It isn't subject to artifact hate which is more common. It is also cheaper. :P

[ateu89]

Has anyone determined which is better between Null Rod and Stony Silence in the SB?

I'm using Stony Silence.

[Darksteel]

Hey guys,

I want to try something different at the local Legacy tournament next week, so I'm thinking of taking this deck since it looks like a deck that can keep up with the other decks of Legacy as well as a blast to play.

4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mother of Runes

4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Serra Ascendant

2 Ranger of Eos (I only have 2 at the moment)
2 Elspeth, Knight Errant

4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

20 Plains (Or 16 Plains and 4 Wastelands)[/deck]

^ is what I'm thinking of running. I'm not sure about the sideboard.

The metagame is looking like it's got Death and Taxes, Goblins, Elves Combo, Deadguy Ale, Dredge, Junk Depths, Countertop-Thopters. All matches that seem relatively favored.

There are some decks, however, that I'm nervous about. There's a BUG Landstill deck, UWx Stoneblade deck, Delver Tempo deck, and a deck that uses Snapcaster, Confidant, Hymn, Unearth, Clique and just a bunch of good stuff. Those matchups seem hard, and I was wondering if you guys had any tips on facing them.

Also, I had some questions about playing the deck in general. Forgive me if they're too obvious:

If you have a hand of Mother of Runes, Soul Warden, and Martyr of Sands, which do you cast first turn? I'm thinking on the play it's the Mother of Runes, so she doesn't have summoning sickness when you cast your other stuff, and all the opponent can do is Force of Will her. On the draw, I'm not sure. Do you cast the Soul Warden/Attendant first to maximize life gained, or the Martyr to make sure you have a big effect from it?

[ateu89]

Hey guys,

I want to try something different at the local Legacy tournament next week, so I'm thinking of taking this deck since it looks like a deck that can keep up with the other decks of Legacy as well as a blast to play.

4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Mother of Runes

4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Serra Ascendant

2 Ranger of Eos (I only have 2 at the moment)
2 Elspeth, Knight Errant

4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Proclamation of Rebirth

3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

20 Plains (Or 16 Plains and 4 Wastelands)[/deck]

^ is what I'm thinking of running. I'm not sure about the sideboard.

The metagame is looking like it's got Death and Taxes, Goblins, Elves Combo, Deadguy Ale, Dredge, Junk Depths, Countertop-Thopters. All matches that seem relatively favored.

There are some decks, however, that I'm nervous about. There's a BUG Landstill deck, UWx Stoneblade deck, Delver Tempo deck, and a deck that uses Snapcaster, Confidant, Hymn, Unearth, Clique and just a bunch of good stuff. Those matchups seem hard, and I was wondering if you guys had any tips on facing them.

Also, I had some questions about playing the deck in general. Forgive me if they're too obvious:

If you have a hand of Mother of Runes, Soul Warden, and Martyr of Sands, which do you cast first turn? I'm thinking on the play it's the Mother of Runes, so she doesn't have summoning sickness when you cast your other stuff, and all the opponent can do is Force of Will her. On the draw, I'm not sure. Do you cast the Soul Warden/Attendant first to maximize life gained, or the Martyr to make sure you have a big effect from it?

I would play 4 Mother of Runes, I'm currently playing 3, but I want to cut something to put 4. You could cut 1 Proclamation (moving to SB) or 1 Sister.

Well, the first move depends on many things, but the most important ones are the deck you are facing and the other cards in your hand.
If I know Mother is not going to die sickened, I play her.

The first turns interactions are very interesting, you can plan your game and make the opponent waste his removals on what you want. Also, you will be doing better 1st and 2nd turns if you test the deck a lot.

And I wouldn't play 4 Wastelands. The maximum number is 3 IMHO. No one would like to see 2 Wastelands and no Plains in the first 7. We don't have WW cost cards, but many times we want to play two W cards in turn 2.

[Elleran]

11/12/11

The tournament went pretty well with no terribly sad matchups. The attendance was 20 people (I know, so much bigger than 6 :P). I placed 7th with a record of 3-2 (6-5).

Round 1: Naya Zoo

Quick and easy game. First game, I played Stoneforge Mystic on turn 2 then Batterskull on turn 3. He found no answer and I won without revealing any strategy about my deck. The second game went more standard with Soul Sisters and Stoneforges. With no end to my number of threats, I won quite easily. Mother of Runes completely controlled both game by making all his removals useless.

1-0 (2-0)

Round 2: ANT (Ad Nauseum Tendrils)

Game 1:
Tough matchup for me. As soon as he spent the first 2 turns using nothing but Preordain, Brainstorm, and Ponder, I knew that he was a Storm player. When I had a Stoneforge Mystic and a Serra Ascendant out, he shot with Tendrils when I was at 22 life for 24 damage. I barely dodged his attack using Stoneforge to drop a Batterskull in response, then using Swords to Plowshares on it for 4 life, putting me at 26, just outside his storm range. He gg'd.

Game 2:
I made a misplay this game. I beat him and eventually got Batterskull in my hand while he was searching his deck with different cantrips, etc. I dropped a Phyrexian Revoker for Lion's Eye Diamond. He used Chain of Vapor to bounce the Revoker and then used Duress... and I had a Batterskull in my hand with a Stoneforge out. I forgot to drop Batterskull in response. Result: I lost. If I had dropped Batterskull, I would have won next turn because I could swing for lethal. On his turn that he should not have had, he went off and finished me.

Game 3:
I dropped Martyr of Sands first turn and Revoker second. I continuously hit him with these two creatures until he was down to 4. He had to try to go off on the last turn, and with incredible luck, he managed to get up to 18 storms... (3 LED, 2 Dark Rituals, Ill-gotten Gains, Dark Ritual, Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Ponder... into Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, into Ad Nauseum into Lotus Petal, Ponder, Brainstorm, into Tendrils (or something ridiculously lucky like that)). Then he ended up running out of mana for the tendril (he needed 20 storm anyway). Very close and stressful game.

2-0 (4-1)

Round 3: Helm of Dominance + Leyline of the Void combo deck (a homebrew)

Game 1: He combo'ed me and I had no answer in my 75.

Game 2: I sideboarded in Leylines of Sanctity, Phyrexian Revokers, and Abolishes. He played Bitterblossom with Contamination lockdown combo. I never drew an answer. gg.

2-1 (4-3)

Round 4: Junk

Game 1: After being hit by removals after removals, I had no more threats. He then proceeded to beat me with a Birds of Paradise equipped with Jitte and Noble Hierach's Exalt +1/+1. He sniped off the rest of my Sisters off and I lost.

Game 2: I didn't have many answers in my 75 against such massive number of removals. The second game started off better with a Sister than an Ajani Pridemate which went to 7/7 by turn 4. Unfortunately, he Maelstrom Pulsed it. I then played a Stoneforge and tutored a Batterskull. He played a Stoneforge himself and tutorer a Jitte. I played my Batterskull which he Path to Exile'd. He played his Jitte which I did not have an answer to. Although I had a Mother of Runes out, he played his Elspeth and gave his attacked flying. It happened that I also had 2 Elspeth in my hand... But I was land screwed that game with only 3 lands. I lost to his Jitte once again.

2-2 (4-5)

Round 5: Pattern of Rebirth combo

Game 1: I started off well with Martyr of Sands into Serra Ascendant, which he Force of Will'ed. I proceeded with Stoneforge Mystic into Batterskull. I managed to hit him once with Sword of Body and Mind, which revealed cards such as Progenitus and Platinum Empirion which gave away his deck's identity. He managed to play his Pattern of Rebirth on a creature eventually, but I already had a such an overwhelming board presence that even Emrakul could not stop it.

Game 2: My opening hand was awesome. It had 2 Swords to Plowshares in it. I laid down a Sister and an Ajani Pridemate in order to begin chipping away at his life. I sent his Birds of Paradise farming to lower his tempo. He played a Hapless Researcher next turn and played his Pattern on it, which I sent farming in response. He then played an Eternal Witness to get back his Pattern... and I had no more StP in my hand... Then I somehow topdecked one. Few turns later, he tried to play his Pattern again, which I sent farming one last time. Next turn, I swung for lethal.

3-2 (6-5)

--------------------

I ended up getting 7th place in the 20 people tournament, with the prize being 2 Innistrad packs (which did not give me anything of worthy value). Still not planning on working further on the deck at the moment, but a much more cheerful tournament compared to the previous experience.

P.S. There were at least 3 Burn decks in the tournament which I was looking forward to hitting. Never happened to my disappointment.

[from Cairo]

11/12/11
Round 2: ANT (Ad Nauseum Tendrils)

Game 1:
Tough matchup for me. As soon as he spent the first 2 turns using nothing but Preordain, Brainstorm, and Ponder, I knew that he was a Storm player. When I had a Stoneforge Mystic and a Serra Ascendant out, he shot with Tendrils when I was at 22 life for 24 damage. I barely dodged his attack using Stoneforge to drop a Batterskull in response, then using Swords to Plowshares on it for 4 life, putting me at 26, just outside his storm range. He gg'd.


If you're at 22 life, he had an 11 Storm, casts Tendrils and you respond with Swordsing a Batterskull, wouldn't his Tendrils resolve as a lethal 26 dmg?

[TsumiBand]

If you're at 22 life, he had an 11 Storm, casts Tendrils and you respond with Swordsing a Batterskull, wouldn't his Tendrils resolve as a lethal 26 dmg?

After the Storm trigger creates X copies, both players still have to pass priority in succession before the first copy on the stack resolves. It's not clear from the text whether or not that's precisely how it happened, but that's the correct way to do it.

[Elleran]

If you're at 22 life, he had an 11 Storm, casts Tendrils and you respond with Swordsing a Batterskull, wouldn't his Tendrils resolve as a lethal 26 dmg?

I don't think so. The wording on the Oracle:

"Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)"

The key word is "before it". Since the spells on the stack after Tendrils was not cast before Tendrils, they won't count for the Storm counter.

[Landtax]

I have been following this thread, and the corresponding one over at MTG Salvation, for some time now. This is my favorite Legacy deck and I have played several hundred games on Cockatrice, testing and tweaking.

Nobody in this thread on The Source has mentioned Mirror Entity. This card is a vicious bomb in Soul Sisters. He is so freaking good I can't imagine running him as less than a three-of.

To quote from my post on Salvation:

"I do believe that Mirror Entity is the bomb card nobody else is playing. He gives your Sisters, Martyrs, and un-ascended Serra Ascendants as much muscle as you have mana. He is ridiculous with Spectral Procession and Elspeth. His ability even stacks with Serra and Pridemate so for me there is no reason not to play him. In many many game situations, he is a must-answer for your opponent or you win the game next turn."

Here is the list I like to run:

Creatures:
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Mirror Entity
3 Mother of Runes

Spells:
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Spectral Procession

Artifacts:
3 Umezawa's Jitte

Planeswalkers:
3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Lands:
19 Plains

I don't like the Stoneforge package because the only sword we really need is Jitte. Almost every time I stick and hit with a Jitte I win, and almost every time my opponent gets his Jitte going I lose. Therefore it's invaluable to have three cards that say: "2: Bury target Jitte", in addition to the O-rings.

[Elleran]

I do agree with your point on Jitte. I've had many games in which the opponent will land a Jitte on the battlefield and turn the tide of battle completely. However, I have also found Batterskull to be invaluable for many situations.

I like Mirror Entity.

[Heresia]

Hello guys! What do you think about this list :

1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Arid Mesa
2 Flooded Strand
14 Plains

4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Oblivion Ring

4 Swords To Plowshares

Side
4 Pithing Needle
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Nevermore

Including Sensei is a good idea, don't you think? I have tried it and approved it!

[Elleran]

Hello guys! What do you think about this list :

1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Arid Mesa
2 Flooded Strand
14 Plains

4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Oblivion Ring

4 Swords To Plowshares

Side
4 Pithing Needle
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Nevermore

Including Sensei is a good idea, don't you think? I have tried it and approved it!

How have Tops proven themselves? They aren't White so they don't synergy with Martyr. We don't need to search but rather use tutors like Ranger of Eos or pure CA like Mentor of the Meek. Sure, you can get rid of excess plains now and then, but if you already have a low land count and run Tithe and such, you shouldn't have problems with dead draws to a point where Tops are necessary.

[Caleblost]

Sunday i will try this list in a legacy tournament (it's similar to elleran's list with few exceptions)

Creatures: [29]
3 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
3 Martyr of Sands
1 Student of Warfare
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Ranger of Eos

Instants and Sorcery: [7]
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Proclamation of Rebirth

Planeswalkers: [2]
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Artifacts: [3]
1 Umezewa's Jitte
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Batterskull

Lands: [19]
19 Plains

--

Sideboard:
2 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Purify the Grave
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Runed Halo
3 Serenity

This tournament will be about 50/60 people i will report the result here. For my experience proclamation is one of the most important card to raise quickly and i will try with 4 slots. For dredge martyr of sands remove bridges so in sideboard purify the grave is important for other grave based. Leyline ..... if we use it we need 4 leyline or 0.... and serenity is the strongest card against enchantress or artifact based deck.

I don't play mentor of the meek i consider it slow while ranger of eos it's sufficient to have a good cards bonus.

I playtested with some strong deck (canadian, the gate, goblins and team america) and this configuration seems the best. Problems with combo (ANT TNT) are still alives :D

[TnA_Will]

This may have been answered but if so I didn't see it anywhere... With Ranger in there and the deck operating like it does (the quick version without stoneforge,wasteland,etc...) has Figure of Destiny been tried???

I would think Figure of destiny would be an awesome threat in a deck like this.

[novatinhu]

Against combo i have in SB:

3 - Surgical extraction
3 - Angel's grace

[metalhead]

Against combo i have in SB:

3 - Surgical extraction
3 - Angel's grace

Grace does not stop a lethal tendrils unless you can gain a lot of life before eot.

[Elleran]

Grace does not stop a lethal tendrils unless you can gain a lot of life before eot.

No, Grace will save you from a lethal Tendrils.

On second thought, I just realized that Tendrils' wording says "lose life". Is that considered to be damage for Angel's Grace?

[Sims]

No, Grace will save you from a lethal Tendrils.

On second thought, I just realized that Tendrils' wording says "lose life". Is that considered to be damage for Angel's Grace?

No. Angel's Grace says "damage" specifically where Tendrils of Agony says it is life loss.

Damage causes life loss but life loss is not damage.

[Koby]

Grace will save you from Tendrils, but only until the end of turn. You will be at negative life total, but won't lose the game YET.

[metalhead]

That's hy I said "unless you gain a bunch of life before eot".

[Sims]

Grace will save you from Tendrils, but only until the end of turn. You will be at negative life total, but won't lose the game YET.

Correct. I was answering the specific "is life loss considered damage for grace" question, to which the answer is no.

Though aside from Swords on a dude, if you run swords, I see no instant speed route for this deck to gain the life lost from tendrils back prior to the end of the turn.

[Elleran]

Correct. I was answering the specific "is life loss considered damage for grace" question, to which the answer is no.

Though aside from Swords on a dude, if you run swords, I see no instant speed route for this deck to gain the life lost from tendrils back prior to the end of the turn.

You can sacrifice Martyr as an instant.

[ateu89]

Sunday i will try this list in a legacy tournament (it's similar to elleran's list with few exceptions)...

Wouldn't run 4 Proclamation, but you said you want it.
Also wouldn't run 3 Ranger and 2 Elspeth with 19 lands.

And why Sword of Body and Mind? You find it better than others or it's budget reason?

[Caleblost]

sword of body and mind in this deck seems work fine put wolf gain life and destroy the opponent deck, with protection from Blue and green.

Proclamations is the powerful card in this deck it can re-take the board easily but when i'm in the second game probably i side out one of them.

ranger of eos is the only card to draw and this is the "bug" of this deck at 3rd turn normally we have an empty hand. As proclamation one of these cards probably will be sided out in the second game.

Elspeth.... is a win condition for me 2 of them in each case rarely i side out them.

I'm thinking to change 2-3 slots of side as i expect alot of combo what do you think about ethersworn canonist against TNT ANT and Doomsday combo?

[ateu89]

sword of body and mind in this deck seems work fine put wolf gain life and destroy the opponent deck, with protection from Blue and green.

Proclamations is the powerful card in this deck it can re-take the board easily but when i'm in the second game probably i side out one of them.

ranger of eos is the only card to draw and this is the "bug" of this deck at 3rd turn normally we have an empty hand. As proclamation one of these cards probably will be sided out in the second game.

Elspeth.... is a win condition for me 2 of them in each case rarely i side out them.

I'm thinking to change 2-3 slots of side as i expect alot of combo what do you think about ethersworn canonist against TNT ANT and Doomsday combo?

I would use Canonist for sure.

There is nothing wrong with 3 Ranger and 2 Elspeth, but I think 19 lands is too few for it.

I'm running 2 Ranger, 2 Elspeth, 3 Mentor of the meek,3 Proclamation and 20 lands. I'm thinking about 19 lands + 1 Tithe. I was running 19 lands and I was not happy with it.

[Meekrab]

You can sacrifice Martyr as an instant.
No competent storm player will Tendrils you while you have Martyr on the board and enough cards in hand to come back from the dead.

[Elleran]

No competent storm player will Tendrils you while you have Martyr on the board and enough cards in hand to come back from the dead.

Of course not, which makes Martyr such a key card against Tendrils storm.

----

I run 3 Rangers and 2 Elspeths and run 20 Plains. I've done 19 before and decided that it wasn't enough.

[Caleblost]

WOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW

Today i played a tournament with 42 players

i finished the swiss rounds with 5-1 in first place and i lost in top 8 with canadian tres....

My report :

1st game : Mono black control (the gate) i won 2-0

2nd game : Punishing Zoo lost 2-0

3rd game : countertop i won 2-1(with 3 hand very lucky)

4rd game : Burn i won 2-0 (very easy)

5th game : NO rug i won 2-0

6th game : Team america i won 2-1

------------------
Top 8

canadian tres... i lost 2-0

Final position 5th on 42

I'm very happy of the result........... tomorrow i will post the list i used.

:P

[Caleblost]

Of course not, which makes Martyr such a key card against Tendrils storm.

----

I run 3 Rangers and 2 Elspeths and run 20 Plains. I've done 19 before and decided that it wasn't enough.

not enough

At the moment with past in flames tendrils do normally 40 damages (lost of life) cause past in flames on tendrils.

So

10 storms + tendrils = 22 damages

past in flames call tendrils

cast tendrils 2nd time on 10 storms + 1st tendrils + past in flames = 12 storms + tendrils = 26 damages

22+ 26 = storm of 48 very easy.

Now all TNT players are trying this. For us is a terrible match as we must have a lot of card to protect us (they play chain of vapor and echoing truth against leyline and other enchantment)

[Beatusnox]

not enough

At the moment with past in flames tendrils do normally 40 damages (lost of life) cause past in flames on tendrils.

So

10 storms + tendrils = 22 damages

past in flames call tendrils

cast tendrils 2nd time on 10 storms + 1st tendrils + past in flames = 12 storms + tendrils = 26 damages

22+ 26 = storm of 48 very easy.

Now all TNT players are trying this. For us is a terrible match as we must have a lot of card to protect us (they play chain of vapor and echoing truth against leyline and other enchantment)

Cannonist/Leyline are key. In addition to this, If needed you can sideboard Orim's Chant or Silence and stop them from going off initially. Against ANT, Use your silence after they cast all their rituals, before they attempt to Infernal tutor or Ad Nauseam(if they are stupid). Against Tes, Same Idea. As for TnT it is not very popular in my area so I am unsure of when to optimally use your silence effect.

[Caleblost]

this is the list i used :

result = 5th place with 42 players :eek:

Creatures: [29]
3 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Martyr of Sands
1 Student of Warfare
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Ranger of Eos

Instants and Sorcery: [7]
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Proclamation of Rebirth

Planeswalkers: [2]
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Artifacts: [3]
1 Umezewa's Jitte
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Batterskull

Lands: [19]
19 Plains

--

Sideboard:
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Purify the Grave
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 tormod's crypt
3 Serenity
2 Ethersworn canonist

[TsumiBand]

No competent storm player will Tendrils you while you have Martyr on the board and enough cards in hand to come back from the dead.

I think the key here is that, in addition to Martyr upping the ante in regard to real total Storm count, the rest of the deck is so geared towards gaining life and generating a threat based on that life total (Ajani's, Ascendant) that between the two you're looking at a life total which necessarily requires a beeg Storm count. Failing all that there's Silence effects and guys like Canonist and Leylines.

[Caleblost]

i'm considering to change batterskull with sword of fire and ice and for non budget decks to insert 4 wasteland. In legacy competitive tournament we are very quick but destroying opponents lands give us a great advantage we can run this deck with only 3 basic land while a lot of opponents decks need some non basic land. Another difficult i met is aganist grove the burnwillows + punishing fire. protection from colours is more important than a batterskull we are force to come back in hand and re-play at the next turn.

what do you think about ?

[Qweerios]

I built this deck in the summer and recommended it to a friend of mine that was getting into legacy. As my friend is getting more into the format I suggested to him to add a second color to his deck in order to start building his collection, and also because there are no valid reasons for this deck to be limited to 1 color as the benefits of being monocolored are fairly marginal (no double/tripple white-costed cards, no abundance of colorless mana-producing utility lands, and a "strong" manabase is a sorry excuse for not owning any fetches/duals).

I tinkered with the idea of a black splash for Bitterblossom and Bob instead of Martyr and Serra, and the results were staggering. Basically, the Martyr + Serra combo is a very tempo-oriented, luck-based strategy while the rest of the deck (Pridemate, Eos, Mentor, SFM) is more reliant on a midgame strategy. With these changes in effect, the self-defeating goal of reaching 30 life is no longer an issue. The soul sisters are now only used for their trigger and a form of stability against heavy aggro decks (similar to Vampire Nighthawk). Here is what I settled with after limited testing:


Creatures (28)
4 Mother of Runes
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Mentor of the Meek
4 Dark Confidant

Other (11)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Bitterblossom
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull

Lands (21)
4 Wasteland
4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arid Mesa
4 Plains
1 Swamp

Sideboard (15)
2 Leonin Relic-Warder
4 Duress
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Stony Silence
1 Oblivion Ring


This is probably the only deck where I have wanted to cast multiple Bobs and Blossoms no matter what I was up against. What really impressed me about this deck was the consistency and fluidity of the engines at its disposal, here are a few examples:

T1 Mom, T2 SFM, T3 protected Bskull;
T1 Mom, T2 Bob, T3 protected card advantage;
T1 Soul, T2 Blossom, T3 Mentor;
T1 Soul, T2 Blossom, T3 Pridemate + Soul;
T1 Soul/Mom, T2 Bob, T3 Bob + Mom/Soul;
and I could go on and on and on...

I excluded cards such as Eos and Proclamation because the deck is no longer hellbent on 1drops and the card advantage generated by Bob, Blossom, and Mentor make this deck fairly resillient to sweepers. EE @1 and Chalice @1 are no longer major impediments for this deck either. I also stayed away from Vindicate because of its mana cost and the lack of deck space.

With these changes, Soul Sisters are now better against dedicated control, have a stronger sideboard against combo decks, and still thrive agaisnt most aggro, aggro/control decks.

[ateu89]

I built this deck in the summer and recommended it to a friend of mine that was getting into legacy. As my friend is getting more into the format I suggested to him to add a second color to his deck in order to start building his collection, and also because there are no valid reasons for this deck to be limited to 1 color as the benefits of being monocolored are fairly marginal (no double/tripple white-costed cards, no abundance of colorless mana-producing utility lands, and a "strong" manabase is a sorry excuse for not owning any fetches/duals)...

I would certanly love playing this, but Mono White is for budget resons. Also, in my BW List I would exclude 1 Mentor of the Meek and would include another Sword, probably Sword of Light and Shadow.

[Elleran]

I would certanly love playing this, but Mono White is for budget resons. Also, in my BW List I would exclude 1 Mentor of the Meek and would include another Sword, probably Sword of Light and Shadow.

or Jitte. The common weakness it seems in all variants of this deck seems to be Jitte. But then again, what kind of creature based deck is not weak against Jitte....

[Elleran]

Any thoughts on the new card, Chalice of Life/Chalice of Death?

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_DKA/ChaliceOfLife.jpg
http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_DKA/ChaliceOfDeath.jpg

[neoryujin]

Any thoughts on the new card, Chalice of Life/Chalice of Death?


Overcosted, unsearchable Serra Ascendant without Lifelink ? (+ built-in Ajani's Mantra)

[lord182]

Any thoughts on the new card, Chalice of Life/Chalice of Death?

Maybe in a modern version of the deck?


Overcosted, unsearchable Serra Ascendant without Lifelink ? (+ built-in Ajani's Mantra)

But if you have less than 30 life you can still make the opponent loses 5

[MD.Ghost]

i havent played ascension for a while (mainly because i try pox and uwr stoneblade), but after a very similar deck grind into top 16 last weekend (germany, hanau, legacy, 250 player) i tought about the ascension build.

His build:

Lands
13 Plains
3 Flagstones of Trokair
2 Karakas

Creatures
1 Figure of Destiny
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ranger of Eos
3 Kitchen Finks

Spells
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
3 Tithe
1 Batterskull

Sideboard
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
2 Purify the Grave
2 Serenity
1 Pithing Needle
4 Mindbreack Trap
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Enlightened Tutor

A nice build, and a good shift to the meta, full of maverick with punishing fire, stoneblade, and tempo builds with delver and lots of removal. Our 1/1 clerics (soulsisters) dies easy with so many removal heavy decks running around.

I like the idea to play kitchen finks, as an returning aggressiv creature with life effect. Also threads that works alone like Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Oblivion Ring Maindeck helps against additional removal against big threads like maverick knights, stoneforge equipment and jace stuff.

I would change
-1 Flagstones of Trokair (i think 2 is enough, maybe more if pox is rising)
-2 Karakas (our only real wasteland target, so i would cut it)
+4 Plains (with higher mana curve, i think 19 lands are safer)
-1 Figure of Destiny
+1 Student of Warfare (i like a tutorable one drop that can win games on his own, and he only needs two mana against punishing fire)
-1 Ranger of Eos (3 is enough and 4 feels to clunky in most hands)
-1 Sword of Fire and Ice (for me a sideboard option, i think protection blue/green is the best meta call, so sword of body and mind)
+1 Sword of Body and Mind

Sideboard, i dont like an Enlightened Tutorboard - but thats a personal suggestion and must tuned against the local meta and maindeck cards.

[lord182]

What do you think about Thalia, Guardian of Thraben?

http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_DKA/ThaliaGuardianOfThraben.jpg

I think can be a double-edged sword because StP cost 1 more to cast but can slow down some decks. It's a shame is a legendary creature :(

[Elleran]

I believe she is inferior to other available creatures for these reasons:

Against a combo deck, we have Canonist.
Against a control deck, we have Grand Abolisher which not only shuts down counters but also activated abilities.

Both of those creatures cost 2 to play, just like Thalia.

[MD.Ghost]

Analogous to my previous post i build up my new ascension/life.dec version:

// Lands
2 Flagstones of Trokair
17 Plains

// Creatures
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard
3 Angel's Grace
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Nova Cleric
3 Purify the Grave
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Yesterday i managed to gain the top 5 spot in my local berlin store (http://www.der-andere-spieleladen.com/turniere/legacy120204.html) (26 players)

Match 1 vs Stiflenough with bob and counterbalance, easly 2:0

Match 2 vs Reanimate, i lost 1:2 vs Iona and friends (this deck needs karakas...)

Match 3 vs GW Maverick, two long grindy Games = draw 1:1

Match 4 vs Counterbalance-Thopter Combo, one game he gets his combo online and the other games i beat him fast enough, thanks to my new mana curve, counterbalance is less dangerous 2:1

Match 5 vs GWr Maverick with Punishing Fire (a friend of me), Game 1 he got quickly all the bombs and i cant deal with all of them, game two and three i managed to get the combo online, but against mavericks maze you need two serra-beaters...but hey, we have the rangertutor :wink: 2:1

So i went 3-1-1, nice enough for this "underdog-deck". Now i think about to include some Karakas Lands, for alltime Nightmares like Iona...

The "Soulsister"Version is quite vulnerable against the rising delver/tempodecks with all the burn, even maverick decks switch to the stronger punishing variant. So we need additional answers like Oblivion Ring, bombs like Elspeth and nice, nerving cards like kitchen finks to stall the board and game some life points.

The sideboard have enough space for the two problematic matchups against graveyard and combo decks.

[Bladehold]

Lands (18)
18 Plains

Creatures (28)
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Ranger of Eos

Artifacts (6)
3 Chalice of Life/ Chalice of Death
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull

Spells (8)
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Tithe
4 Swords to Plowshares

Sideboard (15)
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Grafdiggers Cage
3 Stony Silence
3 Disenchant

To those who are unsure, the new Chalice is absolutely amazing in this deck! There are a lot of Stoneblade builds around here and I was struggling against them in games 2 and 3 after a game 1 thrashing. With the Chalice though, it's not even funny. It's been playing like this, T1 land Martyr; T2 land, pop the Martyr, Serra (life at 32 or 35), T3, Chalice (tap and flip) swing for 6. Opponent is now on a 2 turn clock. Maybe I'm lucky, but this has been pretty consistent (80%). Last 2 tourneys I played, I won. One was only 12 people, but a lot of different decks. The other was 25 or something. The bigger one, I beat burn 2-0, a mono-white knights 2-1, fish 2-0, and then Intentional Draw to top4. The hardest part of this deck is learning when to mulligan.

[overseer1234]

Hey, anybody still playing this deck?

A friend of mine is getting back into magic and he loves to play white life gain decks (he played that idiot life deck back in ravnica standard) and I figured this might be just up his alley.

So anybody got an up to date list?

Greets, and thanks in advance.

[Water_Wizard]

I looked into this deck a few weeks ago. There are more up to date deck lists on Sally. Here are some links:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=271285&highlight=soul+sisters

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=415134&highlight=soul+sisters

Here are some recent finishes:
http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/tipo.php?archetype=White%20Weenie&format=Legacy

There is a version of the deck that splashes black for Bitterblossom and Dark Confidant. It's pretty solid and adds some sideboard options.

[Climax]

Hey Guys.
Just wanted to provide you with the new Planeswalker that may fit in the deck (For me at least.)

http://i.imgur.com/jfEQ7.jpg


Reasons for me are:

Less mana cost. This alone is a huge step in the right direction I think. With just 18-20 Lands we are on the few side.

The first ability doesn't do much. But pumping a Ascendant is never wrong.

The second ability is pretty interesting. A doublestriking Ascendant, or a flying doublestriking Pridemate will often close the game in one swing.

The third ability uses our life points. So it fits the theme at least.

Biggest problem: He doesn't protect himself

What do you think about him?

(Sry for my bad english. Don't use it that often)

Cheers

[TsumiBand]

Hey Guys.
Just wanted to provide you with the new Planeswalker that may fit in the deck (For me at least.)

http://i.imgur.com/jfEQ7.jpg


Reasons for me are:

Less mana cost. This alone is a huge step in the right direction I think. With just 18-20 Lands we are on the few side.

The first ability doesn't do much. But pumping a Ascendant is never wrong.

The second ability is pretty interesting. A doublestriking Ascendant, or a flying doublestriking Pridemate will often close the game in one swing.

The third ability uses our life points. So it fits the theme at least.

Biggest problem: He doesn't protect himself

What do you think about him?

(Sry for my bad english. Don't use it that often)

Cheers

I like this Ajani, don't get me wrong, but I have the feeling that he'll be underwhelming in general. I say this because considering that his arguably best ability (the -3) renders him more or less an overcosted, Sorcery-speed Double Cleave, and that card doesn't get played. I can't imagine a game of Legacy getting to the point where his ultimate would be anything besides a win-more; if you can dominate with a ton of Cats in a deck like Ascension, it's probably because you've already won the day by having lots of life and a really big lifelinker.

[Climax]

I like this Ajani, don't get me wrong, but I have the feeling that he'll be underwhelming in general. I say this because considering that his arguably best ability (the -3) renders him more or less an overcosted, Sorcery-speed Double Cleave, and that card doesn't get played. I can't imagine a game of Legacy getting to the point where his ultimate would be anything besides a win-more; if you can dominate with a ton of Cats in a deck like Ascension, it's probably because you've already won the day by having lots of life and a really big lifelinker.

It's not just double strike, evasion is also included. (To state the obvious)

I'm just so excited about--> Ascendant, Martyr, Ajani --> 24 points life swing.
And like said earlier--> Throw Pridemates at opponents.
I'll try it for sure

[Elleran]

If it's evasion you're looking for, then Elspeth Knight-Errant can already do that every turn. Also, Elspeth can protect herself and simultaneously proc soul sister triggers. I believe Elspeth to be strictly better than Ajani in almost all instances.

[Finn]

Seeing as how one costs three and the other costs 4, you can NOT claim "strictly better" with any meaning behind it. Furthermore, one provides crappy ramp with a powerful wincon while the other provides excellent ramp with a less impressive ultimate. These cards are both white planeswalkers. Their similarity ends there.

So does the deck need a wincon that buffs other creatures or an engine?

[Elleran]

Oops, I didn't mean strictly better in that sense. Bad choice of words on my part. I agree that Elspeth is not strictly better than the new Ajani.

However, I do believe that waiting for one more turn for Elspeth is more rewarding than playing Ajani a turn earlier. What is the point of playing Ajani on turn 3 when we are barely able to provide chump blockers for it? A Tarmagoyf on turn 2 or a flying Delver from turn 1 will be easily able to kill Ajani, who confers no immediate benefit or synergy to the deck. Ajani simply fails to provide a strong enough presence to matter. Even his ultimate is a win-more. Getting to 8 loyalties would mean having blocked successfully for at least 3 turns. Even his second ability pales compared to Elspeth's second ability, which not only provides the same evasion ability, but is also repeatable. Playing Ajani on turn 3 also means not having played anything else that turn. Turn three is extremely important for this deck, as it decides whether Stoneforge will drop an equipment or a mass of creatures will trigger Ajani's Pridemate effect. Spending the entire turn on a card that will not provide immediate threat to the opponent is just not good enough.

EDIT: Spelling/Grammar

[Heresia]

And what do you think of land tax? It's seem to be a pretty card in the deck!

[Elleran]

Land Tax is banned in Legacy.

[Viridia]

It actually got unbanned a few days ago

[Elleran]

It actually got unbanned a few days ago

Just checked the list. Yeah, it's unbanned effective June 29th. I said it was banned because I double checked using Gatherer, which wasn't updated. Yes, it will be unbanned and yes, it will be great in this deck. lol

[Finn]

Land Tax requires quite a bit of design space to be truly effective. You will find out in short order how limiting it is. I hope it works for you though.

[calvzroks]

can anyone share what is the current decklist of this archetype? thanks :D

[MD.Ghost]

can anyone share what is the current decklist of this archetype? thanks :D


My last version (9th place / 131 players)

// Lands
2 Karakas
3 Flagstones of Trokair
14 Plains

// Creatures
3 Jötun Grunt
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

The traditional Soulsister Version, cant build enough pressur against terminus, jitte or sweepers. Jötun Grunt beats the RUG Canadian dec. like a champ. You need ways to fight sneak-show, i cut the student for additional support against big creatures or equipment(jitte) carriers - goldmeadow harrier (because he didn´t die to engineered plague against humans). Sideboard shoud include some pithing needles (griselbrand, maze, some combos etc.)

I prefere Tithe over Land Tax (mainly to have more control about my landdrops and to hold a white spell in hand for martyr-action)

[JanoschEausH]

I run the exact same version as MD.Ghost besides the Landbase (only 1 Karakas because i only own one) and it went very well so far.

[zulander]

My last version (9th place / 131 players)


// Lands
2 Karakas
3 Flagstones of Trokair
14 Plains

// Creatures
3 Jötun Grunt
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

The traditional Soulsister Version, cant build enough pressur against terminus, jitte or sweepers. Jötun Grunt beats the RUG Canadian dec. like a champ. You need ways to fight sneak-show, i cut the student for additional support against big creatures or equipment(jitte) carriers - goldmeadow harrier (because he didn´t die to engineered plague against humans). Sideboard shoud include some pithing needles (griselbrand, maze, some combos etc.)

I prefere Tithe over Land Tax (mainly to have more control about my landdrops and to hold a white spell in hand for martyr-action)

Have you thought of adding green?

[Tru3z3rox]

Judge's Familiar to replace Martyr of Sands? Lets weigh the pros and cons.

Martyr:
Pros
1) Explosive in the early game to beat many tempo decks.
2) Turns on Serra Ascendent which can clinche the game on its own.
3) A one drop that can be recurred with Proclamation of Rebirth.
4) A good chump blocker.
5) Improves our combo match up (damage based) as well as our aggro match up.

Cons
1) Dead mid to late game.
2) An awful top deck.
3) Gives away too much information.
4) Requires you to keep cards in your hand when you want to be casting them.


Judge's Familiar
Pros
1) Is amazing when recurred with proclamation.
2) Stops game breaking cards (e.g. - Natural Order, Wrath, Show and Tell, High Tide, Mana Ramp, etc).
3) Improves our nondamage based combo and control match ups (usually where we lose anyway).
4) Gives us time to beat down combo and control decks since sometimes we are 1 turn too late.
5) Carries equipments very well and has evasion to get that last bit of damage in.

Cons
1) Isn't as explosive and makes Serra Ascendent worse.
2) Is more useless in the aggro match up.

[lord182]

Judge's Familiar to replace Martyr of Sands? Lets weigh the pros and cons.

Martyr:
Pros
1) Explosive in the early game to beat many tempo decks.
2) Turns on Serra Ascendent which can clinche the game on its own.
3) A one drop that can be recurred with Proclamation of Rebirth.
4) A good chump blocker.
5) Improves our combo match up (damage based) as well as our aggro match up.

Cons
1) Dead mid to late game.
2) An awful top deck.
3) Gives away too much information.
4) Requires you to keep cards in your hand when you want to be casting them.


Judge's Familiar
Pros
1) Is amazing when recurred with proclamation.
2) Stops game breaking cards (e.g. - Natural Order, Wrath, Show and Tell, High Tide, Mana Ramp, etc).
3) Improves our nondamage based combo and control match ups (usually where we lose anyway).
4) Gives us time to beat down combo and control decks since sometimes we are 1 turn too late.
5) Carries equipments very well and has evasion to get that last bit of damage in.

Cons
1) Isn't as explosive and makes Serra Ascendent worse.
2) Is more useless in the aggro match up.

I play with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in MD and think Judge's Familiar is the perfect couple for her but sounds like control rather aggro.

[Tru3z3rox]

But Thalia messes with Elspeth, STP, Proc, and Equipments...

[lord182]

But Thalia messes with Elspeth, STP, Proc, and Equipments...

I don't have Elspeth yet and don't MD Proc so the only real thing Thalia messes with is STP cause Stoneforge let me cheat the equipments.

Thalia + Jitte rocks xD

[calvzroks]

A new addition, a good target for ranger of eos

Dryad Militant
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135267&d=1346731406

[Tru3z3rox]

A bad target, because by then it is already too late. You need to tutor silver bullets not search up late game answers that you want early game..

[Ink]

My last version (9th place / 131 players)

// Lands
2 Karakas
3 Flagstones of Trokair
14 Plains

// Creatures
3 Jötun Grunt
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Student of Warfare

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

The traditional Soulsister Version, cant build enough pressur against terminus, jitte or sweepers. Jötun Grunt beats the RUG Canadian dec. like a champ. You need ways to fight sneak-show, i cut the student for additional support against big creatures or equipment(jitte) carriers - goldmeadow harrier (because he didn´t die to engineered plague against humans). Sideboard shoud include some pithing needles (griselbrand, maze, some combos etc.)

I prefere Tithe over Land Tax (mainly to have more control about my landdrops and to hold a white spell in hand for martyr-action)

Are you still playing this? I've always had a soft spot for decks like this, so I'm thinking about throwing it together. This list looks like you might have trouble turning on Ascendent, without the soulsister part of the deck; is that a problem? Care to provide some more details about sideboarding?

[JanoschEausH]

I won't recommend this deck right now. Pernicious Deed and Abrupt Decay are taking all your threats.

[MD.Ghost]

Are you still playing this? I've always had a soft spot for decks like this, so I'm thinking about throwing it together. This list looks like you might have trouble turning on Ascendent, without the soulsister part of the deck; is that a problem? Care to provide some more details about sideboarding?

I haven´t touched the list for a while. I think, if the meta is full of deathrite and/or abrupt decay decks it is ok, because Ascension can handle any fair deck but is in trouble vs unfair decks (storm combo, sneak&show and so on). Sure, Abrupt Decay hit anything except elspeth and ranger, but removal is always an issue for a creature deck. I didn´t fear Abrupt Decay. Deathrite is an answer vs Proclamation of Rebirth, but i already reduced it to two. Jötun Grunt is the real recycling engine and is also an answer against deathrite.

I haven´t trouble to turn ascendent into a 6/6, but with stoneforge and/or elspeth you have enough other win conditions, so you don´t need the martyr+ascendent combo. Versus removal heavy decks the small soulsister pass away to easily and can´t apply enough pressure on its own.

My latest build is:

// Deck: Ascension (60)

// Lands
2 Karakas
3 Flagstones of Trokair
14 Plains

// Creatures
3 Jötun Grunt
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Mother of Runes
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Goldmeadow Harrier

// Spells
1 Batterskull
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tithe
1 Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard
SB: 2 Wing Shards
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Enlightened Tutor
SB: 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
SB: 1 Thorn of Amnethyst
SB: 1 Runed Halo
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Aura of Silence
SB: 1 Phrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Sword of Fire and Ice
SB: 1 Rest in Peace

But i haven´t tested it. Maybe the sideboard need some tweaks for the current meta.

[calvzroks]

Any updates with m14 now released? :)

[Dice_Box]

I like this. I like it alot. I would say if you're running Land tax run scroll rack. The two together are nuts.