[Deck] Boot Camp (Tribal Soldiers) [Archive]

Pinder

06-04-2009, 01:50 AM

Soldier Tribal, eh? First off, every white soldier that's ever been printed in the history of Magic (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&type=+[%22Creature%22]&subtype=+[%22Soldier%22]&color=+@(+[W])).

Just looking at the list, the following creatures probably suck too much to be in it:

Deftblade Elite
Catapult Squad
Longbow Archer
Ication Javelineers

Field Marshal, Grunt, and Whipcorder are all pretty solid, though. From skimming the list I linked above, a few cards that are probably better than what you have now:

Akrasan Squire
Auriok Steelshaper (you would have to add equipment for this one, but you should probably be running some equipment anyway)
Aven Riftwatcher
Eiganjo Free-Riders (I didn't know this card existed until I did that search, but 3/4 flying for 4 is pretty beefy, especially with cheap creatures you can bounce and replay (like the aforementioned Riftwatcher, for example), plus he's riding a giant fucking moth, so there's style points there).
Enlistment Officer (I'm not sure if Ringleader for Soldiers will ever be as good as Ringleader is in Goblins, but it's at least worth a look)
Intrepid Hero (this would really just be around to kill Tarmogoyfs, but that's relevant, I suppose)
Leonin Shikari
Ranger of Eos (I'm not sure how many 1-drop Soldiers you end up with, but if it's more than a couple, you should probably run him)
Soltari Footsoldier (unblockability is nice, and could be fetched with Ranger)
Cenn's Tactician
Ballyrush Banneret
Veteran's Armaments

That's just a rough list of Soldiers that might be worth playing.

edit - Oh, and I'm sure you're running Path over Swords because you're white weenie and you want to avoid them gaining life or whatever, but I figured I'd remind you that Swords to Plowshares exists, and that it's completely awesome and you should probably be running it.

edit2 - And Decree of Justice is always pretty amazing, but might be too slow here.

heroicraptor

06-04-2009, 01:51 AM

If you're gonna run Enlistment Officer, Crib Swap is a good choice for removal.

Pinder

06-04-2009, 02:10 AM

If you're gonna run Enlistment Officer, Crib Swap is a good choice for removal.

I didn't even consider spells that had Changeling. Good catch. That said, Crib Swap is a little on the expensive side, but it may be worth it to not lose it to Enlistment Officer.

Here's a list I just threw together, it could probably use refining:

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
11 [US] Plains (4)
3 Flagstones
4 [MOR] Mutavault

// Creatures
3 [AP] Enlistment Officer
2 [SOK] Eiganjo Free-Riders
4 [FNM] Whipcorder
4 [CS] Jotun Grunt
2 [ALA] Ranger of Eos
4 [MOR] Cenn's Tactician
4 [TE] Soltari Foot Soldier
4 [CS] Field Marshal

// Spells
4 [ON] Shared Triumph
3 [MOR] Veteran's Armaments
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [4E] Swords to Plowshares

It could probably be better, but it's a start.

eq.firemind

06-04-2009, 03:27 AM

Some thoughts about Soldier tribe:

Eiganjo Free-Riders and Ranger of Eos - they are cute, but you have Enlistment Officer and Daru Warchief as 4-drops.

Shared Triumph does nothing on its own and does very little until you have 3 or more dudes. Awful 2-drop.

Raise the Alarm: Each and every 2/2 soldier for 2 mana is better.

For the God's sake, run Jitte if you need equipment.

Deftblade Elite is great. He can pick manadudes and Confidant, block Goyf/Coatl/Crusher all day and with Field Marshal he is even better.

I also think that you sould run 21-22 lands with 4 Wasteland and 3-4 Rishadan Port instead of Mutavault.

Preeminent Captain is awesome. I hope you just overlooked him.

Mirror Entity is Soldier!

Ballyrush Banneret is the 2-drop you need to smooth the deck.

So here's my sketch:

4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan port
14 Plains

4 Aether Vial
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Deftblade Elite - to kill small creatures (mostly manadudes and Confi)
2 Icatian Javelineers - to be sure I can kill manadudes and Confi in time to support my manadenial plan
2 Goldmeadow Harrier - forget about Whipcorder

4 Ballyrush Banneret - to smooth the game.
2 Jotun Grunt - only 2 main 'cause we can't support them.
2 Veteran Armorer - Just don't know about this slot...

4 Preeminent Captain - use him wise and you'll see how great he is
4 Field Marshal - no comments
2 Mirror Entity - you need power, so here it is.

4 Enlistment Officer - 28 non-Soldiers look OK to run this as 4-of. But maybe -1 Officer, +1 Daru Warchief

SB:
4 Orim's Chant - I don't know how to manage Combo MU. 4 Chants are clearly not enough. Maybe we should just let Combo go and hope not to meet it often...
2 Jotun Grunt - no comments
3 Seal of Cleansing - we need art/ench hate
3 Relic of Progenitus - we need more GY hate
3 Absolute Law - theese are not for goblins (First Strike > goblins), but for Pyroclasm/Firesprout/Dev Dreams.

Pinder

06-04-2009, 03:53 AM

Some thoughts about Soldier tribe:

Eiganjo Free-Riders and Ranger of Eos - they are cute, but you have Enlistment Officer and Daru Warchief as 4-drops.

I'll give you that Ranger and Free-Riders might not be strictly necessary, but Daru Warchief? Really? The 4 mana 2/3?

Shared Triumph does nothing on its own and does very little until you have 3 or more dudes. Awful 2-drop.

I left it in because it was in his original list. I actually have to agree. On further thought, Vial can probably leave too, as the curve is pretty much all over the place.

Raise the Alarm: Each and every 2/2 soldier for 2 mana is better.

Also agreed.

For the God's sake, run Jitte if you need equipment.

Being able to keep Veteran's Armaments off of an Enlistment Officer is pretty huge, and the card is tailor-made to interact well with soliders in a deck with lots of small dudes. That said, Jitte is pretty fucking amazing in and of itself. It being legendary and not a Soldier do count against it here, though.

Deftblade Elite is great. He can pick manadudes and Confidant, block Goyf/Coatl/Crusher all day and with Field Marshal he is even better.

I would posit that you have better things to be doing than infinite chump blocking. You have Swords.

I also think that you sould run 21-22 lands with 4 Wasteland and 3-4 Rishadan Port instead of Mutavault.

You probably could.

Preeminent Captain is awesome. I hope you just overlooked him.

Actually yes. He does seem pretty awesome, but at 3 mana he also seems a tad slow.

Mirror Entity is Soldier!

Derp. I keep forgetting about changelings.

So here's my sketch:

I still disagree on the Javelineers and the Elite, and I would definitely cut Veteran Armorer for Veteran's Armaments (or possibly Jitte). Armorer just sucks.

eq.firemind

06-04-2009, 05:04 AM

I'll give you that Ranger and Free-Riders might not be strictly necessary, but Daru Warchief? Really? The 4 mana 2/3?
Well, he's on top of curve ,so he powers my army NOW, not later. One other thing: deck dies to Pyroclasm. He helps here. Also, Captain, Banneret and Vial make his 4-cost much easier. But I think I'll stay with 4 Officer as my only 4-drops for now.

Vial can probably leave too
Don't do that! This will ruin your deck!

Being able to keep Veteran's Armaments off of an Enlistment Officer is pretty huge, and the card is tailor-made to interact well with soliders in a deck with lots of small dudes. That said, Jitte is pretty fucking amazing in and of itself. It being legendary and not a Soldier do count against it here, though.
If Armaments are 2-drop, well, they are terrible (like Shared Triumph). If finisher, well, Warchief costs 4, can be dropped from Vial/Captain(!) and offers the same punch (+1 damage for 1 soldier, +2 more if droped from Captain) and better defence (+2 for 1 Soldier, surprise from Vial). And don't forget, Clasm owns us. Duh, even Fire/Ice can hurt alot.
The main problem with Armanents is that it's non-creature spell that needs many creatures to be good. So to fit it in you need to cut creatures ('cause you can't cut Swords or Vial).

I would posit that you have better things to be doing than infinite chump blocking. You have Swords.
4 Swords with no way to dig/search are clearly not enough. I also don't want to waste my swords on small dudes, I prefer to kill Goyf/Terravore.
As I said, in my list he helps to fight shit that shrinks my manadenial plan (much like Fanatic do in goblins). He also becomes really better with Marshal and/or Entity. And if you still want to run Armanents, I belive he will do crazy things.
Hell, I start thinking about to try Deftblade in my new pet deck, Death & Taxes for so many tricks he can offer, like Provoke in lonely huge blocker to let the rest of my army connect or provoke into zombie token to clear Bridges from Below (Javelineers can just shoot themselves to do this =)).

Actually yes. He does seem pretty awesome, but at 3 mana he also seems a tad slow.
My list has Vial, Banneret and 22 lands, so it's not a problem at all. He also has a little "Surprise!" factor and this makes him even better.

I still disagree on the Javelineers and the Elite, and I would definitely cut Veteran Armorer for Veteran's Armaments (or possibly Jitte). Armorer just sucks.
I'll do some testing after work, but if Swords+Deftblade can be enough, I'll let Javelineers go and put in 2 Akrasan Squire or 2 more Goldmeadow Harriers.
That 2-cost slot need a creature, not a thing that works with creatures. Maybe more grunts (it's metagame choice) or more 1-drops?
If I will add Jitte, I'll do +2 Jitte, -1 Captain, -1 Officer.

whosyourdaddy

06-04-2009, 05:53 AM

How about soltari champion? Looks pretty nice. Also wit S.champion + Soltari Foot Soldier + Deftblade Elite you coul possibly abuse Veteran's Armaments much better.

eq.firemind

06-04-2009, 06:31 AM

Why are you all so exited about Armaments?? Just because it is Soldier? Or because you can equip it for free (and still wait next turn to use it)?
As I said before, I see huge problems with decks that run burn main and Pyroclasm side: Zoo and Tempo Thresh (both decks are very popular, so I included Absolute Law in my SB). So why make the deck suck even more to any single burn spell?
No, really, explain me please, why and where are Armaments good?
For now I think it's that dangerous cool thing you should avoid in each and every not-totally-casual deck.

Soltari Champion deserves a try. Soltari Foot Soldier is plain weak, but if you still want to use it, just add the fucking Jitte.

zabuza

06-04-2009, 08:58 AM

I would use at least the following cards:
Acient tomb,
preemint captain,
Intrepid hero,
Mirror entity
dauntless scort

Ancient tomb: It provides two fast mana to play preeminent captain or entity or hero in the very first turn and later you can pump with mirror entity all your creatures to infinite and beyond.

Captain: Is the goblin lackey here but it gives hasta to all your creatures. Is THE MVP of the deck.

Mirror entity: Is our favorithe finisher. Yo can play creatures by vialing them into play or with captain anp pump0ing them with all your mana to kill anybody.

Dauntless scort: Has a big body and prevent clasm, explosives and other stuff to clean the table. Is a very good adition to the deck. The only problem is G in it´s casting cost but with captain, vial and a couple of fetch is a solved problem.

Hero: it kills goyfs, coatls, dreadnoughts and all other fatties in play. this guy can be a pain in the ass for the opponent who must answer it.

Another cards i think must be played are:

Mutavault, Aether Vial, Goldmeadow Harrier, Ballyrush Banneret, Jotun Grunt, Field Marshal, Enlistment Officer,

thoughts?

eq.firemind

06-04-2009, 09:36 AM

Ancient tomb: It provides two fast mana to play preeminent captain or entity or hero in the very first turn and later you can pump with mirror entity all your creatures to infinite and beyond.
My way is Port+Wasteland. In terms of just speed, theese will slow your opp, so effect is almost equal.
But manadenial strategy allows you to cut opp's color or punish low-land hand and the ability to affect enemy's gameplan is clearly the thing we need very much.

Captain: THE MVP of the deck.
Yeah, he's amazing!

Mirror entity: Is our favorithe finisher. Yo can play creatures by vialing them into play or with captain anp pump0ing them with all your mana to kill anybody.
I play 2 and don't want more 'cause it's bad on its own and don't want less 'cause I have no enough dig/tutor.

Dauntless scort: Has a big body and prevent clasm, explosives and other stuff to clean the table. Is a very good adition to the deck. The only problem is G in it´s casting cost but with captain, vial and a couple of fetch is a solved problem.
He is small compared to Goyf and Stalker, his effect is weak for his cost and that :g: is horrible.

Hero: it kills goyfs, coatls, dreadnoughts and all other fatties in play. this guy can be a pain in the ass for the opponent who must answer it.
This one might be good. To bad we have no Soldier Matron.

adder

06-04-2009, 10:00 AM

Okay, so if Shared Triumph is so bad what should I play in it's place? Crusade? Merfolk plays more than 4 buffs, so why shouldn't I?

I've fallen in love with the synergy between Catapult Squad and Deftblade Elite. You force the opponent's creature to block (or block it yourself), prevent the damage, and then tap all your untapped soldiers to kill it, it's great

Soltari Champion looks fun... :cool:

zabuza

06-04-2009, 10:13 AM

we can´t stand mana denial strategy because we haven´t an efficient engine to support that. blue has stifles, red has LD as black too. he only thing we can do is trying to outrace them with our creatures.

Escort is a 3/3 that can be played as instant speed with vial to prevent engineered explosives, volcanic fallout, pyroclsam and so on or played by captain having a way to avoid cleaning the table because white haven´t card advantage so we must care about all of our creatures as much as we can.

imagine first turn Goldmeadow Harrier, second turn tomb captain, third turn tomb attack with captain and harrier and play entity pumping all of them to five.

next turn opponent is dead.

we have not matron but our creatures are better and bigger than goblins so....... and we have lot of white removal like PTE, STP, reprisal,.....

If you want a very big creature that is easy to play with captain play
Changeling Titan or chameleon colossus in order you have a big monster.

Oppps and i forgot elspeth here. with tombs you can create lot of soldiers and give flying to captain in order to beat harder.

Finn

06-04-2009, 10:51 AM

In my testing with Soldiers:

A. Preeminent Captain is extremely effective at filling the field with more dudes, especially if you play Maze of Ith to protect him.
B. Preeminent Captain is even better with Ancient Tomb or City of Traitors.
C. Preeminent Captain is THE REASON to play soldiers.
D. Soldiers still suck. Sorry.

MTG-Fan

06-04-2009, 12:34 PM

Finally, a deck to put all of my Preeminent Captains to use! (ripped 1 foil, 2 regular when I bought a box of Morningtide)

Make this deck tier1 asap! :)

eq.firemind

06-04-2009, 01:29 PM

we can´t stand mana denial strategy because we haven´t an efficient engine to support that. blue has stifles, red has LD as black too. he only thing we can do is trying to outrace them with our creatures.
Err... Merfolks run 4 Waste+4 Stifle. Gobz run 4 Waste+4 Port. Eva Green runs 4 Waste+4 Sinkhole. Death and Taxes run 4 Waste+4 Port(or 4 Waste+3-4 Mishra's). We run 4 Waste+4 Port(like Gobz). I don't see why can't we do this.
And point me please, where did you saw LD in red (only Dev Dreams come to mind, but that's bad example of LD spell)??

Escort is a 3/3 that can be played as instant speed with vial to prevent engineered explosives, volcanic fallout, pyroclsam and so on or played by captain having a way to avoid cleaning the table because white haven´t card advantage so we must care about all of our creatures as much as we can.
Or he can hang dead in your hand 'cause you have Plains and Tomb and your opponent Wasted your Savannah or EE'd your Vial. And we HAVE card advantage: Enlistment Officer.

we have not matron but our creatures are better and bigger than goblins so....... and we have lot of white removal like PTE, STP, reprisal,.....
White removal: Swords, Path, O-ring. You already run 4 Vial, so you can't run more than 4 removal 'cause you need Soldiers in your deck.

If you want a very big creature that is easy to play with captain play Changeling Titan or chameleon colossus in order you have a big monster.
I already said about green.

Oppps and i forgot elspeth here. with tombs you can create lot of soldiers and give flying to captain in order to beat harder.
I already said about non-soldiers.

adder

06-04-2009, 09:07 PM

Should this deck not care about the mana curve? Whenever I make aggro (which is all the time) I always make sure it curves out, is this just me being anal-retentive or is a mana-curve less effective than Ancient Tomb and it's ilk?

KillemallCFH

06-05-2009, 01:30 AM

I've actually been messing around with Soldiers lately. It's not bad. Not Tier 1, but I'm convinced that in the right meta, it could have a reasonable amount of success. Here's what I got right now:

// Lands
20 [10E] Plains (2)
3 [MOR] Mutavault

// Creatures
2 [ON] Catapult Squad
3 [SH] Soltari Champion
4 [CS] Field Marshal
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier
3 [SC] Daru Warchief
4 [AP] Enlistment Officer
4 [MOR] Ballyrush Banneret
4 [MOR] Preeminent Captain
4 [LE] Deftblade Elite

// Spells
2 [10E] Pithing Needle
3 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [CS] Jotun Grunt
SB: 1 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
SB: 2 [PY] Abolish
SB: 2 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 [US] Absolute Law
SB: 2 [AL] Kjeldoran Outpost
SB: 2 [SHM] Runed Halo
SB: 2 [RAV] Leave No Trace

I've been incredibly impressed with the one-drops. Goldmeadow Harrier is quite amazing in a format full of Goyfs and Dreadnoughts. Deftblade Elite is really nice against other Tribal decks (or Bob), and at worst chumps a Goyf forever. With multiple pumpers out, Deftblade Elite becomes a house.

Ballyrush Banneret is an amazing 2 drop, and I couldn't imagine playing without him. Catapult Squad is okay-ish. Really good against Gobs, pretty good against Merfolk, meh against everything else. It can still do nice things in swinging combat to your favor.

Field Marshal and Preeminent Captain are easily the best cards in the deck (next to Enlistment Officer of course). First Strike is awesome, and lackeys are awesome (especially when they don't have to connect). Soltari Champion is really solid. Kinda another lord, and unblockableness is sexy.

Enlistment Officer is a Ringleader; not much else needs to be said. Daru Warchief is awesome as a pumper, and with Banneret can easily allow you to shit your hand on the table. However, at 4 mana, it is clunky and I recently put it down to 3 for this reason.

Jitte is Jitte. Not playing it is a huge mistake (especially with so many First Strikers). Pithing Needle could easily be replaced, but it is solid. Deed and EE obviously suck for this deck, and Needle answers them. At worse it names something like Top or Factory and annoys your opponent.

The SB is kinda random, but seems to be working. Jotun/Relic/Tormod's Crypt all serve the same purpose (obviously), the former 2 being better against decks like Aggro Loam, the latter being better against Ichorid. Leave No Trace is certainly replacable; it's just something I'm trying out as an awesome answer to multiple Plagues. Abolish is just general Artifact/Enchantment removal. Burn of any sort (be it targeted, or mass removal) absolutely owns this deck, so Absolute Law is an auto-include in the board. Runed Halo was kinda a random toss-in. Good against Dreadnoughts and the like. Comes in against combo, although trying to win that matchup is useless anyways. Outpost is awesome against Control, but way too slow against other decks, hence its position in the board. Just don't make the mistake as treating like an actual land when boarding.

@Ancient Tomb: Tried it and it sucked. Might be decent in other builds, but is really bad with cost reducers, and pretty unnecessary, considering how well I curve out.

@Vial: Honestly haven't tried it yet. Not sure it is really needed. My (admittedly little) testing have shown CB decks to be in my favor already, and adding Aether Vial means cutting actual threats. Then again, it might really help, and I might just be stubborn. /shrug

eq.firemind

06-05-2009, 04:19 AM

@Vial: Honestly haven't tried it yet. Not sure it is really needed. My (admittedly little) testing have shown CB decks to be in my favor already, and adding Aether Vial means cutting actual threats. Then again, it might really help, and I might just be stubborn. /shrug
In my list of Wastelands+Ports Vial is a must have and it shines just like in Goblins or Merfolks. If you don't run LD package, i still reccoment to run Vial 'cause with Vials you can run 4 Mutavault and 22 lands.
And I don't think it's good idea to play without Swords to Plowshares.

The Grim Reaper

06-05-2009, 08:01 AM

syssc9

06-05-2009, 12:24 PM

I messed around with Soldiers a while back but gave it up as 3rd rate. With some of these new Soldiers, it looks like a whole new deal.
@ Grim Reaper - I like the look of your list. I have been messing with various tribal decks lately, and they all seem to work best when constructed of mostly creatures. Back when I was experimenting with Soldiers I was attempting to use the synergy of Free Riders and Frontline Strategist. Danger of cool things, I suppose, but it worked good once in place (and so long as I wasn't facing other Soldiers.) With the new pumpers and a white lackey, I think I need to revisit the concept.

KillemallCFH

06-05-2009, 12:29 PM

Here's the list I've been working on:

// Lands
14 [OD] Plains (1)
4 [MM] Rishadan Port
4 [TE] Wasteland

// Creatures
2 [CS] Jotun Grunt
4 [LRW] Mirror Entity
4 [MOR] Ballyrush Banneret
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier
4 [AP] Enlistment Officer
4 [10E] Field Marshal
4 [MOR] Preeminent Captain
4 [SC] Daru Warchief
4 [LE] Deftblade Elite

// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial

It has proved to be pretty good in testing. To cover some of the more questionable choices:

1. No removal: Every non-soldier card you have in here weakens your deck. If you run 4x Swords, you are slowing down your clock and making your ringleader worse. With 4x Deftblade and 4x Harrier, fatties are not usually a problem.

2. 4x Mirror Entity. Mirror Entity is probably one of the most powerful cards in your deck. I run 4 because as soon as it hits, if your opponent doesn't remove it they will die.

For the SB I'm looking for some soldiers that double as artifact/enchantment removal - any suggestions?That list looks pretty good. I haven't tried Mirror Entity; it seems kinda meh. With all the pumpers, your dudes are usually quite large anyways. Although when you're staring at a board of a couple 1-drops, he does seem pretty fantastic. I'll have to test him out.

I haven't actually tried to Mana denial/Vial approach; colorless lands suck with cost reducers, and this deck really wants to hit double white. It also means no Mutavaults, which are quite amazing.

Jotun Grunt seems awful; you have a grand total of 4 cards that put themselves in your graveyard.

I definitely agree with not running removal. The one-drops take care of dudes nicely, and if you need more, you can add in Whipcorder. Maybe a couple O-Rings could find a place MD, but seems quite unnecessary. Jitte, however, which is sorta kinda removal, I've found to be amazing. I'm not sure where you would fit it in, but I'm never unhappy to see one with this deck.

@Artifact/Enchantment removal: Aven Cloudchaser is okay. Gets rid of Plague/CB/Moat nicely, and sticks around as an evasive body. Honestly though, I'd just stick with better answers in Abolish/Seal of Cleansing/etc.

Watcher487

06-05-2009, 02:50 PM

Captain_Morgan

06-05-2009, 08:47 PM

Maybe splashing blue could work, giving access to Wake Thrasher, Bant Sureblade, FoW, and other blue spells. There are other soldiers, but probably too slow to be of any use like Sun Quan, Lord of Wu.

eq.firemind

06-06-2009, 07:39 AM

What about Benalish Commander?
3W
Benalish Commander's power and toughness are each equal to the number of Soldiers you control.
Suspend X- XWW (X can't be 0)
Whenever a time counter is removed from Benalish Commander while it's removed from the game, put a 1/1 white Soldier creature token into play.

I know most of you guys are a little clunky at the 4-drop spot but I mainly treat him as a 3-drop via Suspend or drop him into play via Captain. He's pretty much our Piledriver for the deck and should warrant at least a 2-of for the deck.
I'll try this one, but it looks like Daru Warchief is better 4-drop (+1 power for each soldier, but +2 toughness) and Suspend looks a little slow.

Maybe splashing blue could work, giving access to Wake Thrasher, Bant Sureblade, FoW, and other blue spells.
Wake Thrasher: We have 4 Preeminent Captain, 4 Field Marshal and 2+ Mirror Entity. We don't need more 3-cost in deck. And Enity is better beater.
Sureblade: are you joking?
FoW: can't imagine how can we up the blue count to use FoW.
Splash in general: I don't know any non-white Soldier cards that works better than mono-White dudes we already run. So if splash a color, that's for some non-Soldier spells and/or sideboard options. Small green splash for Grip looks most promissing 'cause we need a way to fight Deed, EE, Humility and same shit, but we already have Seal/Disenchant Pithing Needle and strong manabase is one of the deck's great advantages.

I was impressed by the deck's ability to handle creatures of all sort. Deftblade, Harrier, Javelineers, Catault Squad and many First Strikers is enough reason to cut StP from my list. I'll start cutting one, and if it'll be OK, I'll cut more in favor of anti-creature soldiers.

A change in my sideboard:
-1 Absolute Law, -1 Seal of Cleansing, -1 Relic of Progenitus,
+3 Serenity - this will help alot against Enchantress, StaX, Affinity, Faerie Stompy, Dragon Stompy.

(nameless one)

06-07-2009, 12:48 AM

zabuza

06-07-2009, 12:59 PM

I think soldiers could do it good.See next link to chek it:

http://www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=16249

Is from 2008 but top8 was good enough to realise that the deck was strong.

Nowdays we have more new cards that can replace some of the weakest cards from that deck.

The list i´m testing now is:

// Lands
20 [UNH] Plains

// Creatures
4 [MOR] Ballyrush Banneret
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier
4 [MOR] Preeminent Captain
3 [LRW] Mirror Entity
4 [10E] Field Marshal
4 [AP] Enlistment Officer
3 [10E] Loyal Sentry
3 [LE] Deftblade Elite
4 [ON] Catapult Squad

// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [ON] Shared Triumph

thoughts?

Captain_Morgan

06-07-2009, 07:59 PM

Reverent Mantra, it's like a weak psuedo FoW or a mass fear as far as tempo goes. There's also a few other tricks you can pull off when they're targeting their own creatures for pumps and the like as well as Stifle against 'naut. Although, they can back it up with a Daze.

I've been a fan of the card since it was printed, some of the more obvious combat tricks still work well enough considering swarm decks. Might be a meta thing, but I've always found it a good standbye.

eq.firemind

06-10-2009, 05:59 AM

The twist on Soldier theme, now with Aurion Steelshaper:

14 Plains
4 Wasteland/Mutavault
- main base

4 Aether Vial - supply depot
4 Swords to Plowshares - hi-tech weapon
4 Deftblade Elite - all-combat soldier
4 Cenn's Tactician - battle tactician

4 Ballyrush Banneret - battlefield coordinator
2 Jotun Grunt - siege weapon.
4 Auriok Steelshaper - tech operator.

4 Preeminent Captain - frontline commander
4 Field Marshal - main strategist
2 Mirror Entity/Soltari Champion - assault unit

Now Steelshaper's package:
2 Steelshaper's Gift - tech operator's toolbox
1 Umezawa's Jitte - main weapon
1 Mask of Memory/Sword of Fire and Ice - secondary weapon (main reason to run Champion over Entity)
1 Bone Saw/Paradise Mantle - main tool (cost :0: to maintain and :0: to equip with Shaper in play)
1 Leonin Bola - secondary tool

SB is under construction, but for now it is:
2 Jotun Grunt
4 Orim's Chant
3 Seal of Cleansing
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Thorn of Amethyst

My prevous Soldier deck felt like a vast army marshing on enemy.
This one feels like some sort of light hi-tech special forces unit.

The flavor is the greatest part about Soldiers: you play the real guys: soldiers, officers, siege/assault machines, tactics... Not just pile of (good) cards (like Force of Will + Tarmo)

Drizzy

06-10-2009, 08:49 AM

Since you go the Steelshaper way, wouldn't running Leonin Shikari + Lightning Greaves be viable? Protects your guys from spot removal, gives 'em haste and allows some other combat tricks with equipments.

eq.firemind

06-10-2009, 09:07 AM

Steelshaper sucks alone. So do Shikari and Greaves. 4 bad cards with good possibilities is enough 'cool things' for my deck.

zabuza

06-16-2009, 07:12 AM

i think that soldiers must not play equipment because they are good enough by their own.

In the removal spot we have:
Deftblade Elite --> kill little cratures and prevent big creatures to hit.
Goldmeadow Harrier --> tapping goyfs, tombstalkers and that stuff is really good
Loyal Sentry --> With vial is our removal. Block a monster and kill him
Catapult Squad --> Destroy little armies. Is our grim lavamancer.

We had lot of acceleration provided by:
Ballyrush Banneret --> wow, our critters are now really fast, because
they usually have colorless mana in their CC.
Preeminent Captain --> Put any soldier in play with "haste". Really
good.
Aether vial --> lot of creatures at instant speed.

We have our 8 lords:
Field Marshal --> and give them First strike. Really good.
Shared Triumph --> Our enchantment lord for soldiers. Cheap and useful.

And we have a draw engine too.
Enlistment Officer

Last, we have our greater big win condition.
Mirror entity --> turn all our´s 1/1 and 2/2 into 5/5 or so on.

I think this deck is good enough to be played. have lot of resources and can handle creatures in a good way.

Beside of that we have another interesting options like:

Dauntless scort : all our soldiers are indestructible
maze of ith: prvent our captain to die but play critters anyway.
jotun grunt: A monster that cleans grave
intrepid hero: Destroy tarmos, tombstalker, crusher, coatl, and so on. A nice guy.

And with a little splash of

Red:
boros swiftblade
Hearthfire Hobgoblin (this two guys are awesome with entitys, triumph or marshall)

Green:
something like krosan grip, and escort.

Wahta do you think guys about? Is a solid deck and competitive deck? if not, why not? More ideas?

(nameless one)

06-18-2009, 04:12 PM

If your gonna go along the lines of creature control, why not use Sunstrike Legionnaire?

Use him with Elspeth and Token Enablers.

eq.firemind

06-26-2009, 02:17 AM

So now there's 2/1 for :w: Soldier in M10! I'm happy to have agressive 1-drop.

If they'll print another 3-costed Soldier lord and/or a good 2-costed beater I'll be totally happy.

heroicraptor

06-26-2009, 04:40 AM

Crib Swap is pretty sweet removal, and Officer grabs it.

Rizso

06-26-2009, 01:25 PM

Veteran Swordsmith WW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Other Soldier creatures you control get +1/+0.
3/2

Veteran Armorsmith WW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Other Soldier creatures you control get +0/+1.
2/3

Honor of the Pure 1W
Enchantment (R)
White creatures you control get +1/+1.

Thoes 3 are pretty solid for a soldier deck, all from M10.

There is a more expensive solider

Captain of the Watch 4WW
Creature - Human Soldier (R)
Vigilance
Other Soldier creatures you control gets +1/+1 and have vigilance.
When Captain of the Watch enters the battlefield, put 3 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
3/3

Tacosnape

06-26-2009, 01:48 PM

And, if you're really bored, you can run Mirrorweave in Mono-white Soldiers for ridiculous kills with Preeminent Captain.

That said, Vial Soldiers is looking bizarrely playable all the sudden.

adder

06-26-2009, 03:05 PM

Here's my list:

Lands:
4 x Mutavault
3 x Flagstones of Trokair
14 x Plains

Creatures:
4 x Goldmeadow Harrier
4 x Deftblade Elite
4 x Ballyrush Banneret
4 x Preeminent Captain
4 x Field Marshal
3 x Mirror Entity
4 x Enlistment Officer
4 x Daru Warchief

Artifacts:
4 x Aether Vial

There are 4 open slots right now, and the Daru Warchief hasn't really been all that exciting in my playtesting so far. That leaves me with 8 slots that can be filled with any combination of these new guys. I think the best new Soldier is the Veteran Swordsmith (which actually costs 2W) would be more playable because of his very offensive ability and easier mana cost. Capitan of the Watch looks like he would be a great guy to sneak out under a Preeminent Captain, and he could also be hardcast if you have two Bannerets out.

Here's my list:

Lands:
4 x Mutavault
3 x Flagstones of Trokair
14 x Plains

Creatures:
4 x Goldmeadow Harrier
4 x Deftblade Elite
4 x Ballyrush Banneret
4 x Preeminent Captain
4 x Field Marshal
3 x Mirror Entity
3 x Veteran Swordsmith
4 x Enlistment Officer
2 x Daru Warchief
3 x Captain of the Watch

Artifacts:
4 x Aether Vial

Cire

06-26-2009, 03:34 PM

Heres my take on the new soldiers with M2010 updates

The Veteran's

1CC
4 Elite Vangaurd
4 Aether Vial
4 Deftblade Elite
4 Goldmeadow Harrier

2CC
4 Veteran Armorsmith
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Veteran Armorer

3CC
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Field Marshal
4 Preeminent Captain

4CC
2 Enlistment Officer

Lands
12 Plains
4 Mutavault
4 Flagstones of Trokair

rleader

06-26-2009, 04:33 PM

I've been playing a bad tribal soldiers deck for a while and I like splashing red for Sunhome Enforcer and Taurean Mauler (and a singleton Soltari Guerilla's to surprise end the game).

The problem with soldiers is that you always get outtempo'd and lifegain (I like Spirit Loop, too, but that was when lifelink stacked) lets you stay in the game vs. goyf until you build your critical mass.

For that same reason I think I prefer the Maze of Ith plan over cute one drops (and if you're running cute one drops, Ranger of Eos comes to mind), because of tempo: if someone has goyf and they just EE your harrier and vial away, you'll never catch up. OTOH, Maze forces other people to over-commit, too, not to mention the trick with Premeninent Captain.

Plus playing red gives you access to bloodmoon. Sunhome Enforcer, and Jotun Grunt (probably from the sideboard) enables Ancient Amphitheater, too.

rleader

06-26-2009, 05:00 PM

Veteran Armorsmith WW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Other Soldier creatures you control get +0/+1.
2/3

Veteran Armorer is better imo, unless you ditch ballyrush banneret; the extra toughness probably doesn't matter in legacy. The only time it should ever come into play is as protection against siegegang commander when you don't have another lord out. But then you'd already be losing that fight.

zabuza

06-28-2009, 05:43 AM

Veteran Swordsmith cost 1WW not WW so i think is little worse than before. I prefer field marshal over this one.

(nameless one)

06-28-2009, 01:53 PM

theres a lot of soldier lords out there:

we have the siege gang soldier, the plated soldier, the lion soldier...

i think run a sliver-esque build where most of them are lords...

the beauty of it is that they have a better curve compare to other tribes that have tons of lords (aka zombies)

adder

06-28-2009, 04:03 PM

the beauty of it is that they have a better curve compare to other tribes that have tons of lords (aka zombies)
So a curve DOES matter!

I think the key to a soldier deck is cards such as Ballyrush Banneret and Daru Warchief, after third turn most of my spells only cost W or WW to play.

One of the problems I have with this deck is, shockingly enough, Aether Vial; it's not performing it's best. It's not the best first turn play for this deck and it's a terrible topdeck lategame, I've considered replacing it with more versatile 1-drops (Cenn's Tactician, Loyal Sentry, Elite Vanguard, etc.) Is this the wrong call, or am I just not using the Vial to it's full potential?

Catapult Squad is looking better and better in this deck, but we already have such a good matchup with Aggro, do you guys think he's worth it?

eq.firemind

06-29-2009, 03:45 AM

My list of post-M10 Soldiers:

LANDS (21):
4 Wasteland - No comments
14 Plains - No comments
2 Horizon Canopy - Was great all day, you all should try this card.
1 Rishadan Port - acts as 9th 2-drop and 5-th Wasteland

1-DROPS (14):
4 Aether Vial - The best 1-drop in counterspell-infested metagame
3 Deftblade Elite - Tricky 1-drop
4 Elite Vanguard - Aggressive 1-drop
3 Swords to Plowshares - Swords are needed in removal-light build. Only 3 'cause I need many soldiers to support Officer.

2-DROPS (8):
2 Jotun Grunt - He beats Goyf and this alone is enough reason to run him. But he also damages many other decks in metagame AND he can just swing for 4 with Preeminent Captain (great tech - you cheat one upkeep). I don't understand why people cut him.
4 Balleyrush Banneret - Smooths curve.
2 Veteran Armorsmith - Elvish Warrior, but with right creature type and built-in protection against Plague, Pyroclasm, Fire/Ice and same shit.

3-DROPS (12):
4 Preeminent Captain - Best soldier
4 Field Marshal - Second best soldier
2 Mirror Entity - Your finisher, but you need more than 20 lands in your deck to fuel it.
2 Veteran Swordsmith - Was 2rd and 3th Daru Warchief.

4-DROPS (5)
4 Enlistment Officer - Another great soldier
1 Daru Warchief - I still run him fo better Vial curve and more Pyroclasm/Plague protection.

SIDEBOARD:
2 Jotun Grunt - Our GY-hate
1 Serenity - Against Enchantress, StaX, Affinity and so on.
3 Seal of Cleansing/Disenchant(/Oblivion Ring?) - We need it
4 Orim's Chant/Silence - Against Combo
3 Thorn of Amethyst/Chalice of the Void - against Combo and Burn
2 Free Slots

This is the creature-heavy 'goblinish' build. 32 Soldiers are enough for Officer, 3 Swords are needed 'cause we have no good Soldier removal (Crib Swap is slow, bad against Tribal and that token get +1/+1 and First Strike from our Marshal). New M10 Smiths allow to low down the curve and 'Savannah Lions' dude is the thing I wanted the most: aggressive early creature. I also dropped 1 Deftblade 'cause he is not so great without lords. I still have some problems with 2-drop, so maybe I'll put back another Rishadan Port...

PS: Go-go, white! You're my favorite color in Magic!!

adder

07-02-2009, 10:23 PM

If you're running 10 Kithkin already and still need an aggressive 1-drop, wouldn't Goldmeadow Stalwart be an option? I've been testing him out in my build and he's performed very well. However, he's a terrible top deck when you've already ramped up your vial and played all your Soldiers. Is the extra 1 toughness worth his drawback?

eq.firemind

07-02-2009, 11:32 PM

I belive that 1 toughtness is worthless if it can create some very ugly disconnects. So I'll wait for Vanguard.

arebennian

07-03-2009, 03:31 AM

While Soldiers will never be goblins, I think you lot a missing one vital card here.
I'm calling you out on it, and I think it should be in any soldier list.

Ranger of Eos
I would run it as a 3/3 split with Enlistment officer; possible 4/4.

He is both better and worse than Matron, for reasons you can obviously draw yourself. The big deal is that he can tutor for many of your bombs. For example in the above deck, he can find Entity, Warchief and some of your 1drops. He also allows you to find several cards that I would consider running maindeck singletons of. While this isn't always effective and can hurt consistency, many of the options I have noted are redundant and you could perhaps just choose one you need for each individual job:

Pseudo REMOVAL
Crib Swap: Yes it is bad, but it's 'Soldier' removal. When you can find a removal spell when you need it, even if it leaves behind a soldier which benefits from Field Marshell, it's worth it. I would often prefer to give my opponent a 1/1 soldier than 5 or even 12 life.

Goldmeadow Harrier: Can keep some of the more dangerous creatures in check in a defensive role; something Deftblade can't. I don't know if I would run him maindeck but as a single to tutor, possibly

Intrepid Hero: A bit slow, but you could search for him proactively rather than reactively

TRICKS
Frontline Strategiest: Another card you don't want to see of more than 1-2 a game, and Ranger allows such an option. Protecting yourself while alpha striking is game, which the nex card also lets you do

Benevolent Bodyguard or Mother or Runes: One has more staying power, the other an instant effect. Yes, they are clerics, but 1 of will not hurt enlistment officer. They can help save Captain as he charges in, or Captain of the Watch, or whoever you deem important.

Sunstrike Legionnaire: Huge ability in Legacy. Consider the amount of creatures he can tap down in the format..... yep, that's right. Again, he is a little slow and doesn't help you much on the defense (although he can if they are stupid or you run instant speed soldiers....err, yeah) but if you are trying to force through attackers, he reads 'Soldiers you control are unblockable'.

BEATERS

Boros Swiftblade: With a red splash and 2 lords on the board, searching up for 2 of these could be nasty

Also the lords that I already noted, although they could be classified as tricks as well.

I would also consider running Catapult Squad. On the defense, or with Captain of the Watch in play, he is a house.

I would personally like to know people's opinions of Windbrisk Heights; worth it for the huge upsode for the potential loss of tempo in a format full of Wastelands?

eq.firemind

07-03-2009, 04:17 AM

Ranger of Eos
I would run it as a 3/3 split with Enlistment officer; possible 4/4.
Let's read together:
Ranger of Eos
Soldier
When <this> comes into play, search for up to 2 dudes with converted mana cost 1 or less, not power, so no chances for this card to be effective.

Pseudo REMOVAL
Crib Swap: Yes it is bad, but it's 'Soldier' removal. When you can find a removal spell when you need it, even if it leaves behind a soldier which benefits from Field Marshell, it's worth it. I would often prefer to give my opponent a 1/1 soldier than 5 or even 12 life.
I prefer to kill Lackey now and give them some life, but not another Merfolk/Elf/Goblin. And our best lord, Field Marshal, makes Crib Swap even worse

Goldmeadow Harrier: Can keep some of the more dangerous creatures in check in a defensive role; something Deftblade can't. I don't know if I would run him maindeck but as a single to tutor, possibly
Deftblade chumpblocks Goyf/Crusher/Coatl all day long, but he is good in many many other situations. I also had nice situations where 'Nought just gazed on my army of 3+/3+ First Strikers until I alfa strike him.

Sunstrike Legionnaire:
This one needs a try 'cause he has nice synergy with Captain and Vial.

I would also consider running Catapult Squad. On the defense, or with Captain of the Watch in play, he is a house.
Captain of the Watch sucks. Cost 6 is unacceptable. I have Deftblade + lords to pick off small dudes and Swords for larger ones. I also run Grunt to deal with Goyf and sometimes slow down Tombstalker.

I would personally like to know people's opinions of Windbrisk Heights; worth it for the huge upsode for the potential loss of tempo in a format full of Wastelands?
I can't remember last time taplands were effective in Legacy.

General idea: People mentioned Eiganjo Free-Riders. The ability to chain Officers is great, but I just realized that you can save your Grunts (and Captain in a 4+/4+ giant once again) and use synergy with Sunstrike Legionnaire, so I'll try 1-2 maindeck.

Here is what I'll try:

LANDS (21):
4 Wasteland
13-14 Plains
2 Horizon Canopy
2-1 Rishadan Port

1-DROPS (14):
4 Aether Vial
3 Deftblade Elite
4 Elite Vanguard
3 Swords to Plowshares

2-DROPS (8):
2 Jotun Grunt
4 Balleyrush Banneret
2 Sunstrike Legionnaire

3-DROPS (11):
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
2 Mirror Entity
1 Veteran Swordsmith

4-DROPS (6)
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Eiganjo Free-Riders

SIDEBOARD:
2 Jotun Grunt - Our GY-hate
1 Serenity - Against Enchantress, StaX, Affinity and so on.
3 Seal of Cleansing/Disenchant(/Oblivion Ring?) - We need it
4 Orim's Chant/Silence - Against Combo
3 Thorn of Amethyst/Chalice of the Void - against Combo and Burn
2 Absolute Law - Pyroclasm, Dev Dreams and Burn spells are very troublesome, so I think this card is good.

arebennian

07-03-2009, 05:12 AM

<<Facepalm>>

God. Really don't know what I'm doing! I totally miss-read that!
What a crappy first post!

(nameless one)

07-04-2009, 05:28 PM

arebennian

07-05-2009, 12:42 AM

Let's read together:
Ranger of Eos
Soldier
When <this> comes into play, search for up to 2 dudes with converted mana cost 1 or less, not power, so no chances for this card to be effective.

I prefer to kill Lackey now and give them some life, but not another Merfolk/Elf/Goblin. And our best lord, Field Marshal, makes Crib Swap even worse

Deftblade chumpblocks Goyf/Crusher/Coatl all day long, but he is good in many many other situations. I also had nice situations where 'Nought just gazed on my army of 3+/3+ First Strikers until I alfa strike him.

This one needs a try 'cause he has nice synergy with Captain and Vial.

Captain of the Watch sucks. Cost 6 is unacceptable. I have Deftblade + lords to pick off small dudes and Swords for larger ones. I also run Grunt to deal with Goyf and sometimes slow down Tombstalker.

I can't remember last time taplands were effective in Legacy.

General idea: People mentioned Eiganjo Free-Riders. The ability to chain Officers is great, but I just realized that you can save your Grunts (and Captain in a 4+/4+ giant once again) and use synergy with Sunstrike Legionnaire, so I'll try 1-2 maindeck.

Here is what I'll try:

LANDS (21):
4 Wasteland
13-14 Plains
2 Horizon Canopy
2-1 Rishadan Port

1-DROPS (14):
4 Aether Vial
3 Deftblade Elite
4 Elite Vanguard
3 Swords to Plowshares

2-DROPS (8):
2 Jotun Grunt
4 Balleyrush Banneret
2 Sunstrike Legionnaire

3-DROPS (11):
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
2 Mirror Entity
1 Veteran Swordsmith

4-DROPS (6)
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Eiganjo Free-Riders

SIDEBOARD:
2 Jotun Grunt - Our GY-hate
1 Serenity - Against Enchantress, StaX, Affinity and so on.
3 Seal of Cleansing/Disenchant(/Oblivion Ring?) - We need it
4 Orim's Chant/Silence - Against Combo
3 Thorn of Amethyst/Chalice of the Void - against Combo and Burn
2 Absolute Law - Pyroclasm, Dev Dreams and Burn spells are very troublesome, so I think this card is good.

I dunno about that list. It looks like you are going for cute tricks rather than what is good; the danger of 'what's cool'.
I just don't like the chances of you actually having a Free-Riders out and one of the cards that interacts with it

arebennian

07-05-2009, 12:54 AM

Veteran Swordsmith just doesnt appeal to me... we already have Field Marshall.

Why doesnt anyone want to run Captain of the Watch. i know 6CC sucks but 3/3 with 3x 2/2 vigilance creatures sounds appealing, especially if you drop her with Preeminent Captain. Maybe a 2 of at most?

Also, Veteran's Armament doesnt get an honorable mention? That equipment looks good with token makers...

And I still dont see Elspeth mentions.... she could be a powerhouse (if I can afford her). Also, shes has a Sunstrike enabler

The equipment is terrible. It wasn't used in standard; that is how bad it is. With the exception of a couple of decks in legacy, there just are not enough creatures attacking to warrent it's use.

Elspeth's problem is that she isn't a soldier, so she isn't drawn off Enlistment officer. I would try proxying her and see how often she ends up at the botom of your library. Other than that, I don't have huge issues with her.

eq.firemind

07-06-2009, 03:13 AM

It looks like you are going for cute tricks
That's the influence of Death & Taxes on my head :smile:.
Yeah, Free-Riders are too situational... Daru Warchief is better in that slot

By the way, with M10 we'll have a plenty number of nice 3-costed Soldiers and no manaburn, so maybe try Chalice Aggro way? Something like this:

MANA (22)
10 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Chrome Mox
Just like any other Chalice Aggro

2-DROPS (10)
4 Chalice of the Void - no comments
2 Sunstrike Legionnaire - he's great
4 Balleyrush Banneret - with no manaburn this will be a nice speed boost with no pain.

3-DROPS (16)
4 Preeminent Captain - the best Soldier
4 Field Marshal - This guy is an auto-4 in each and every Soldier deck
2 Veteran Swordsmith - fits perfectly
3 Soltari Champion - fits perfectly
3 Mirror Entity - more mana = better Entity

4+ DROPS (10)
4 Enlistment Officer - no comments
4 Daru Warchief - no comments
2 Captain of the Watch - with :2:-lands manabase and 12 cost reducers (4 Banneret + 4 Warchief + 4 Captain) this guy deserves a try. If he fails, then +1 Soltari Champion, +1 Veteran Swordsmith or +2 Intrepid Hero.

2 Free Slots - So I have 32 Soldiers in my deck and that's enough for Enlistment Officer, so non-soldier cards are acceptable here.
Main candidates for the last slots are:
1) Trinisphere - turn 1 Sphere, you know...
2) Elspeth, Knight-Errant - nice with Stompy manabase
3) Umezawa's Jitte - great card, even better with 12 First Strikers (4 Captain + 4 Officer + 4 Marshal)
4) Exalted Angel - not a soldier, but with Stompy manabase she's great.

SIDEBOARD
2-4 Trinisphere - depends on how many are in maindeck.
3 Pithing Needle - against Vial, Deed and same shit.
3 Seal of Cleansing/Disenchant - we need it.
0-2 Umezawa's Jitte - depends on how many are in maindeck.
3 Tormod's Crypt - we need GY hate.
0-2 Free Slots - Absolute Law? Jotun Grunt? Dunno here...

Roman Candle

07-06-2009, 03:52 AM

Would you play Field Marshall if it cost 2WW? Because that's what its going to cost you 98% of the time.

Also, Mirrorweave+Spectral Procession seems smexy here, especially alongside Captain of the Watch. Of course, this may fuck with the soldier count too much to play Enlistment Officer.

eq.firemind

07-06-2009, 04:30 AM

Would you play Field Marshall if it cost 2WW? Because that's what its going to cost you 98% of the time.
Tests will show, but I think I will... He's the best lord and I can drop him from Captain...

Also, Mirrorweave+Spectral Procession seems smexy here, especially alongside Captain of the Watch. Of course, this may fuck with the soldier count too much to play Enlistment Officer.
Err... Looks too 'cool' to be descent.
I ALWAYS want more Soldiers 'cause the more I have, the better they work together.
Maybe just 2 Mirrorweave in 2 free non-soldier slots, but I think with a total number of 18 pumpers (4 Marshal, 3 Champion, 2 Swordsmith, 3 Mirror Entity, 4 Warchief, 2 Captain of the Watch) you have no need in more. But even if you need more, just run Elspeth, Knight-Errant and let your soldiers fly.

arebennian

07-06-2009, 07:03 AM

eq.firemind ,
Glad you like Sunstrike. My post was not a complete waste of space.

Do you think the tribal synergy within soldiers is worth it over any other stompy build?

As much as I like Elspeth or Angel main, I think you need 3sphere. The best stompy lists pack further disruption (Counters/Moon effects). I think you need to maximise the ones that are available.

eq.firemind

07-06-2009, 07:21 AM

Do you think the tribal synergy within soldiers is worth it over any other stompy build?
Dragon Stompy or Faerie Stompy seems better than this one, but who knows...
As far as this deck is fun to play I don't care...

As much as I like Elspeth or Angel main, I think you need 3sphere. The best stompy lists pack further disruption (Counters/Moon effects). I think you need to maximise the ones that are available.
Yeah, agree here... Depends on meta, but Sphere looks like the best option (as you can see, 4 are already between maindeck and sideboard).
On the other hand, Elspeth gives you a chance against Pernicious Deed, Moat and Humility - the three cards that singlehandly kill this deck.
I'll try different options...

[EDIT]Played a little more.
Impressions: Sunstrike Legionnaire is freaking awesome card in both Chalice and normal variants. I'll try 3 maindeck.
Unanswered turn 1 Preeminent Captain = turn 3-4 win.

zabuza

07-17-2009, 05:01 AM

Nobody is playing the deck nowdays? Yesterday i tested it agaisnt zoo and i won 2 from 5 matches, but i´m happy with the deck.

My list seems like:
LANDS (20):
4 Wasteland
10 Plains
3 winswepth heath
3 Flooded Strand

1-DROPS (12):
4 Aether Vial
4 Deftblade Elite
4 Path to exile

2-DROPS (12):
2 Jotun Grunt
4 Balleyrush Banneret
4 catapult squad
2 Sunstrike Legionnaire

3-DROPS (10):
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
2 Mirror Entity

4-DROPS (7)
4 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru warchief

SIDEBOARD:
2 Jotun Grunt - Our GY-hate
2 Serenity - Against Enchantress, StaX, Affinity and so on.
4 Aura of silence - Enchantress, StaX, Affinity, Combo, ...
4 Orim's Chant/Silence - Against Combo
3 Absolute Law - Burn, Zoo, ...

I would like to put a couple of COP:red or better Story circle to prevent damage from aggro, but i don´t know if this is better or not than descendant of kiyomaro (could be a good card against BURN and naya).

Any idea or suggestion? Any result from testing?

TheInfamousBearAssassin

07-17-2009, 05:19 AM

Technical note:

Marines go to boot camp. Soldiers go to basic training.

JeroenC

07-17-2009, 05:37 AM

I won't pretend to have followed the development of this thread, but PtE and Wasteland in the same deck? Seems rather counterproductive.

zabuza

07-17-2009, 06:00 AM

You are right about it, wasteland and path are not best friends. I include path over swords because i don´t want to give lifes to opponent and wasteland to negate colred mana, but it seems weak as you say. I´m going to replace wastes (they are there because anybody suggested that mana denial were neccessary) so probably i´ll use mutavault in that slot, trokair flagstones or even plains over it (perhaps chrome mox ?).

Any idea?

eq.firemind

07-17-2009, 06:52 AM

I'm working on Chalice Soldiers right now and here's what I have for now:

Soldier Boot (Ready to Stomp, Sir!)
http://www.vostok.spb.ru/img/products/big/3347.jpg
<<That fucking goddamn awfull soldier boot (I can't find the correct translation for the shitty material it made of) is (unfortunately) the most known thing about Russian Armed Forces (after AK-74, of course)>>

MANA (24)
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Chrome Mox
9-10 Plains
3-2 Lotus Petal

2-DROPS (10-11)
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Balleyrush Banneret
2-3 Leonin Squire

3-DROPS (15-16)
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
4 Veteran Swordsmith
2 Burrenton Bombardier
1-2 Oblivion Ring

4+ DROPS (10)
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Daru Warchief
2 Captain of the Watch

SIDEBOARD
3 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Seal of Cleansing
4 Trinisphere
2 Free Slots - Main candidates: Elspeth, Jitte, Jotun Grunt

Now some explanations:
This deck is more aggressive than any other Chalice aggro (and one of the most aggressive decks ever). Swarm attack is our main, only and forever strategy(you have 8 cost reducers, 12 lords and 4 draw dudes to do that) and Chalice is tempo/protection card.
Enlistment Officer rocks like Ringleader do in Goblinz. I'll never play less than 30 Soldiers.
:w::w: costs suck. We already have 10. Never play more.

Like other Chalice decks, this must have good opening. Best turn 1 plays are:
1) Chalice of the Void (obviously).
2) Preeminent Captain.
His power is close to Magus' in DS. He is easier to answer, but a) he works against basic lands b) Magus is not a kill condition by himself. The kithkin is a real killer in this deck. If your opponent let him attack even once, you'll be very close to victory.
3) Balleyrush Banneret.
He is better than you think. If you land him 1st turn, your opponent will be surprised about your speed and the deck's ability to load out an army out of nowhere.
4) Lotus Petal + Leonin Squire - nice trick that again allows you to make an army faster.

Some single card explanations:
Lotus Petal - Yes, turn 1 Preeminent Captain is really that awesome. This is the only solution to the lack of Soldier Spirit Guide. And the deck can play without it, so feel free to side it out when needed.
Leonin Squire - He is better than he looks. I added him to perform that cute Petal trick, but he can also bring back Chalices, Needles and Crypts and that won me games.
Burrenton Bombardier - Perfect cost, evasion, very usefull trick... I've don little testing with this, but for now the card is never useless, so go-go shitty commons :smile:.
Captain of the Watch - I don't count her as a lord. She is like Arc-Slogger for DS - hard to land, but wins games.

Now about sideboard:
I dunno if Jotun Grunt is needed. Squire + Crypt is pretty devastating against Loam or Dredge and mighty mr. Goyf is not a big problem for a deck with 12 lords.
Trini is for games where I side out Officer and take unusual control role: Storm, Burn, Dredge.

You are right about it, wasteland and path are not best friends. I include path over swords because i don´t want to give lifes to opponent and wasteland to negate colred mana, but it seems weak as you say. I´m going to replace wastes (they are there because anybody suggested that mana denial were neccessary) so probably i´ll use mutavault in that slot, trokair flagstones or even plains over it (perhaps chrome mox ?).

Any idea?
Better run Swords to Plowshares. 4-5 life points are nothing for Swarm Aggro. I remember Rw Goblins from past times. W splash was for maindeck Swords to Plowshares and sideboard disenchant effects.

Mystical_Jackass

07-17-2009, 08:48 PM

will Elite Vanguard see any play in this deck? Savanah Lions, but a solder :)

zabuza

07-20-2009, 03:13 AM

i´m playing this deck and is very funny. because all the sinergy soldiers have it has chances to win lot of decks. The best cards right now (in my opinion of course) are those that i´ve put in the deck several posts ago. I found (thanks for all the suggestions ;) ) that:

Deftblade Elite: Is a house. You can provoke mana accelerators or the small-utility creatures while can block a monster all the day.

Balleyrush Banneret: Awesome, with this dude all your soldiers begin to cost W with nice habilities.

catapult squad: Guau, white removal that can kill goyfs, and any dude lot of times.

Sunstrike Legionnaire: Surprisingly Good. I tested this guy after you suggest it and is very very good. You can tap almost every dude on the other side of the table attacking with all your army or can tap creatures on the opponent´s turn with vial or when he plays another dude, so you are gaining a lot of tempo and making all your dudes 'unblockable'.

Preeminent Captain: HoUsE. The lackey soldier.
Field Marshal: the only problem is the WW cost but a staple too.
Mirror Entity: Combo. THis dude is good comboing with captain, sometimes is not as good as it must be but a couple is necessary too.

4 Enlistment Officer: Draw, first strike and big ass. 4 x please.
3 Daru warchief : Good too. It reduces cost of your dudes too and gives them big ass while few more power.

There are several cards i would like to play but i can´t find room for them. They are:

Raise the Alarm: 2 x 1 and have lot of sinergy with catapult, sunstrike, lords and almost every card in the deck. The only problem is that it cost doesn´t reduce with Banneret. I would like to play them

Captain of the Watch: Another big lord with great habilities (+1/+1, vigilance and 3 wee free men to be used with catapult, sunstrike, mirror entity or so). You can play it via preeminent or lot of times paying its cost (banneret and daru warchief makes this guy very playable). Not 4x but 1x or 2 x could be an option

Darien, King of Kjeldor: The spawn generator. Beat me once and next turn i´ll have lot of dudes to pass over your cold body. Perhaps 1x.

How can i make room for these cards. Is this worth while?
Ideas, thoughts?

thanks

zabuza

07-22-2009, 02:30 AM

I´m testing the eq.firemind list and there are some cards that can improve the deck.

Have you thought on mirror entity (best 3cc soldier XS ) and soltari champion?
They fit perfectly in 3cc (2W) and one of them is another lord while the other makes all you creatures bigger than ever.

I don´t like 2-3 Leonin Squire nor 2 Burrenton Bombardier because the effect of first is only reusable with petals (not a great play ) and second is very slow to reinforce another dude. I prefer more lords than a +2/+2 for 2W (which makes me no playing soldiers).

Another good card that could be playable as a couple of (only for reusing Enlistment Officer) but i´m not sure about them.

I´ve testing this deck and is very fast and aggresive. The only problem i´m finding right now is that double WW is usually dificcult to obtain, so i´m thinking on replacing cities for fetch (mantaining tombs) and increasing the number of petals till 4x.

What do you think?

_erbs_

07-22-2009, 03:33 AM

Hello,
How about this list, i've been seeing alot of problems with the :w::w: the lotus petal route for me is not that good compared to just regular plains. The lotus petal will give you the added :w: for just one turn but after that if you drew another Field Marshall that card would just sleep in your hand. Lotus Petal have other advantages compared to plains like giving you a higher chance in doing a turn 1 preemeint captain. But i would go for consistency rather that explosiveness.

Cards i didn't Include..
Daru Warchief is a really good card but too much 4 casting creature for me is kinda heavy and you can't use the reduced cost from your soldiers early on because he can't come down early on unless via preemeint or something. He doesn't provide any evasion the +1/+2 is almost same as what Soltari Champion do. The toughness is nice to combat firespout and eng plague effects maybe he would be nice in the SB but form me i still wouldn't pick him.

Daru Cavalier almost same ability as Enlistment officer. Enlistment is 2/3 first strike , cavalier 2/2 first strike. No contest.

Utility Soldiers like whipcorder, sunstrike legionaire, catapult squad etc... they are good for defensive purposes. I think having offensive soldiers is the way to go.

Cards i think would help in general...
Thorn of Amethyst i think this would help the deck against burns and control decks and delaying a goyf from growing early. By the time a goyf hits 4/5 im guessing you could stand toe to toe with him.

Mirror Entity + Soltari Champion having instant evasion and a lord effect Soltari Champion for me is a very nice addition to this deck. Even with 2 Soltari Champion and 1 Mirror Entity you could you do big damages having turbo lands to pump the mirror entity

I haven't actually tested this list but maybe this could help.

MANA [24]
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
14 Plains
3 Chrome Mox
1 Mox Diamond

CONTROL [8]
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Thorn of Amethyst
8

CREATURE [26]
4 Ballyrush Banneret
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
3 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Solatari Champion
3 Mirror Entity
3 Enlistment Officer
2 Captain of the Watch

eq.firemind

07-22-2009, 03:43 AM

Have you thought on mirror entity (best 3cc soldier XS ) and soltari champion?
They fit perfectly in 3cc (2W) and one of them is another lord while the other makes all you creatures bigger than ever.
I tested and dismissed both:
Entity for being good ONLY when you drop it from Preeminent, and have 4+ mana open. Otherwise, juts play moar lords/Officers and swarm them out.
Champion for being useless when you just play it (need to wait next turn to attack) or when you drop him from Captain (Champion triggers when you declare him attacking, but Preeminent changes how he enters play, so no trigger in that case).

I don´t like 2-3 Leonin Squire nor 2 Burrenton Bombardier because the effect of first is only reusable with petals (not a great play ) and second is very slow to reinforce another dude. I prefer more lords than a +2/+2 for 2W (which makes me no playing soldiers).
They both are better than they look on paper.

Squire can bring back countered Chalice, reuse Tormod's Crypt and destroyed Pithing Needle and theese tricks won me some games (like vs Rock, when he Grip my Needle hoping to clear board with Deed, I do Squire => Needle on Deed and beat him down untill he found an answer for "second" Needle)

Bombardier is VERY nice trick with all your First Strikers. Something like: you attack with Preeminent, drop a lord (your mana is open). He blocks your Preeminent with big Goyf (or even Tombstalker). You Reinforce your Preeminent (uncounterable) and voila: dead Goyf and permanent 5/4 first striking Soldier Lackey. Or if he tries to burn Preeminent... Or Pyroclasm your army (Reinforce Field Marshal and oops, fizzle Pyroclasm)... All in all, descent utility that gives you what you really need and both mana and Reinforce costs are great. By the way, I've won a game against Humility by luckdraw 2 Bombardiers (5/5 under Humility is nice) and I've won a game against Moat (flying dude + 3 lords) :cool:

I´ve testing this deck and is very fast and aggresive. The only problem i´m finding right now is that double WW is usually dificcult to obtain, so i´m thinking on replacing cities for fetch (mantaining tombs) and increasing the number of petals till 4x.
You need both Tombs and Cities 'cause you really want turn 1 Chalice and you REALLY want turn 1 Preeminent Captain. I tried 4 Petals and it's not very good. Petal is not SSG, it can't beat, so it's far worse topdeck than SSG. Maximum is 3 Petals. It's Stomy, so like it's cousins Dragon, Faerie and Nature Stompys, it mulligans more often than other decks and that's OK - just the nature of the beast.

@ _erbs_
You need 30+ Soldiers for Officer to be awesome.
Veteran Swordsmith is an aut0-4-off - she's lord with perfect cost and 3 power
And if you drop Champion from Preeminent, there will be no +1/+1 trigger.
Turn 2 Chalice is often too late... But I'll try Rustic Clachan in Petal's slots. There are already 11 Kithkin in my list, will be more 'cause without Petals Squires get out too; 4th Bombardier, 2 Entity and there are 14 Kithkin... Looks enough to support 2 Clachan...

_erbs_

07-22-2009, 04:10 AM

@eq.firemind
Thanks for providing my some of your games with this deck. If the decks really needs explosivness i think thorn of amethyst main would be a really nice fit since it could give you another chalice for 1 effect.

Bombardier seems really good in actual compared to on paper..

As for the petals.... i really don't like them unless im running a combo deck... hahaha...

Whats the current list your running?

eq.firemind

07-22-2009, 04:41 AM

Here's my current list:

MANA (24)
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Chrome Mox
10 Plains
2 Lotus Petal

2-DROPS (11)
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Balleyrush Banneret
3 Leonin Squire

3-DROPS (15)
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
4 Veteran Swordsmith
3 Burrenton Bombardier

4+ DROPS (10)
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Daru Warchief
2 Captain of the Watch

SIDEBOARD
3 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Seal of Cleansing
4 Trinisphere
2 Umezawa's Jitte - my aggro matchup is already descent, so I'm thinking about Winter Orb to fight with control decks like Landstill, Trainwreck, Quinn, The Rock and others. Or Tsabo's Web especially for damn Landstill

@ Petal: Do you like SSG in DS? I think yes. How do you use SSG in DS? I think most of the times you exile it to obtain :r:. That was my logic about Petal and it works quite well for now.

@ Thorn. If you want more control elements, run Trinisphere maindeck. My trini is in sideboard 'cause excluding Combo and Burn I almost always wanted more soldiers to perform lightning-speed beatdown than Trini to slow my opponent. By the way, Trini wrecks Storm. Thorn is not that good - competent Storm player can do lethal (8-9, we use Tombs) Tendrils under Thorn effect (I saw that before WotC printed Ad Nauseam and it's easier for ANT than for Iggy/Doomsday), but he can't do that under Trini.

If you still don't like Petals, try -2 Petal, -3 Squire, +2 Rustic Clachan +1 Bombardier +2 Mirror Entity. Reinforce is awesome (the same is true for every effect that is not our part in color pie - pumps are mostly in green and they are really unexpected from mono-:w: deck).

zabuza

07-22-2009, 05:28 AM

What about Kithkin Zephyrnaut. Has a nice cost, flies and usually would be at least a 4/4 flier with vigilance. Could be useful in the deck as another beater?

_erbs_

07-22-2009, 11:11 PM

@eq.firemind
Thanks for the list...

Is daru warchief that good ?
If you drew him early it will take time before you could cast him... thats why i wanted to boost the 3 curve more over to the 4..

@zabuza
Kithkin Zephyrnaut, would be a nice beater if the deck was tuned to kithkin soldier

eq.firemind

07-23-2009, 01:18 AM

Is daru warchief that good ?
If you drew him early it will take time before you could cast him... thats why i wanted to boost the 3 curve more over to the 4..
You can cast him on turn 2-3, that's not so hard with :2:-lands, moxes, petals and Bannerets (like Rakdos Pit Dragon in DS).
You really want all lords avaliable: 4 Marshal, 4 Swordsmith, 4 Warchief. And you really want all cost reducers: 4 Banneret, 4 Warchief.
Believe me, Enlistment Officer for :1::w: or Captain of the Watch for :2::w::w: is worth it. By the way, Warchief says a big "fuck you" to antiswarm sideboard cards like Plague or Pyroclasm.

Kithkin Zephyrnaut, would be a nice beater if the deck was tuned to kithkin soldier
Zephyrnaut is bad. Half of the time (you have 30-32 Kinship enablers) he will be 4/4 cool dude, other half he is a 2/2 crap. If you really want a beater, try Jotun Grunt - he is not only 4/4 for 2 mana, but is a big pain in ass for many decks.

zabuza

07-23-2009, 03:04 AM

Zephyrnaut is bad. Half of the time (you have 30-32 Kinship enablers) he will be 4/4 cool dude, other half he is a 2/2 crap. If you really want a beater, try Jotun Grunt - he is not only 4/4 for 2 mana, but is a big pain in ass for many decks.

Zephyrnaut has FLYING when kinshipped so it can deal damage to an opponent while jotun is on the tabe waiting for moat to be destroyed, or dying for no cards in cemetery or being blocked all the day for a fucking wall,..... I suggested this dude because it can fly (not always but with 30 soldiers in the deck i think more than a half of the time) and because has vigilance too.

I tested yesterday your version against landstill and i don´t like how that version on the deck worked for me. I think is better more soldiers oriented deck because with a white stable manabase, vial and cost reducers you can win very fast too.

In your version you lack of creature removal and only 2 oblivion ring aren´t enough to take care of the bombs any player can play (More so when you must use it to creatures, because you never should have to do that). .

I´ve decided to play my list again but with several changes. I´m going to play the dumb lord (Veteran Swordsmith) and another things. The actual list is like:

10 Plains
4 Windswepth heath
4 Flooded Strand

1-DROPS (12):
4 Aether Vial
4 Deftblade Elite

2-DROPS (12):
4 Balleyrush Banneret
4 catapult squad
2 Sunstrike Legionnaire

3-DROPS (10):
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
2 Mirror Entity
4 Veteran Swordsmith

4-DROPS (7)
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Daru warchief

6-DROPS (2)
2 Captain of the watch

eq.firemind

08-21-2009, 03:04 AM

One more incarnation of the deck: now a little similar to oldschool Angel Stompy. AS used equips to make dudes scary and gain card advantage, I use tribal synergy (lords, Enlistment Officer). Also, there's Armageddon to help with control/manahungry decks. I also exclude Chalice 'cause without other lock pieces it turned out to be not so scary to most opponents.

Soldier Boot (AS twist)
MANA (23)
8 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors - only 2 to solve double-:w: problem
3 Flagstones of Trokair - to support Armageddon
4 Chrome Mox
2 Tithe - Da oldschool card. Do great things to the deck: solves double-:w:, supports Geddon, thins the deck - all for just :w: on instant speed. The reason I make this decklist.

1-DROPS (3)
3 Deftblade Elite - The guy rocks with the number of lords and Reinforce I run.

2-DROPS (4)
4 Ballyrush Banneret - obv

3-DROPS (12)
4 Preeminent Captain - obv
4 Veteran Swordsmith - obv
4 Field Marshal - obv
2 Burrenton Bombardier - Very nice card, does many things.

4+ DROPS (13)
4 Enlistment Officer - obv
4 Daru Warchief - obv
2 Captain of the Watch - obv
3 Armageddon - I saw some guys use Cataclysm in AS to beat control or seal the deal if you have good board position and they like it, so why not try Geddon here for the same purpouse? We also have Moxes, cost reducers, Preeminent, Flagstones and Tithe to make Geddon close to 1-sided against most opponents.

3 Free Slots - Some good 1- or 2-costed soldier. Candidates: Elite Vanguard, Mosquito Guard(i am really impressed with Reinforce), Jotun Grunt, Sunstrike Legionnaire, Catapult Squad. Or maybe just Swords to Plowshares 'cause I already have 31 soldiers for Enlistment Officer.

SIDEBOARD
2 Umezawa's Jitte - obv
2 Jotun Grunt - GY hate big soldier, maybe deserves some maindeck space.
2 Relic of Progenitus - additional GY hate
4 Trinisphere - obv
5 Free Slots

So this one is less explosive and bad against Storm Combo, but has better consistency and Geddon is really helpful against control and manahungry decks like Survival.
What do you think about this twist?

Also, the more controllish build using Loxodon Gatekeeper:

Soldier Boot (no Captain of the Watch)
MANA (22)
10 Plains
8 :2:-lands
4 Chrome Mox

2-DROPS (8)
4 Balleyrush Banneret
4 Chalice of the Void

3-DROPS (15)
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
4 Veteran Swordsmith
3 Trinisphere - Maindeck here due to great synergy with Gatekeeper

4-DROPS (15)
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Daru Warchief
3 Benalish Commander - The inside-out lord. Like any lord, gives +1 punch for each Soldier. Great cost and usefull ability make him worth try.
4 Loxodon Gatekeeper - Not my idea (Eseph from Salvation pointed on the elephant). The guy is nice disruptive element, wrecks fetchland manabases, but :w::w: is the problem. The solution was to cut Captain of the Watch 'cause I've found her to be not so awesome. The problem is that turn 1 unanswered Preeminent doesn't need her to win. Ofcource it's awesome, but the times you have no Preeminent online, she mostly clogs your hand 'cause she costs 6. Also, she's not so good in turning tides 'cause after they Bolt/Swords/whatever her, there are only 3 pathetic 1/1 left.
When you doing fine, she's like a winmore.
When not, she's not turning tides.
And times to times she's just sitting dead in your hand.
So I'll try without her now...

SIDEBOARD
1 Trinisphere - sometimes you need full 4...
3 Seal of Cleansing - obv
3 Pithing Needle - obv
2 Umezawa's Jitte - obv
2 Tormod's Crypt - obv
2 Jotun Grunt - Big Soldier GY hate - very good card.
2 Winter Orb - must be good with Trini + Gatekeeper against control/manahungry decks.

TsumiBand

08-30-2009, 02:52 PM

This list keeps fluctuating between running, like, 8 - 12 Kithkin. What prevents this deck from just turning into Kithkin, exactly?

Kithkin have a 2/2 for W, Crusades that attack, benefit from Ballyrush at least as well as Soldier.dec and if you've never played Standard, Militia's Pride gives the deck ridiculous means of swinging into shitty shitty situations and still coming out ahead. I love Deftblade Elite and stuff, I think it should be played more, especially since it's sort of functionally similar to Mogg Fanatic now. But really, Kithkin can be dumb as fuck.

gamegeek2

08-30-2009, 05:24 PM

Mono-White might be difficult to pull off, but it can be done.

11 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
4 Windswept Heath
3 Windbrisk Heights

4 Elite Vanguard
3 Deftblade Elite
4 Ballyrush Banneret
3 Jotun Grunt
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Captain of the Watch
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Other Cards

Constructed in parallel to Goblins, but with Heights over Port

Pastorofmuppets

08-30-2009, 06:55 PM

eq.firemind

08-31-2009, 01:40 AM

@ Kithkin
1) Kithkin have 4 lords. Soldiers have 12+.
2) Kithkin have no Preeminent Captain and no Enlistment Officer.
3) Jotun Grunt is awesome if used correctly.
4) I like my Chalice Soldiers more than Vial ones and Kithkin has nothing to offer to Chalice Aggro.
5) They are still nice deck.

I finaly have a list of Soldier Boot that has a feeling of focused and finished deck. One thing: the more aggroish it is, the more I like how it plays.

Soldier Boot (close-to-release version)

MANA (22)
10 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Chrome Mox

2-DROPS (8)
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ballyrush Banneret

3-DROPS (22)
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Field Marshal
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Soltari Champion
3 Crib Swap
3 Oblivion Ring

4-DROPS (8)
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Daru Warchief

SIDEBOARD
2 Jotun Grunt
2 Tormod's Crypt
4 Trinisphere
2 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Pithing Needle
2 Winter Orb

As you can see, I don't run Captain of the Watch anymore. She is too inconsistent to be effective.

Soltari Champion made the big comeback. 16 pumpers are huge and his perfect cost makes him very consistent - he'll never sit in your hand waiting for a mana source. Also, extremely good with Jitte in G2 & G3.

3 Crib Swap, 3 Oblivion Ring - 6 removal spells with perfect cost, 3 of them are soldiers, 3 other can deal with Vedalken Shackles, Aether Vial, Humility and other shit. That's realy very good. The downsides of Swap (feeds Goyf, token benefits from lords) are not critical 'cause Goyf and Lords are first targets for removal anyway.

Only 8 :w::w:. That's incredible. The deck suddenly becomes consistent and palys out much smoother than any version I've tried before. By the way, the less :w::w: you run, the better Ballyrush Banneret becomes.

Only 8 4-costs. Again, that helps to run smooth.

No lock components. Maindecking Trinisphere, Tangle Wire or any other lock will water the deck. The only reason to run Trini md is metagame call (if you have loads of Storm and/or Burn).

Now, there is one thing that bothers me: Field Marshal. I believe Wizards should print "soldiers you control", but they fucked up :smile:.
Growing Mutavault or Elspeth's tokens is annoying to say at least. This is just wrong. But I completely do not know how to replace Marshal. Any ideas?

morgan_coke

08-31-2009, 02:33 AM

@ Kithkin
2) Kithkin have no Preeminent Captain...

Preeminent Captain's creature type line reads: Kithkin Soldier.

eq.firemind

08-31-2009, 02:44 AM

Preeminent Captain's creature type line reads: Kithkin Soldier.
Preeminent Captain's text box reads:
Whenever Preeminent Captain attacks, you may put a Soldier creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.
So Kithkin have no gain from Preeminent being Kithkin.

DrJones

08-31-2009, 02:54 AM

Congrats! This deck looks awesome. :)

eq.firemind

09-22-2009, 06:46 AM

Kor Hookmaster

:2::w:

Creature - Kor Soldier - uncommon

When Kor Hookmaster enters the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.

2/2

Finaly ZEN gave something for Soldier Boot! This guy looks godly against decks with low number of huge creatures! Reminds Stingscourger...

arebennian

09-22-2009, 07:00 AM

It isn't a soldier but what about the :3: :w: :w: spell for 6 tokens?
Can't pick it up with Enlistment Officer or drop it with Preeminent Captain but a mana cheaper than Captain of the Watch.

eq.firemind

09-22-2009, 07:10 AM

arebennian

09-22-2009, 09:08 AM

Fair enough. Thought I had answered my own question but I figured you might have something else other than those reasons.

arebennian

10-01-2009, 12:10 PM

I have not slipped this deck up, but I would appreciate a breakdown of it's shortcomings and benefits from someone who has actually played the deck.

BTW, are are sweepers ever a problem? It's been a while since I looked through the thread but have the following been suggested?
Reverent Mantra ???
Shining Shoal

Maveric78f

10-01-2009, 12:36 PM

I would say that Mirror Entity (maybe not in *4, even if you play it only *1 to be sure not to have it in multiple) is better than Field Marshal.

Veteran Armorer looks nice too.

The selection I did in a french forum:

2CC :
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/5dn/9.jpghttp://magiccards.info/scans/en/rav/34.jpg

3CC :
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/pc/1.jpghttp://magiccards.info/scans/en/le/14.jpghttp://magiccards.info/scans/en/8e/26.jpg

5CC :
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/po2/142.jpg

SB :
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/10e/7.jpghttp://magiccards.info/scans/en/pc/2.jpghttp://magiccards.info/scans/en/on/11.jpg

Amon Amarth

10-02-2009, 04:23 AM

I don't play Captain of the Watch anymore and don't feel any need to play her again.

:3::w::w: is awful if it doesn't wins game. This one doesn't. Also, it has double :w: and no synergy at all, so no, absoulutely unplayable crap.

5 mana for 6 power is pretty good. 5 mana for 12 power from a Crusade-like effect is awesome. Helps you come back after WoG effects. Honestly it looks really good here.

eq.firemind

10-02-2009, 04:40 AM

5 mana for 6 power is pretty good. 5 mana for 12 power from a Crusade-like effect is awesome. Helps you come back after WoG effects. Honestly it looks really good here.
It suck balls because it has :w::w::w: in cost and is not Soldier.

DrJones

02-02-2010, 06:43 PM

How about using Akron Legionnaire and maybe a few Shining Shoals?

Edit: Here's my suggestion, not throughly tested but so far looks powerful.

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
8 [ZEN] Plains (1)
4 [EX] City of Traitors
1 [LG] Karakas
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb

// Creatures
4 [MOR] Preeminent Captain
4 [M10] Veteran Swordsmith
4 [AP] Enlistment Officer
3 [SC] Noble Templar
3 [LRW] Mirror Entity
4 [SC] Daru Warchief
2 [M10] Captain of the Watch
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier

// Spells
4 [MR] Chrome Mox
3 [MR] Chalice of the Void
3 [HOP] Oblivion Ring
2 [V09] Trinisphere
3 [BOK] Shining Shoal

Vacrix

09-22-2010, 05:00 PM

Necro.

I'm calling that Inflitration Lens is what this deck needs to be competitive:
http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/tcg/products/scarsofmirrodin/nweksmvoef_en.jpg

Deftblade Elite + Inflitration Lens is a sick engine. It also allows for your smaller dudes to become offensive threats unless the opponent wants to be overwhelmed with card advantage. Additionally, it has synergy with SoFI and SoLS.

Discuss.

towishimp

09-25-2010, 05:40 PM

Lens + Deftblade does seem pretty strong, but I think without the Deftblades, it's just a sub-optimal piece of equipment.

I'm intruiged by the deck idea, because I've always loved soldiers. For it to be viable, though, it needs answers to the major decks. Whenever I look at a new legacy deck, I look for:

1. Pressure (easy enuff for soldiers, with cheap guys that hit hard enough)
2. Disruption (The stompy-like builds were trying to accomplish this...that might be the right idea. Another option is a more "Death and Taxes" approach, with the so-called "hate bears")
3. Answers to bombs - outs vs. fatties, planeswalkers, and lockdown enchantments (O-Ring, StP, other spot removal options)

I think it's possible to accomplish the above, but I'm not sure how "mono-soldiers" it'll stay. Anyone else still here?

Mikeleroi

10-01-2010, 07:52 PM

A few months ago I was testing a soldier deck and it seemed more or less consistent, maybe we could try to change some spots:

4 Deftblade elite
4 Icatian javalineers
4 StP
4 Vials
4 Catapult squad
4 Longbow archer
4 Rise the alarm
4 Jotun grunt
4 Honor of the pure
4 Field Marshal

I don´t remember exactly the number of cards, cause I think I tried also some kind of disruption like "mana tithe", "to arms!" or "rebuff the wicked".

The main problem is the disruption... White hasn´t too many options, but maybe this is the best advantage, other player won´t be prepared to face mana tithe. And if you are lucky and can counter something on G1, you could try moving them to SB while other player should play keeping them in mind.

Tru3z3rox

10-02-2010, 02:56 AM

Hey guys. I've actually had a fairly successful soldier deck for a while. Tell me what you think:

Lands:
3 Ancient Tomb
15 Plains

Creatures:
2 Jotun Grunt
3 Kor Firewalker
4 Daru Warchief
3 Preeminent Captain
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Field Marshal
4 Kor Skyfisher
2 Soltari Champion
3 Enlistment Officer

Instants:
4 Swords to Plowshares

Artifacts:
4 Aether Vial
2 Umezawa's Jitte

I have to say that vial tricks with skyfisher are amazing. Saving permanents from removal is just so good. Also bouncing enlistment officer to play him again and refill my hand is pretty sweet as well. You can also do tricks such as bounce hada freeblade and play him again to pump blademaster. Grunt as main deck grave hate is awesome as well. This deck has much going for it. Champion breaks stalemates and pumps your guys on attack (Pseudo lord). First strike and jitte is just godly as well.

The one card I'm not so sure of is Kor Firewalker. Any suggestions on what to replace him with? A great 1CC or 2CC dude?