Soldier Stompy (Tribal Tomb-Based Aggro)

[MGB]

Hi MGB !

Thx for the answer. Glad to see we're on the same decks :wink: but no GP for me
Due to the small sample size of my playtests, I'm inclined to think Soldiers is the better choice, as I wrecked Infect with it, Lands, had odds against Storm. Didn't played against BUG, Elves or Stoneblade yet and Reanimator felt meh though.

May I ask you to share your Boros list ? I understand if you want to keep the surprise for the GP, but I'm really intrigued by this new mixture, as the previous builds seemed already amazing.
Foundry Champion sounds really interesting, but Captain of the Watch is such a game breaker and little know by the opponents, so they often let resolve Preeminent and regret it soon after.
The cards don't deserve the same purposes I think.
Magus must be a beast right now with all those greedy manabases.

@menph : thx for sharing. Tried this one, but prefer MGB's one.




4 Windswept Heath
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Plateau
2 Karakas
2 Plains
2 City of Traitors

4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void

4 Magus of the Moon

4 Preeminent Captain
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru Warchief
3 Foundry Champion
3 Goblin Legionnaire
2 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Palace Jailer

SB:
4 Winter Orb
4 Damping Matrix
4 Rest in Peace
2 Palace Jailer
1 Ethersworn Canonist

[R3ndr0c]

Hey Soldiers,

I've been posting on the MTGsalvation forum for a while.

I've been playing Soldiers forever and put a lot of work into it. It's basically the only deck in Legacy I play continually.

// 60 Maindeck
// 10 Artifact
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
2 Winter Orb

// 27 Creature
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Palace Jailer
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Daru Warchief
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
3 Protector of the Crown

// 4 Enchantment
4 Suppression Field

// 19 Land
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
6 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors


// 15 Sideboard
SB: 1 Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Containment Priest
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 2 Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 Leonin Relic-Warder
SB: 1 Dawnbringer Charioteers
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Gideon's Intervention=
SB: 2 Holy Lighty
SB: 2 Council's Judgment

I really like the list submitted earlier http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15203&d=292262&f=LE.

I'd probably replace Brimaz and Odrich with more Thalia, but the 4x Aerial Responder is cool. The 2/4 body on Charioteers is much much better in legacy though.
I'm new to The Source so I don't know how to card tag.

[LVA]

I play aerial responder basically just to get around the draw back of ancient tomb against delver. Being a 2/3 sucks but warcheif fixes that, and the lifelink is very relevant.

[MGB]

Went 5-0 in a Legacy League on MTGO with the red Soldiers list.

I'm going to try some more Leagues and Challenges and see how well I can do with the deck. Seems well positioned right now against the metagame, tbh.

[TLK]

Went 5-0 in a Legacy League on MTGO with the red Soldiers list.

I'm going to try some more Leagues and Challenges and see how well I can do with the deck. Seems well positioned right now against the metagame, tbh.

Same list as above?

[R3ndr0c]

Went 5-0 in a Legacy League on MTGO with the red Soldiers list.

I'm going to try some more Leagues and Challenges and see how well I can do with the deck. Seems well positioned right now against the metagame, tbh.

Yes, if you list has been updated since your last post please share it.

I can't imagine playing Soldiers without Sfield, but I supposed Magus has a similar effect if not more powerful, and he is a tutor target, although much easier to get rid of. I will test this deck and see if I want to make changes. I have a feeling that I will definitely want to change your sideboard. It doesn't look like a finely tuned Legacy sideboard, but I'm good at these things so I'll see what I can. Goblin Legionnaire seems a bit weak, and I think Palace Jailer would be better. The card is such a powerhouse. Also, Legionairre is hard to cast for on turn 2 with that mana cost.

[MGB]

Suppression Field is a terrible card and I don't really see why people think otherwise. For me, the disruption has to have a permanent, meaningful effect. With SField, they can just play around it or later in the game pay the tax and be completely unaffected by it. Magus and Winter Orb have to be removed if the opponent wants to make use of his lands.

I just finished a Legacy Challenge today with the aforementioned list. I went 3-4, beating Storm, Burn, and Grixis Delver. I lost to FOUR Stoneblade variants. My configuration is apparently weak to Stoneforge Mystic -> Batterskull and TNN. :-( I'm cutting some of the Goblin Legionaires for more Palace Jailer and/or Fairgrounds Warden. If the MTGO meta is so rife with Stoneblade I might have to consider Tower of the Magistrate. And no, I've never found Suppresion Field to be all that great at dealing with Stoneforge Mystic because usually they just end up paying 4 mana for their Mystic and then you have to deal with Batterskull anyway, or they activate in response to you casting the Field.

[R3ndr0c]

I've been playing Soldier iwth Sfield for years, and the card is amazing in Legacy, anyways that says otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about. In my current list I play 4 Sfield 2 Winter Orb and 1 Hokori Dust Drinker maindeck. The stax effects add up with Thalias, Sfield and Winter orb to be a tremendous amount of disruption. Against tricolor decks with a lot of fetches, it can be mvp and carry you to victory, it's great vs DRS too. It WAS great vs Top, but Miracles had a lot of basics. It's also amazing vs lands and is almost essential for winning vs Death and Taxes. It's good vs Elves. The card is an all-star and I'm usually very happy to cast it. In the rare case I don't want to cast it I can pitch it to a Mox.

EDIT:
Also, I'm wondering if Captain of the Watch or Boros Battleshaper are better fatties than Foundry Champion. The fact that Champion can be removal or a burn spell to the face is nice, but Battleshaper can also be continuous removal. Soltari Guerrillas is also a good option.

I wrote a bunch here but I refreshed page aciidentally and it's gone....

[MGB]

Welp, after top8ing the last Legacy Challenge with Eldrazi Ramp, I decided to give Boros Soldiers a spin again and today I just 5-0ed a Legacy League with it again.

The deck feels quite strong and I think it' stronger than the mono white version. Magus gives it an "I win" card that SField and WOrb really aren't...

The key to making this work for me was to remove some of the Goblin Legionaires for more Palace Jailers. Jailer is the best removal spell Soldiers have and you want at least 3 in the MD. So much card draw between Jailer and E-Officer!



4 Windswept Heath
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Plateau
2 Karakas
2 Plains
2 City of Traitors

4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void

4 Magus of the Moon

4 Preeminent Captain
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru Warchief
2 Foundry Champion
2 Goblin Legionnaire
2 Recruiter of the Guard
3 Palace Jailer

SB:
4 Winter Orb
4 Damping Matrix
4 Rest in Peace
1 Containment Priest
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Sanctum Prelate

[R3ndr0c]

Welp, after top8ing the last Legacy Challenge with Eldrazi Ramp, I decided to give Boros Soldiers a spin again and today I just 5-0ed a Legacy League with it again.



Was that a competitive League? I recall that deck feeling much much worse than my mono white version when I tested it. I did modify it to make it better too, adding more Jailers and cutting all but 1 Legionnaire.

This is what I had come up with.


// 60 Maindeck
// 8 Artifact
4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void

// 32 Creature
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru Warchief
3 Foundry Champion
1 Goblin Legionnaire
2 Recruiter of the Guard
3 Palace Jailer

// 20 Land
4 Windswept Heath
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Plateau
1 Karakas
2 Plains
3 City of Traitors


// 15 Sideboard

SB: 3 Winter Orb
SB: 1 Gideon's Intervention
SB: 2 Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Blessed Alliance
SB: 2 Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Leonin Relic-Warder
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 1 Containment Priest
SB: 1 Rest in Peace

Basically the same except -1 Legionnaire -1 Karakas +1 Foundry +1 City of Traitors and also my sideboard is more finely tuned

[MGB]

Was that a competitive League? I recall that deck feeling much much worse than my mono white version when I tested it. I did modify it to make it better too, adding more Jailers and cutting all but 1 Legionnaire.



Yup - all I play on MTGO is the competitive leagues and challenges when I play Legacy...

[R3ndr0c]

I'm wondering if Standstill would be ok in this list.

[MGB]

Had another Legacy League 5-0, this time with MONO WHITE Soldiers:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/724333#paper

Winter Orb is a house.

[R3ndr0c]

Had another Legacy League 5-0, this time with MONO WHITE Soldiers:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/724333#paper
my JailerWinter Orb is a house.

I just went to SCG Syracuse and did a Legacy Challenge there. I went 2-2 and all of my game losses except 1 were not from interactive magic games, but just from either a fast combo kill or scooping to an Ensnaring Bridge turn three.

Match 1 vs Lands WIN 2-1 - he had a turn 2 Marit Lage which is rare for Lands and I couldn't get 4 mana turn 2 for my Jailer. Easy win. Games 2 and 3 I grind him out and win.

Match 2 vs Dark Depths Reanimator LOSS 1-2 - game 1 he had a turn 2 Grave Titan that I couldn't deal with i. Game 2 I win, but I forget how it went down. Game 3 was super close but in the end he activated Marit Lage for a kill.

Match 3 - vs U/B reanimator WIN 2-0 - he got two griselbrands and I had a Jailer for both.. I'm alway uncertain how to side against Reanimator becuae I have so much hate but if I take out Soldiers I'm not sure if I should take out Preeminent and/or Enlistment and how many of each. It's probably correct to take out Preeminent.

Match 4 - playing vs Mentor Cheerios or w/e it's called Loss 1-0-1 - Game 1 I scoop turn 3 to a bridge I know I can't deal with, my only hope was drawing my Winter Orb on legs guy and him drawing a bunch of bridges and mentors he can't cast. Game 2 was super longg and we had a huge audience of judges and other people. He drew all four mentors and had a bridge and I had an army of guys I couldn't attack with, Suppression Field to slow him down, and chalice on 1. We ended up drawing the game but I could have won it to force a game 3.

[Prkchpsndwiches]

Preparing for Legacy Champs. I am a vintage player, but always play in Legacy Champs each year. I saw MGB list on mtggoldfish and thought this looked insanely fun to play. Winter Orb with Chrome Mox looks busted.

@MGB You have done well with both Red/White and Mono White. What is your preference now?

I plan on sleeving this up and getting some good time in with it between now and October and will come back frequently to report my progress.

Hardest part for me with new deck is SB, what cards to you find yourself taking out first to get SB cards in? I know situation varies, but in general if possible.

[R3ndr0c]

Winter Orb is very bad in quite a few matchups, Sfield is usually more effective, but suit yourself. You can check out my sideboard for ideas.

[Prkchpsndwiches]

Winter Orb is very bad in quite a few matchups, Sfield is usually more effective, but suit yourself. You can check out my sideboard for ideas.

What is your most recent list? Are you playing the one you posted from May still? Id love to here how your list differs from MGB and why. Love insight on your perspective with card choices. Thanks!

[R3ndr0c]

// Soldier Stompy v.2


This is the list I recently played at a SCG Legacy Challenge, except I had another Holy Light in the sideboard and one less Damping Matrix, but I've decide to add another Damping Matrix.


// Soldier Stompy v.2


// 60 Maindeck
// 8 Artifact
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox

// 29 Creature
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Daru Warchief
3 Palace Jailer
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
4 Aerial Responder
1 Selfless Squire

// 4 Enchantment
4 Suppression Field

// 19 Land
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
6 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors


// 15 Sideboard
SB: 2 Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Containment Priest
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 1 Leonin Relic-Warder
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Gideon's Intervention
SB: 1 Holy Light
SB: 1 Blessed Alliance
SB: 2 Council's Judgment





So this is the list I'm currently testing although it's not the list I've been playing. I want to see how Trinisphere works out. I hadn't been playing it in the past, but I think it might be great. I recently won a Magic League 8-man tournament with the deck.


// 60 Maindeck
// 11 Artifact
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
3 Trinisphere

// 26 Creature
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Daru Warchief
3 Palace Jailer
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
2 Aerial Responder

// 4 Enchantment
4 Suppression Field

// 19 Land
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
6 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors


// 15 Sideboard
SB: 2 Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Containment Priest
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 1 Leonin Relic-Warder
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Gideon's Intervention
SB: 1 Holy Light
SB: 1 Blessed Alliance
SB: 2 Council's Judgment

Changes I'm thinking of making are adding another Sanctum Prelate and cutting a Ethersworn becuase I find Ethersworn to only be good vs. Ad Nauseum, and I wouldn't mind adding another Leonin-Relic Warder. So many people seem to be running Reanimator, I wouldn't mind adding another Faerie as well.

[Prkchpsndwiches]

@R3ndr0c Thanks!

1. Why do tou prefer SF>WO?
2. Why Hokori over say Armageddon?
3. How is P Capt without a "bomb"? CotW etc
4. What cards do you find yourself siding out first, weakest main deck cards.
6. Plains>HC for moon effects?
7. Why no Banneret?

[R3ndr0c]

@R3ndr0c Thanks!

1. Why do tou prefer SF>WO?
2. Why Hokori over say Armageddon?
3. How is P Capt without a "bomb"? CotW etc
4. What cards do you find yourself siding out first, weakest main deck cards.
6. Plains>HC for moon effects?
7. Why no Banneret?

Answers:

1. Sfield doesn't just tax lands, it also taxes everything else. It helps out a ton in some matchups, and is better vs way more decks. It's almost never useless, whereas Winter Orb is not something you want to play early (unlike SField) and it is useless or really bad or even more hurtful for you in some situations. Sfield can sometimes steal a game almost by itself if they have a hand of fetchlands. Drop a couple Thalia's and it's the easiest game you every played. I've played with both, I even had a list with 4 Sfield and 2 Orb for a long time, and I do miss my 2 Orbs a little, but not a tremendous amount. If I decide to cut Trinisphere (which I have a feeling I won't) I may add a couple Orbs.

2. Hokori can be Recruited, and it's a Winter Orb on legs. Winter Orb is a card I usually liked to play later in the game to surprised the opponent when they tap out and I have a Captain out to cheat guys in or some number of Chrome Mox to give me a mana advantage, and so later in the game I can draw into or tutor for Hokori and cast for a brutal surprise. I can even make it unchunterable with Cavern of Souls. I don't like Armageddon because it's costs more with Thalia and I don't want to destroy my lands, plus it's not a body. It might be great to cast one game, and another game it with be more detrimental to cast so it's a dead card. That's not my kind of card. If anything , it would be a sideboard card, and it's usefulness is way to narrow and it way too high risk to include as a non-tutorable sideboard card.

3. I usually side out Daru Warchief, because the extra stats aren't very useful. If they are playing black and they might have the 1 mana anti-white creature enchantment that Ad Nauseum plays
(gives all -1-1), then I will keep 1-2 copies in. I also take out Aerial Responder if I'm not playing against an aggressive creature deck like Delver or D&T.

4. Wasteland is the nemesis of all sol land Stompy decks, and I don't want to make myself weaker to it. Also Blood Moon DOES exist in maindecks and sideboards. This deck has enough card advantage with Monarch and Officer, it doesn't need Canopy at all. I also don't want more pain lands.

5. Banneret is a card that I feel amateur players include. I used it years ago in my early days playing the deck when I was a Soldier scrub, but I do not like it at all. It's a card that theoretically you want to play early, but it has no harmful impact on the opponent early. The way to play this deck is to cast your most hateful cards first. Even Preeminent Captain has very low priority. Order of importance generally goes Chalice at #1 then Sfield or Thalia 1.0 and then Thalia 2.0 then Captain. Of course it can change slightly depending on the matchup, and after sideboard, but the first 4 are always the most important to play first game 1. At some point I considered running 1-2 just to have some more defense against wasteland, but it's just not worth it.

I will be playing another Legacy Challenge this weekend at SCG Richmond and I hope to play in the Legacy Open in October in DC - so far in the future :(

[Prkchpsndwiches]

@R3 This was super helpful. Thank you for taking the extra time to answer these. I will definitely be back with more questions as I play this deck some more.

I messed up my numbers and missed an answer to my original number 3. No Bomb creature to bring in off P Capt. How come? Overkill or?

[R3ndr0c]

@R3 This was super helpful. Thank you for taking the extra time to answer these. I will definitely be back with more questions as I play this deck some more.

I messed up my numbers and missed an answer to my original number 3. No Bomb creature to bring in off P Capt. How come? Overkill or?

Exactly, overkill and also a bit less consistency. Especially since Miracles is gone, having CotW is not as necessary. It was nice being able to cast Captain of the Watch and put nine power on the board after they Terminus, but Miracles is less common now. A card I was using more recently was Protector of the Crown which is a great card for this deck. Really helps deal with Delver and one of the decks "truely" hardest cards to face, True-Name Nemesis. I've swapped it out for Aerial Responder since Responder is cheaper and a better attacker and they actually are in the deck to serve a similar purpose, but this may be incorrect.

I would add Protector before CotW for sure.

[bruizar]

This deck needs at least 3x Licia, Sanguine Tribune

[R3ndr0c]

This deck needs at least 3x Licia, Sanguine Tribune

Not at all


card is sucks and is too hard to cast

[bruizar]

Not at all


card is sucks and is too hard to cast

hard to cast, yes, impossible even. but you win in 2 attacks if you have premcaptain out, and enlistment officer helps dig for it.

[MGB]

Hey, look at that! Soldier Stompy Top-8ed MKM Barcelona (a big European Legacy tournament):

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/this-week-in-legacy-mkm-barcelona

Soldier Stompy piloted by Remi Herve Lacombe...


Scroll down in that article to where he discusses the top-8 decks and you'll see the decklist. It's very traditional - 4 Suppression Fields, Thalias, etc.

[menph]

As goblin player I always found very interesting to have few cards with goblin-like mechanics and a tax-prison elements in the same deck. Soldiers are probably the next deck I will try.

What do you think about ghostly prison? It looks strange to me that nobody plays it in this deck.
Probably is to keep the soldiers count high for enlistment officer, but I think It's a strong lock element that work very well with Thalia, also harder to remove than chalice and Thalia. It's a t1 play and could help a lot against tempo and aggro decks.

Inviato dal mio SM-A320F utilizzando Tapatalk

[Rampart]

As goblin player I always found very interesting to have few cards with goblin-like mechanics and a tax-prison elements in the same deck. Soldiers are probably the next deck I will try.

What do you think about ghostly prison? It looks strange to me that nobody plays it in this deck.
Probably is to keep the soldiers count high for enlistment officer, but I think It's a strong lock element that work very well with Thalia, also harder to remove than chalice and Thalia. It's a t1 play and could help a lot against tempo and aggro decks.

Inviato dal mio SM-A320F utilizzando Tapatalk

What does Ghostly Prison fix? With the exception of True-Name or equipment on dudes it is exceptionally difficult for most decks to get through on the ground because to the first strike and high toughness that solders represent. I would think that the biggest issue would be creatures with flying, Delver you can race to some degree but there are at least two soldiers with Reach and with the printing of Aerial Responder a decent flying solder that you should probably have some number in the 75 of. I am not sure it actually does enough to warrant inclusion.

On another note. Has anyone experimented with cutting chalice from the main deck? I know it sounds crazy but it feels really weak right now and I am finding that I don't want it or sideboard it out a lot.

[menph]

Some new soldier coming out with dominaria, this one looks interesting

Baird, Steward of Argive
2WW
Legendary Creature — Human Soldier
2/4
Vigilance
Creatures can't attack you or a planeswalker you control unless their controller pays 1 for each of those creatures.


Inviato dal mio SM-A320F utilizzando Tapatalk

[That nice guy]

Some new soldier coming out with dominaria, this one looks interesting

Baird, Steward of Argive
2WW
Legendary Creature — Human Soldier
2/4
Vigilance
Creatures can't attack you or a planeswalker you control unless their controller pays 1 for each of those creatures.


Inviato dal mio SM-A320F utilizzando Tapatalk

:confused: Worse version of windborn muse :rolleyes:

[R3ndr0c]

I actually think it could see play, yes, it's not as good as Windborn, but it's a Soldier. Our deck does have a lot of tax effects which could complement the mini Ghostly Prison effect quite nicely. Though I don't think it will be making the cut.

[Medea_]

Hey folks,

D&T player here. I'm looking to stream a bit of Soldier Stompy sometime in about the next two weeks. I've looked at a couple of lists here, read the recent articles that popped up, and watched the league on CFB a week or two ago. Here's what I came up with, and I'd love some feedback if it looks like I've got too much or not enough of an effect. I'm not 100% sold on Aerial Responder, but I see the niche that it fills. The Aegis of the Gods in the sideboard could probably be something else as well, but I figured diversification of hate might be good.

-Phil Gallagher

Lands (19)
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
6 Plains
2 Karakas

Creatures (29)
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Recruiter of the Guard
3 Daru Warchief
4 Palace Jailer
3 Aerial Responder
2 Fairgrounds Warden

Spells (12)
4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field

Sideboard (15)
2 Warping Wail
1 Containment Priest
1 Aegis of the Gods
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Holy Light
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Armegeddon

[MGB]

Try the version with 4 Winter Orb MD instead of Supp Field.

[Medea_]

Hey folks,

I 5-0'd with the decklist I posted above. Here's the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag485bHTw4I). The gameplay was super-interesting and unique.

[R3ndr0c]

Hey folks,

I 5-0'd with the decklist I posted above. Here's the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag485bHTw4I). The gameplay was super-interesting and unique.

That list looks great, very similar to mine, I'm guessing you got some ideas from my list. :) don't listen to MGB, Suppression Field is OP and much better than Orb, especially on time 2-3. You've got the right idea. Maybe I should be run the fourth Palace Jailers, but I have liked having two Trinis in the MD.

[Medea_]

There wasn't a ton of data out there as a starting point. I looked at your list, Mengucci's league from CFB, and a recent article on Hipsters of the Coast. I think most of my changes and choices were pretty good. I really liked the additional removal I played in the form of Fairgrounds Wardens, and Aerial Responder, despite being slightly hard on the mana, was really important. Sideboard still might need some work though. I sort of wanted a disenchant effect of some nature, and it's possible that I should just play a playset of Leyline of the Void over my current hate setup.

[Lord Darkview]

Hey folks,

I 5-0'd with the decklist I posted above. Here's the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag485bHTw4I). The gameplay was super-interesting and unique.

So, like I said in the DnT thread, the first stream looked like a blast.

The second stream seemed... more mixed.

I was curious about the logic of a decision you consistently made. Several times, you had the option of turn 1 TGT, Chalice, or Suppression Field. In those cases, you always went for one of the first two. Against some combo decks, or against an unknown deck, that makes a lot of sense. But against something that can't really run away with a turn-1 play AND run fetch-heavy manabases (say, Delver variants), I still saw you opting for this play when the Field had a shot of just shutting off any fetches entirely and thus winning by default. Why do you prioritize your disruption that way?

[Bart]

Hey Phil,

It’s nice to see someone giving attention to this deck and your 5-0 video was a lot of fun to watch! I’m a long-time Soldier player, loving the tribe and I think the deck as a whole is severely underrated in Legacy. I tried several versions over the last couple of years in local tournament settings, including the Human version with 4 Thalia’s Lieutenant and Parallax Wave, but I think the last version I used (before my 9 months visit to Nic Fit) is by far the strongest and most fun at the same time:

4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Preeminent Captain
3 Metallic Mimic
3 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Protector of the Crown
3 Palace Jailer
3 Ballyrush Banneret
1 Aerial Responder
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Soltari Champion

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
4 Chrome Mox

6 Plains
1 Karakas
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors

SB
4 Rest in Piece
3 Holy Light
1 Disenchant
2 Damping Matrix
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Armageddon
1 Cast Out

Yess, Metallic Mimic and High Sentinels of Arashin. I dismissed Daru Warchief and Enlistment Officers some time ago after a lot of testing and these are the rightful replacements. Allow me to explain :)

Metallic Mimic vs Daru Warchief

While the toughness boost of the Warchief is the real kickoff, it doesn’t really matter if it gets removed during combat via a timely Fatal Push, Plow or whatever. I lost my team too many time because of that. The boost Mimic gives has more staying power, the +1+1 counters will not be removed. Also, multiple Mimics is bananas for this deck (I won with 5/4 first striking Thalia’s a lot) and the 1st Mimic will boosts the second one you play. Its true you have to play the Mimic before the better 2 and 3 drop Soldiers in order to make it work but the reward is well worth the wait most of the time. If not, it has some late game potential as well if they stick, although not as much as the Warchief. On the other hand, the biggest plus to play with 3 Mimics are the mulligan decisions. When I look at your video, you got a bit lucky with your Chrome Mox openers. In my experience, without opening with a Chrome Mox or a Sol land to get out a quick Suppression Field, Thalia or CotV, winning gets a LOT harder. Metallic Mimic makes it so that I kept a lot more opening hands because it can be castable turn 1 off a Sol land, following with a good 3 drop next turn that gets bigger. Although it can’t be pitched to Chrome Mox, which sometimes hurts, it makes my curve lower and my Soldiers more dangerous permanently… which gets me to High Sentinels of Arashin.

High Sentinels of Arashin vs Enlistment Officer

I have mixed feelings about Enlistments Oficer and after a long time playing with it I decided to cut it. The effect is simply too random, you need to run at least 30 Soldiers in order to hit 2+ Soldiers on average and this simply can’t be done after sideboarding. Also, sometimes when I needed lands or a Chalice, they milled the cards, and the other way around.. With 3+ Palace Jailers I felt save without them (and I will run 4 Jailers next time for sure). Enter High Sentinels of Arashin. They replaced the Officers and for good reason in this list and I won’t look back. A 3/4 flier is “ok” in Legacy, but when it comes into play as a 4/5 with haste via Preeminent Captain with a Metallic Mimic in play, it gets pretty bonkers. Besides, it kills Delvers and lives on itself. Add the fact that with a fast Mimic, all other creatures you cast next enter play with counters and the Sentinels gets real. When games did go deep, I’ve beat people with a 12/13 flying bird. Yess, sometimes its self-pumping ability counteracted with Suppression Field, but still it did excellent work for me even without the pump.

Protector of the Crown vs Captain of the Watch

Preeminent Captain could easily be the best card of the deck, but it looses a lot of power without a good six drop. For me, the Protector was chosen over Captain of the Watch for a couple of reasons. The spreaded bodies provided by CotW are pretty good (and also very combolicious with Mimic) but I found myself loosing too much against the unblockable menace that is True Name Nemesis and burn. Besides, the double W costing CotW, without Preeminent Captain, could be hard to get out in a world with Wastelands. Protector of the Crown takes damage from Nemesis as a king, soaks up late game Bolts, cost only one W (so can be played off 1 Plains and 2 Sol lands) and it get you (back) THE MONARCH. Without the Enlistments Officers in the deck it was an easy replacement. Also, it sucks up late-game damage from your own Ancient Tombs (although I had to be carefull sometimes - 2 damage gets it to 3 toughness and it could die from a Bolt), it protects the monarch by itself for at least 1 turn, it it absolutely fantastic with a Mimic in play (3/6 is waay better than 2/5) and it was a blast to sneak in via P. Captain, knowing I won’t take any damage next turn with a tapped and attacking Protector in play. Card is good on multiple levels. The only downside: it won’t protect you against an active Deathrite Shaman.

Ballyrush Banneret

My number 1 bane of the deck always was Wasteland. Stopped counting the number of times I lost to that card. Mulliganning to hands not weak to Wasteland was even harder. That’s why I never stopped using Ballyrush Banneret. The card saved me a share bit of games when I was low on lands but could keep playing Soldiers due to the early discount. Note that in a 3 land scenario after Wasteland (with no Sol lands), Daru Warchief would be uncastable. Banneret could make me play only 18 lands instead of 19. It makes High Sentinels a better Serendib Efreet for 3 mana in this deck. And it lets me run the six-drops a lot smoother. But I must admit the Banneret is definitely the weakest card in my list by itself. Mimic can get it to 3/2 sometimes but that’s it, no first strike.. Maybe I will replace it with the Fairgrounds Warden (a card that I loved to add when it first came out!) and trim a Protector.

Changes

I will definitely up the Aerial Responder count after seeing your videos. More flying is something I can get behind even with the WW casting cost. It will alos makes my 1 Odric better. And lifelink is perfect after Tomb damage.

I’m not sure about the Soltari Champion in my list. It’s a decent planeswalker killer and good with Mimic (again) but that’s about it. Also it has no synergy with Odric, which is sometimes already a win-more card. I consider it my flex spot.

I will add some number of Sorcerous Spyglass SB. I played it in other Stompy shells already and I really liked it.

I can recommend using Damping Matrix against Deathrite Shaman decks and Death&Taxes, the card is very good and I don’t think I will cut it for Spyglass. It’s also an artifact/equipment answer you're looking for. Bonus points: most opponents will read it after you play it in paper.

Warping Wail is a card I never thought about using, but I think I will run it in my future build. Seems neat & very legit.

What are your thoughts about Blessed Alliance? It is very good against Eldrazi, Griselbrands and Marit Lage and works well with Chalice on 1.

I am thinking about adding 1 or 2 Lotus Petals to the deck. When a first turn Chalice, Suppression Field or Thalia Heretic Cathar sticks, it is usually game. Or at least very very annoying for the opponent. It will also makes a turn 1 Rest in Peace from the sideboard a better possibility against reanimator (on this subject, I would not recommend to run 4 Leyline of the Void, you need as much late game cards you can get, no stinkers you can’t play). With a few Petals it will also be easier to cast Armageddon after boarding with Thalia 1 in play.
Do you think the deck should up the first turn-2-drop (& first turn 3-drop) chances by adding Petals? Let me know what you think!

Cheers from The Netherlands,
Bart

[Manroe]

Hey Phil,

It’s nice to see someone giving attention to this deck and your 5-0 video was a lot of fun to watch! I’m a long-time Soldier player, loving the tribe and I think the deck as a whole is severely underrated in Legacy. I tried several versions over the last couple of years in local tournament settings, including the Human version with 4 Thalia’s Lieutenant and Parallax Wave, but I think the last version I used (before my 9 months visit to Nic Fit) is by far the strongest and most fun at the same time:

4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Preeminent Captain
3 Metallic Mimic
3 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Protector of the Crown
3 Palace Jailer
3 Ballyrush Banneret
1 Aerial Responder
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Soltari Champion

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
4 Chrome Mox

6 Plains
1 Karakas
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors

SB
4 Rest in Piece
3 Holy Light
1 Disenchant
2 Damping Matrix
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Armageddon
1 Cast Out

Yess, Metallic Mimic and High Sentinels of Arashin. I dismissed Daru Warchief and Enlistment Officers some time ago after a lot of testing and these are the rightful replacements. Allow me to explain :)

Metallic Mimic vs Daru Warchief

While the toughness boost of the Warchief is the real kickoff, it doesn’t really matter if it gets removed during combat via a timely Fatal Push, Plow or whatever. I lost my team too many time because of that. The boost Mimic gives has more staying power, the +1+1 counters will not be removed. Also, multiple Mimics is bananas for this deck (I won with 5/4 first striking Thalia’s a lot) and the 1st Mimic will boosts the second one you play. Its true you have to play the Mimic before the better 2 and 3 drop Soldiers in order to make it work but the reward is well worth the wait most of the time. If not, it has some late game potential as well if they stick, although not as much as the Warchief. On the other hand, the biggest plus to play with 3 Mimics are the mulligan decisions. When I look at your video, you got a bit lucky with your Chrome Mox openers. In my experience, without opening with a Chrome Mox or a Sol land to get out a quick Suppression Field, Thalia or CotV, winning gets a LOT harder. Metallic Mimic makes it so that I kept a lot more opening hands because it can be castable turn 1 off a Sol land, following with a good 3 drop next turn that gets bigger. Although it can’t be pitched to Chrome Mox, which sometimes hurts, it makes my curve lower and my Soldiers more dangerous permanently… which gets me to High Sentinels of Arashin.

High Sentinels of Arashin vs Enlistment Officer

I have mixed feelings about Enlistments Oficer and after a long time playing with it I decided to cut it. The effect is simply too random, you need to run at least 30 Soldiers in order to hit 2+ Soldiers on average and this simply can’t be done after sideboarding. Also, sometimes when I needed lands or a Chalice, they milled the cards, and the other way around.. With 3+ Palace Jailers I felt save without them (and I will run 4 Jailers next time for sure). Enter High Sentinels of Arashin. They replaced the Officers and for good reason in this list and I won’t look back. A 3/4 flier is “ok” in Legacy, but when it comes into play as a 4/5 with haste via Preeminent Captain with a Metallic Mimic in play, it gets pretty bonkers. Besides, it kills Delvers and lives on itself. Add the fact that with a fast Mimic, all other creatures you cast next enter play with counters and the Sentinels gets real. When games did go deep, I’ve beat people with a 12/13 flying bird. Yess, sometimes its self-pumping ability counteracted with Suppression Field, but still it did excellent work for me even without the pump.

Protector of the Crown vs Captain of the Watch

Preeminent Captain could easily be the best card of the deck, but it looses a lot of power without a good six drop. For me, the Protector was chosen over Captain of the Watch for a couple of reasons. The spreaded bodies provided by CotW are pretty good (and also very combolicious with Mimic) but I found myself loosing too much against the unblockable menace that is True Name Nemesis and burn. Besides, the double W costing CotW, without Preeminent Captain, could be hard to get out in a world with Wastelands. Protector of the Crown takes damage from Nemesis as a king, soaks up late game Bolts, cost only one W (so can be played off 1 Plains and 2 Sol lands) and it get you (back) THE MONARCH. Without the Enlistments Officers in the deck it was an easy replacement. Also, it sucks up late-game damage from your own Ancient Tombs (although I had to be carefull sometimes - 2 damage gets it to 3 toughness and it could die from a Bolt), it protects the monarch by itself for at least 1 turn, it it absolutely fantastic with a Mimic in play (3/6 is waay better than 2/5) and it was a blast to sneak in via P. Captain, knowing I won’t take any damage next turn with a tapped and attacking Protector in play. Card is good on multiple levels. The only downside: it won’t protect you against an active Deathrite Shaman.

Ballyrush Banneret

My number 1 bane of the deck always was Wasteland. Stopped counting the number of times I lost to that card. Mulliganning to hands not weak to Wasteland was even harder. That’s why I never stopped using Ballyrush Banneret. The card saved me a share bit of games when I was low on lands but could keep playing Soldiers due to the early discount. Note that in a 3 land scenario after Wasteland (with no Sol lands), Daru Warchief would be uncastable. Banneret could make me play only 18 lands instead of 19. It makes High Sentinels a better Serendib Efreet for 3 mana in this deck. And it lets me run the six-drops a lot smoother. But I must admit the Banneret is definitely the weakest card in my list by itself. Mimic can get it to 3/2 sometimes but that’s it, no first strike.. Maybe I will replace it with the Fairgrounds Warden (a card that I loved to add when it first came out!) and trim a Protector.

Changes

I will definitely up the Aerial Responder count after seeing your videos. More flying is something I can get behind even with the WW casting cost. It will alos makes my 1 Odric better. And lifelink is perfect after Tomb damage.

I’m not sure about the Soltari Champion in my list. It’s a decent planeswalker killer and good with Mimic (again) but that’s about it. Also it has no synergy with Odric, which is sometimes already a win-more card. I consider it my flex spot.

I will add some number of Sorcerous Spyglass SB. I played it in other Stompy shells already and I really liked it.

I can recommend using Damping Matrix against Deathrite Shaman decks and Death&Taxes, the card is very good and I don’t think I will cut it for Spyglass. It’s also an artifact/equipment answer you're looking for. Bonus points: most opponents will read it after you play it in paper.

Warping Wail is a card I never thought about using, but I think I will run it in my future build. Seems neat & very legit.

What are your thoughts about Blessed Alliance? It is very good against Eldrazi, Griselbrands and Marit Lage and works well with Chalice on 1.

I am thinking about adding 1 or 2 Lotus Petals to the deck. When a first turn Chalice, Suppression Field or Thalia Heretic Cathar sticks, it is usually game. Or at least very very annoying for the opponent. It will also makes a turn 1 Rest in Peace from the sideboard a better possibility against reanimator (on this subject, I would not recommend to run 4 Leyline of the Void, you need as much late game cards you can get, no stinkers you can’t play). With a few Petals it will also be easier to cast Armageddon after boarding with Thalia 1 in play.
Do you think the deck should up the first turn-2-drop (& first turn 3-drop) chances by adding Petals? Let me know what you think!

Cheers from The Netherlands,
BartThought some of your card choices were very interesting and unique so I gave it a whirl on MTGO. I already owned a pretty stock list but I've been on a bad run in leagues. My first attempt at a league I went 0-3,0-6 and dropped. I took a lot of notes and I mulliganed 7 out of 8 games and lost to land screw or land flood most of the games. Only one or two were even competitive.

So, I take this into a league last night.... Same thing. 0-5, 0-10... Not even a single game win. Some really bad shuffler problems again. I mulled every game but one and even that keep was questionable and out of frustration. I've been playing only legacy in constructed for nearly a decade and I've never had issues like this for this many games (Also just hit bad luck, like my delver opponent having no fetches against my t1 suppression field both games).

This run seems a bit rediculous.


Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[Bart]

Thought some of your card choices were very interesting and unique so I gave it a whirl on MTGO. I already owned a pretty stock list but I've been on a bad run in leagues. My first attempt at a league I went 0-3,0-6 and dropped. I took a lot of notes and I mulliganed 7 out of 8 games and lost to land screw or land flood most of the games. Only one or two were even competitive.

So, I take this into a league last night.... Same thing. 0-5, 0-10... Not even a single game win. Some really bad shuffler problems again. I mulled every game but one and even that keep was questionable and out of frustration. I've been playing only legacy in constructed for nearly a decade and I've never had issues like this for this many games (Also just hit bad luck, like my delver opponent having no fetches against my t1 suppression field both games).

This run seems a bit rediculous.

Well lucky me I didn't force you to play the deck.

Like stated I was about to change some of the cards as the decklist was more than 9 months old, so I took my adjusted decklist to our local Wednesday evening tourney and went 2-2 with it :) It's not optimal, but it's a good start and I think my plays could be improved. This was the list I ran yesterday:

4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Palace Jailer
4 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Metallic Mimic
3 Aerial Responder
2 Protector of the Crown
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Fairgrounds Warden

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Chrome Mox

6 Plains
1 Karakas
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors

SB
3 Rest in Piece
3 Holy Light
1 Disenchant
1 Damping Matrix
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Trinisphere
2 Armageddon
1 Selfless Squire

This is what happened:

Round 1 - BUG Leovold 3 colors - 0-2

Game 1 I land an early Suppression Field but he opponent has 2 clean Duals instead of fetches. He casts a quick Leovold that I can Jail, but a Strix gets me off the monarch. I eat a Hymn and fail to find another white source for my Aerial Responder to save me in time. Hymn to Tourach is such a bitch of a card for Stompy decks.

Sideboard

Game 2 His Deathrite is blanked by my early Rest in Peace but again I get Hymned (2 of my Soldiers are hit) and again I fail to draw another land and white source for my Responder, the only card left in hand. A 2/1 and 3/2 Mimic gets some beats in and eventually I draw Plains but it's too late, I play Responder and High Sentinels but he has a Jace for it and Liliana of the Last Hope to kill my Mimics and its lights out with his Strixes.

I've played against this midrange deck before with Soldiers and it's not an easy matchup. They have Hymn to Tourach, bigger creatures (Goyf), True Name AND Wastelands. I can't blame the deck and I feel in this match my luck just wasn't there.

Round 2 - Pox 2-0

Game 1 I manage to get out an early Chalice on 1 and 2 Suppressions Fields, blanking a lot of his cards. Phyrexian Totem does nothing and after a 3rd Suppression Field and a lot of Soldiers my beats are too many for him.

Game 2 He is able to Ritual out a Lilian of the Veil, making us discard a lot but I manage to sneak through Thalia 1 and 2 Spyglasses on Liliana and on Totem. Nights of Souls Betrayal is slowing me down but not enough.

Round 3 - Dredge 2-1

Game 1 I'm on the play, keep a hand with just a Plains and a City with a Chalice, knowing he is on dredge but whith my lack of experience against the deck I play Chalice on 1.. he plays 2 Lions Eye Diamonds next turn, discarding into 3 red mana, then does nothing with it. I'm confused but scared anyway as I know the speed of this deck can quickly kill me. I draw no lands (again) and his second LED is cracked and after a few turns I'm facing down a lot of zombies with just my big Thalia on the field..

Game 2 I have the nuts, turn 1 I play Chalice on 1 and a second Chalice on 0 and second turn I play Thalia 1. He discards Imp in cleanup but after dredging he scoops.

Game 3 I open with 2 white sources, no Mox but with 2 Rest in Peace... decide to keep while on the draw. He Cabal Therapies... himself! and second turn he does this again, saving me my RiPs, that I do play out ofcourse. The turn after that I play Preeminent Captain, into High Sentinels, into pump with Sentinels into pump and Thalia 2 and I take it down.

Round 4 - Grixis 1-2

I was looking forward to practice against the best deck in the format.

G1 was going exactly like I wanted to. I had the nuts. Turn 1 I play Tomb and after that Chrome Mox. My opponent thinks hard and decided to Force the Mox. I play out a Spyglass for 2 life. He reveals a hand with 2 Deathrites no fetches, I name Deathrite. Turn 2 I play Suppression Field, that sticks. After that my opponent decides to wait out the game to see what creatures and gameplan I have. Arashin pump activations and Thalia 1 finish the job fast.

G2 was... not so good. On the draw again he has a quick Deathrite and True Name, I have Suppression Field again but he has natural duals. Wasteland.. I forgot to take good notes but it was painful.

G3 on the play I draw a hand with 1 Chrome Mox, no lands, a Supp Field, Chalice, Thalia 1 and 2 and High Sentinels and something, but I can't keep 1 landers (in this case the Mox), too dangerous, I've been here before. The second hand has only 1 land... Mull to 5 I draw Plains, Mox, Sentinels, Responder, Holy Light. Have to keep but it's already played ofcourse, how can I win, this is an actual mull to 3 as I play out my Plains and Mox imprinting Sentinels.. I draw a Cavern of Souls, he Wastelands and keeps making tokens of Young Pyromancer, I spare my cards until I have enough for another Mox, play a Trinisphere as bait, that eats a Spell Pierce. Than he plays Ancient Grudge on my Mox so I can't play my Holy Light. Token beatdown and I loose... Opponent tells me he had the nut hand with double Fow etc, I couldn't possibly win with mull to 5.


Notes:

The High Sentinels of Arashin / Mimic "combo" didn't came up once, but the Sentinels did a good job at pumping others to gain more power. I will still run it in these numbers.

Preeminent Captain did some work, but not like it did for me before. Will keep playing them, they are Bolt bait #1.

Aerial Responder... 50% of the time I play with Soldier Stompy I am mana-screwed somehow, wether it be via Wastelands or double Tomb /City draws, and Responders are not helping me with this with their double W. Still I think this is the deck's problem, not the Responders so I will spin them again. The lifegain was super usefull but in the matchups I lost it was not enough. Didn't face a single Delver though.

I want to add more mana to the deck. Thinking of 2 Lotus Petals in the sideboard to board in against Wasteland decks and combo to ensure quicker anti-combo hate like RiP and Trinisphere.

Cards I will cut:

Odric. I didnt have a single moment where I thought: If I onlt drew Odric I would win this one.

[Manroe]

Well lucky me I didn't force you to play the deck.

Like stated I was about to change some of the cards as the decklist was more than 9 months old, so I took my adjusted decklist to our local Wednesday evening tourney and went 2-2 with it :) It's not optimal, but it's a good start and I think my plays could be improved. This was the list I ran yesterday:

4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Palace Jailer
4 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Metallic Mimic
3 Aerial Responder
2 Protector of the Crown
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Fairgrounds Warden

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Chrome Mox

6 Plains
1 Karakas
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors

SB
3 Rest in Piece
3 Holy Light
1 Disenchant
1 Damping Matrix
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Trinisphere
2 Armageddon
1 Selfless Squire

This is what happened:

Round 1 - BUG Leovold 3 colors - 0-2

Game 1 I land an early Suppression Field but he opponent has 2 clean Duals instead of fetches. He casts a quick Leovold that I can Jail, but a Strix gets me off the monarch. I eat a Hymn and fail to find another white source for my Aerial Responder to save me in time. Hymn to Tourach is such a bitch of a card for Stompy decks.

Sideboard

Game 2 His Deathrite is blanked by my early Rest in Peace but again I get Hymned (2 of my Soldiers are hit) and again I fail to draw another land and white source for my Responder, the only card left in hand. A 2/1 and 3/2 Mimic gets some beats in and eventually I draw Plains but it's too late, I play Responder and High Sentinels but he has a Jace for it and Liliana of the Last Hope to kill my Mimics and its lights out with his Strixes.

I've played against this midrange deck before with Soldiers and it's not an easy matchup. They have Hymn to Tourach, bigger creatures (Goyf), True Name AND Wastelands. I can't blame the deck and I feel in this match my luck just wasn't there.

Round 2 - Pox 2-0

Game 1 I manage to get out an early Chalice on 1 and 2 Suppressions Fields, blanking a lot of his cards. Phyrexian Totem does nothing and after a 3rd Suppression Field and a lot of Soldiers my beats are too many for him.

Game 2 He is able to Ritual out a Lilian of the Veil, making us discard a lot but I manage to sneak through Thalia 1 and 2 Spyglasses on Liliana and on Totem. Nights of Souls Betrayal is slowing me down but not enough.

Round 3 - Dredge 2-1

Game 1 I'm on the play, keep a hand with just a Plains and a City with a Chalice, knowing he is on dredge but whith my lack of experience against the deck I play Chalice on 1.. he plays 2 Lions Eye Diamonds next turn, discarding into 3 red mana, then does nothing with it. I'm confused but scared anyway as I know the speed of this deck can quickly kill me. I draw no lands (again) and his second LED is cracked and after a few turns I'm facing down a lot of zombies with just my big Thalia on the field..

Game 2 I have the nuts, turn 1 I play Chalice on 1 and a second Chalice on 0 and second turn I play Thalia 1. He discards Imp in cleanup but after dredging he scoops.

Game 3 I open with 2 white sources, no Mox but with 2 Rest in Peace... decide to keep while on the draw. He Cabal Therapies... himself! and second turn he does this again, saving me my RiPs, that I do play out ofcourse. The turn after that I play Preeminent Captain, into High Sentinels, into pump with Sentinels into pump and Thalia 2 and I take it down.

Round 4 - Grixis 1-2

I was looking forward to practice against the best deck in the format.

G1 was going exactly like I wanted to. I had the nuts. Turn 1 I play Tomb and after that Chrome Mox. My opponent thinks hard and decided to Force the Mox. I play out a Spyglass for 2 life. He reveals a hand with 2 Deathrites no fetches, I name Deathrite. Turn 2 I play Suppression Field, that sticks. After that my opponent decides to wait out the game to see what creatures and gameplan I have. Arashin pump activations and Thalia 1 finish the job fast.

G2 was... not so good. On the draw again he has a quick Deathrite and True Name, I have Suppression Field again but he has natural duals. Wasteland.. I forgot to take good notes but it was painful.

G3 on the play I draw a hand with 1 Chrome Mox, no lands, a Supp Field, Chalice, Thalia 1 and 2 and High Sentinels and something, but I can't keep 1 landers (in this case the Mox), too dangerous, I've been here before. The second hand has only 1 land... Mull to 5 I draw Plains, Mox, Sentinels, Responder, Holy Light. Have to keep but it's already played ofcourse, how can I win, this is an actual mull to 3 as I play out my Plains and Mox imprinting Sentinels.. I draw a Cavern of Souls, he Wastelands and keeps making tokens of Young Pyromancer, I spare my cards until I have enough for another Mox, play a Trinisphere as bait, that eats a Spell Pierce. Than he plays Ancient Grudge on my Mox so I can't play my Holy Light. Token beatdown and I loose... Opponent tells me he had the nut hand with double Fow etc, I couldn't possibly win with mull to 5.


Notes:

The High Sentinels of Arashin / Mimic "combo" didn't came up once, but the Sentinels did a good job at pumping others to gain more power. I will still run it in these numbers.

Preeminent Captain did some work, but not like it did for me before. Will keep playing them, they are Bolt bait #1.

Aerial Responder... 50% of the time I play with Soldier Stompy I am mana-screwed somehow, wether it be via Wastelands or double Tomb /City draws, and Responders are not helping me with this with their double W. Still I think this is the deck's problem, not the Responders so I will spin them again. The lifegain was super usefull but in the matchups I lost it was not enough. Didn't face a single Delver though.

I want to add more mana to the deck. Thinking of 2 Lotus Petals in the sideboard to board in against Wasteland decks and combo to ensure quicker anti-combo hate like RiP and Trinisphere.

Cards I will cut:

Odric. I didnt have a single moment where I thought: If I onlt drew Odric I would win this one.Hey I wasn't trying to trash you or your list. Just was whining about my run. Sorry if it came off that way

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[Welshy]

Good afternoon everyone,

Some months ago I started to play this deck and I fell in love with it, as such I observed that there wasn't much updated source material for the deck in this current meta and time period. I compiled a template on what I think are the important cards and mindsets as well as some sample lists that have been observed to do well. I already posted it on Reddit since alot has changed with the decks evolution. If i'm missing some cards that you would like to see in the doc or have any suggestions please let me know. I will be updating this doc this weekend to include some notes on the monarch and some match-ups. If you have any match-up based opinions on 4c loam or lands please let me know. Critique is appreciated.

Thank you and keep on stomping.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zIkfphC6AmJF_TkuTE5Ka00ZQnDLzch0uU3iiGJqzvY/edit?usp=sharing

[Bart]

So I took this back to our local Legacy event in Haarlem again and went 3 -1 last Wednesday:

4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Palace Jailer
4 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Metallic Mimic
3 Aerial Responder
2 Protector of the Crown
1 Loxodon Gatekeeper

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
4 Chrome Mox
2 Lotus Petal

6 Plains
1 Karakas
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors

SB
3 Rest in Piece
3 Holy Light
1 Disenchant
1 Damping Matrix
3 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Trinisphere
1 Containment Priest
1 Crackdown

CHANGES MAIN
-1 Odric
-1 Sorcerous Spyglass
-1 Fairgrounds Warden
+2 Lotus Petals
+1 Loxodon Gatekeeper

Matchups:

R1 Burn 2-0

Game 1 I just had it: Turn 1 Thalia Heretic of a City and Mox, turn 2 Chalice on 1 and turn 3 Mimic accompanied with Thalia 1.
Game 2 I just was very lucky, burn is a hard (if not impossible) matchup to win after siding (Aerial Responder does not survive 3 damage and they have Bridges), but he got stuck on a 1 lander with just a single Lavamancer while I had the nuts again: a 2/1 Mimic, 3/2 Mimic and 4/4 Preeminent Captain finished it.

R2 Mono Red Stompy 2-0

Don't remember exactly but G1 he kept a loose hand with 2 sol lands for Trinisphere but that wasn't nearly enough, he didn't find another red mana. Bit of luck again.
Game 2 was longer, my Suppression Field and attackers turned off his Chandra, eventually my forces overwhelmed his Rabblemaster and Magus of the Moon (that helped me keeping away from damage from my own Tombs). Palace Jailer was the star here, removing his last threats.

R3 Grixis Delver 1 -2

This should be my revenge for last week against Ricardo, but I lost in a very close and exciting third game.
G1 I had the best hand: Suppression Field got countered, but Chalice on 1 resolved and my 2 flying uncounterable and un-Boltable High Sentinels were 1 turn faster than his clock of Pyro tokens.
G2 I honestly don't remember but we went 1 - 1
G3 On the edge, but he was a bit lucky with an opener of 2 Forces: 1 for my Chalice, the other for my Supp Field. Damned! Preeminent flashed in Protector of the Crown, then I took over the game with uncounterable (thanks, Cavern, where were you last week?) Palace Jailer. But he recovered quickly with 2 Delvers, killing my Protector. He played 2 Pyromancers in 1 turn that I managed to kill with EOT Holy Light. The crown (monarch) went back and forth for a few turns with unblockable Delvers, drawing us both extra cards, but my draws were 3 lands and a Petal in a row, very unlucky. I had 9 mana or so on the battlefield but no gas in hand... I managed to resolve a Crackdown that tapped one of his Delvers, but he played and flipped another and took it down.

R4 B/G Loam with U splash (homebrew) 2-0

G1 went over very fast, he drew 3 Wastelands and played a Deathrite against my Suppression Field. The card is soo good at the right times.
G2 was longer, I got Thoughtseized turn 1, he took Preeminent and left my Spyglass in check that I could play turn 1 of Tomb, revealing Maze of Ith, Jace and a lot of black removal. I took the Jace although he couldn't play it for the next couple of turns. This was a mistake, as he kept drawing removal so I only could leave one soldier in play against his Maze, but Palace Jailer eventually gathered the forces and 2 High Sentinels finished it.


Stars of the evening:

High Sentinels of Arashin: Can't be Decayed. Check. Can't be single-Bolted. Check. It flies to block or just kill Delvers and lives. Check. The card may be very weak in Magic but very good in a soldier build. This is even without the help of Metallic Mimic - unfortunately that combo didn't came up again (but it will be soon..)

Palace Jailer: So good, will still run 4. Against Grixis it is a pain to loose monarch though. Maybe I should go back to 1 or 2 Enlistment Officers for more late game gas, but right now I don't know what to cut.

Aerial Responder:
I finally had the mana to pay for it this week. Against mono R Stompy, they blocked and killed a lot of Goblin tokens while keeping the pressure. Against Grixis, it is a must answer or they loose their clock. Card is very good and the best addition for the tribe thusfar.

Lotus Petal:
So I added 2 Petals to improve consistency. I had 2 times where they were excellent, one of them against my last opponent where it was my second white source in my opener so I could play Jailer turn 2. The other I believe against Grixis where it landed a first turn Thalia in game 2 (with a Cavern to boot). I will keep playing them even though I know about the clash with Thalia 1 taxing when I draw them late game (but the same would be true with Mox in this case).


Changes:
Thinking of running 1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos main instead of Loxodon Gatekeeper. I added Gatekeeper because of my fast Lotus Petal addition to provide another semi-lock card to go next to Thalia, Heretic Cathar and for more sideboard synergy with Crackdown. But I'm not sure if I really needed him this time. Brimaz on the other hand should be able to completely take over a game with Mimic and Sentinels, while being another 4 thoughness beater. It is worth the try.

If I cut Gatekeeper, Crackdown needs to go as well I think. Maybe I will add 1 or 2 Blessed Alliance again instead because well, there is burn in my meta and it should help a little.

Still in debate on adding 1 or 2 Enlistment Officers main for late game gas.

[Welshy]

Hi Guys, I've made some updates to the source doc including, Table of contents to make it easier to navigate and match-up considerations. Again you can find it https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zIkfphC6AmJF_TkuTE5Ka00ZQnDLzch0uU3iiGJqzvY/edit?usp=sharing

[Bart]

Hi there,

So after a few weeks of practicing with my own Soldier list I finally managed to go 5-0 last weekend in our local tournament of 26 players. :)

The list can be found here:

http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=19150&f=LE

Just wanted to get it out there although I know the archetype isn't really getting the respect it deserves in Legacy, especially not on The Source. I would honestly say Soldier Stompy should at least be graded as a Tier 2 deck with the overperforming Thalia's (both of them), Chalices and Suppression Fields in it.

My matchups were:

Elves 2-1
Show and Tell Omnisience 2-1
B/U Reanimator 2-1
Storm 2-1
Mono Red Prison 2-0

[Enesta]

Wow looks great! Able to provide more insights on the matchups and how the deck felt overall?

[TLK]

Did you 5-0 an MTGO League as well? Someone just did with a very similar list.

[Kaono]

https://media.wizards.com/2018/images/daily/en_Ya9NbAas6Z.png

Gives the deck a bit more velocity and is well-costed for the body + effect. Definitely worth testing IMO.

[Finn]

I think it is aggressively costed. I would be kinda surprised if that guy does not jack up the power of this deck considerably.

[MGB]

I think it is aggressively costed. I would be kinda surprised if that guy does not jack up the power of this deck considerably.

I mean, we already have Recruiter of the Guard and we don't play more than 2 copies of that in the maindeck.

This guy has +1/+2 more power and toughness, but less tutoring/drawing power.

[Oogway]

Card layout/scheme looks great though

[ragoboi]

Has anyone tried Militia Bugler until now?

Here's a list that I'm gonna try out this week, if I can get to playing.

Creature (30)

2x Aerial Responder
2x Daru Warchief
4x Enlistment Officer
3x Militia Bugler
4x Palace Jailer
4x Preeminent Captain
2x Protector of the Crown
2x Recruiter of the Guard
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Thalia, Heretic Cathar

Land (18)

4x Ancient Tomb
4x Cavern of Souls
2x Karakas
8x Plains

Artifact (8)

4x Chalice of the Void
4x Chrome Mox

Enchantment (4)

4x Suppression Field

[TLK]

This list placed 9th at this weekend's MTGO Legacy Challenge:


3 Captain of the Watch
4 Daru Warchief
4 Enlistment Officer
1 Mirror Entity
2 Palace Jailer
4 Preeminent Captain
3 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox

4 Suppression Field

4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 City of Traitors
2 Karakas
7 Plains


2 Armageddon
2 Holy Light
4 Warping Wail
4 Cast Out
3 Rest in Peace

[Ataraxy]

Hi all,

I really love this deck, i think it's underrated by many players and it should be played more often.

I think it's time now to drop Suppression Field. With DRS gone, there is less activated abilities in the meta, and it pushes Soldiers to be more aggro. So this is my list at the moment :

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Palace Jailer
3 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru Warchief
4 Preeminent Captain
3 Aerial Responder
2 Walking Ballista
3 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
7 Plains
2 Karakas

4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Captain of the Watch
2 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Walking Ballista
2 Blessed Alliance


Ballista is shinning in this deck. The match up Death and Taxes is really improved with Ballistas and without Suppression Field (though it sounds strange, Field is not really helping us in this match up since it is really slow. Tests are speaking).

Theses are the 57 recent games I played on cockatrice online. I noted when players left the game earlier than the 2 wins.
I think the deck is really well positionned in the meta. Go go Soldiers !

Storm 2-0
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-1
Storm 0-2
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-1
Belcher 2-0
Sneak Show 1-2
Sneak Show 0-2
Sneak Show 2-1
Sneak Show 1-0 (I have been kicked and blacklisted lol)
Dredge 0-2 (play RIP if you want to improve the match up)
BR Réa 2-1
Dark Depths 2-1
TT 2-0
TT 2-1
TT 2-1
TT 1-0 ragequit
TT 1-0 ragequit
TT 2-0 ragequit
TT 2-0
Death Shadow 1-0 disconnect
Death Shadow 0-2
Death Shadow 1-2
Death Shadow 2-0
Death Shadow 2-0
Death Shadow 2-1
Death Shadow 1-0 ragequit
Death Shadow 0-2
Death Shadow 2-0
Grixies Delver 2-0
UR Delver 2-0
Burn 0-2
Goblins 2-1
Goblins 2-0
DnT 1-0 disconnect (list Ballista-less)
DnT 0-2 (list Ballista-less)
DnT 1-2 (list Ballista-less)
DnT 2-0 (list with Ballista and Spyglass, player saying "very bad match up for me" !)
Stoneblade 2-0
Stoneblade 0-2
Stoneblade 0-1 disconnect
Miracles 2-1
Miracles 2-1
BUG Control 2-1
Grixis Control 1-0 ragequit
Grixis Control 0-2
UW Standstill 1-2
Pox 0-2
Pox 2-0
Pox 2-1
Thopter Foundry 0-2
Thopter Foundry 0-2
Eldrazi 2-1
Cloudpost 2-0
Cloudpost 2-1 (kill T3 with Captain of the Watch)

[johncarvalho]

Hi all,

I really love this deck, i think it's underrated by many players and it should be played more often.

I think it's time now to drop Suppression Field. With DRS gone, there is less activated abilities in the meta, and it pushes Soldiers to be more aggro. So this is my list at the moment :

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Palace Jailer
3 Enlistment Officer
3 Daru Warchief
4 Preeminent Captain
3 Aerial Responder
2 Walking Ballista
3 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
7 Plains
2 Karakas

4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Captain of the Watch
2 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Walking Ballista
2 Blessed Alliance


Ballista is shinning in this deck. The match up Death and Taxes is really improved with Ballistas and without Suppression Field (though it sounds strange, Field is not really helping us in this match up since it is really slow. Tests are speaking).

Theses are the 57 recent games I played on cockatrice online. I noted when players left the game earlier than the 2 wins.
I think the deck is really well positionned in the meta. Go go Soldiers !

Storm 2-0
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-1
Storm 0-2
Storm 2-0
Storm 2-1
Belcher 2-0
Sneak Show 1-2
Sneak Show 0-2
Sneak Show 2-1
Sneak Show 1-0 (I have been kicked and blacklisted lol)
Dredge 0-2 (play RIP if you want to improve the match up)
BR Réa 2-1
Dark Depths 2-1
TT 2-0
TT 2-1
TT 2-1
TT 1-0 ragequit
TT 1-0 ragequit
TT 2-0 ragequit
TT 2-0
Death Shadow 1-0 disconnect
Death Shadow 0-2
Death Shadow 1-2
Death Shadow 2-0
Death Shadow 2-0
Death Shadow 2-1
Death Shadow 1-0 ragequit
Death Shadow 0-2
Death Shadow 2-0
Grixies Delver 2-0
UR Delver 2-0
Burn 0-2
Goblins 2-1
Goblins 2-0
DnT 1-0 disconnect (list Ballista-less)
DnT 0-2 (list Ballista-less)
DnT 1-2 (list Ballista-less)
DnT 2-0 (list with Ballista and Spyglass, player saying "very bad match up for me" !)
Stoneblade 2-0
Stoneblade 0-2
Stoneblade 0-1 disconnect
Miracles 2-1
Miracles 2-1
BUG Control 2-1
Grixis Control 1-0 ragequit
Grixis Control 0-2
UW Standstill 1-2
Pox 0-2
Pox 2-0
Pox 2-1
Thopter Foundry 0-2
Thopter Foundry 0-2
Eldrazi 2-1
Cloudpost 2-0
Cloudpost 2-1 (kill T3 with Captain of the Watch)

Im very very curious about soldiers, do you have any updates on this list?

[johncarvalho]

I have played Soldier Stompy from my past 3 weekly tournaments and the deck felt much inconsistent on starter hands. I had to mull 80% of the time, mostly down to 5, and even then kept slow hands to not go down any more.

This is the list:

Soldiers

Main:
3 Aerial Responder
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Captain of the Watch
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
3 Daru Warchief
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Karakas
4 Palace Jailer
8 Plains
4 Preeminent Captain
2 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Walking Ballista
3 Wasteland

Sideboard:
1 Armageddon
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Containment Priest
1 Faerie Macabre
2 Kor Firewalker (i ALWAYS lose to burn, its crazy:mad:)
2 Rest in Peace
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Warping Wail

When the engine starts the deck feels really really great, never runs out of gas.

I will try cutting the 3 wasteland and something else and add 4 lotus petals to make better turn1 plays.

[kinda]

I ran ur minotaurs last week to a 3-1 finish (list in the minotaurs thread) and have realised since Boros battleshaper is a soldier too it (along with blaze Commando/changeling titan) can be put in with Preeminent captain! I've never played soldiers before so no clue how to build this, plus I don't own chrome mox...but here's my rough version. Suggestions welcome!

Edit: Considering barging sargeant or ordruun veteran too. Or thundersong trumpeter/catapult squad.


4 Didgeridoo
4 Preeminent captain

4 Boros battleshaper
2 changeling titan
3 blaze Commando

3 enlistment officer
2 Palace jailer
1 thalia, heretic cathar
1 mirror entity
2 ballyrush banneret
1 sunstrike legionnaire

2 mother of runes
4 lightning bolt
2 flame jab or boros charm
2 enlightened tutor
1 blood moon
1 rest in peace
1 thorn of amethyst
1 crackdown

4 ancient tomb
4 inspiring vantage
1 sacred foundry
7 plains
2 Mountain
4 arid mesa

SB:
4 abrade
2 ethersworn canonist
2 rest in peace
2 faerie macabre
1 thorn of amethyst
2 swords to plowshares
2 crackdown

[FTW]

Has the new card Delney, Streetwise Lookout revived this deck?

It doubles all the triggers while making Preeminent Captain very hard to block.

The white landcycler Eagles of the North is a Soldier. We can play a "fetchland" that pitches to Mox, draws off Enlistment Officer, and can be played with Captain as a flying anthem effect (it buffs itself into 4/3 flying first strike).

Draft List:


//Lands: 18
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
5 Plains

//Artifacts: 4
4 Chrome Mox

//Soldiers: 31
4 Esper Sentinel
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Recruiter of the Guard
3 Militia Bugler
4 Enlistment Officer
2 Palace Jailer
2 Daru Warchief
4 Eagles of the North

//Others: 7
1 Charming Prince
3 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
3 Solitude

//Sideboard: 15
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Containment Priest
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 March of Otherworldly Light
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Loran of the Third Path
1 Solitude
2 Deafening Silence
2 Ethersworn Canonist


I dropped the curve a bit since Chalice is not as good in the current meta. Suppression Field might still be worth a SB slot but space is tight.

With Delney out, magical Xmasland is:
1) Preeminent Captain attacks -> double trigger
2) Play Recruiter of the Guard/Militia Bugler/Enlistment Officer from hand -> double trigger -> put 2-8 creatures in hand
3) Play an Enlistment Officer/Recruiter of the Guard/Militia Bugler from that pile -> double trigger -> put 2-8 creatures in hand
**OR play attacking Eagles of the North/Daru Warchief from that pile -> pump your attacking team
**OR play attacking Palace Jailer --> exile 2 blockers & become the Monarch
4) The 3 attackers can't be blocked by 3/x or bigger

If one of those creatures played was a Recruiter, you can also get Charming Prince (double flicker postcombat) or Solitude (remove a blocker, pitching an extra card drawn).

Xmasland won't always happen, but Delney works well with most of the triggers even if you never get a Captain attack.

[Barook]

Wouldn't you want to maximize your removal suit? Solitude gets alot better when it can be fetched Recruiter, even more so with a double trigger since you can either fetch two or fetch one + pitch food.

I would also try to run 4x Delney, Streetwise Lookout since it's your main combo card that synergizes with most part of your deck. It's also probably going to be a removal magnet, so having extras might not be the worst.

Maybe Brutal Cathar is also worth considering? It checks all the boxes: 2/2 (trigger compatible, fetchable with Recruiter, a Human and a Soldier, removal on a stick, 2W as a Stompy-friendly mana cost)

Running two Charming Prince to set up self-sustaining Blink chains might be worth considering. With Delney in play, they can blink the other one while also gaining another trigger for scry, life gain or an extra blink trigger with Delney in play. Loads of utility for very little extra deckbuilding cost.

[FTW]

Yeah, there's good reason to be on 4x Solitude. Delney doesn't copy Solitude though because it's a 3/2. And it's not a Soldier (makes Enlistment Officer worse).

I was focused on staying over 30 Soldiers for Enlistment Officer, but maybe taking advantage of the other synergies is just better.

Brutal Cathar is a good idea, instead of going up to 4 Palace Jailer (2WW cost).

[Barook]

With a Stompy manabase, Roaming Throne could also be a back-up for Delney at the top-end, although that would dilute the Soldier theme even further.

Since you want most creatures low on the ground due to Delney, Mirror Entity sounds like a fantastic finisher for the deck.

You alpha strike with Preeminent Captain, use Recruiter to fetch Entity, use the second trigger to put Entity into play, you bypass blockers with your weenies thanks to Delney, then you pump before combat damage and hit for massive damage. Even with just 3 creatures and 4 mana, that's already 12 damage that is either unblocked or generates CA because your opponent's little creatures die to your pumped team. And that's a conservative scenario.

However, two of my main concerns are:
1) How is the deck going to protect its creatures? The combos sound very powerful, but it would all fall apart with a well-timed removal spell.
2) How is the deck going to tackle problematic non-basics? I don't think the mana base can really afford Wasteland.

[FTW]

Good questions. Maybe it's time to retire Daru Warchief and Enlistment Officer (or cut back to 1-2). Militia Bugler could go to 4 copies instead.

If not constrained by only Soldiers, you can go 4 Delney 2-4 Roaming Throne and just play the best ETB effects:
Recruiter
Palace Jailer/Brutal Cathar
Solitude

Captain is still strong with 20+ Soldiers.

The deck is weak to removal, yet I think it can compensate by jamming card advantage into replacement creatures. If enough creatures represent 2-for-1s, let them spend removal. That seems like a better plan than using Mother/Giver to protect. Most of the creatures generate a significant advantage even if small.

Esper Sentinel sort of protects Delney. 2 separate tax triggers. If opponent doesn't pay, you draw 2. If they pay 1, you still draw 1. Sentinel and Thalia do slow down removal.

Delney also doubles Mentor of the Meek, another way to draw a lot.

Mirror Entity 1-of seems good. It's weak to Bowmaster before you activate though.

There's no room for Wasteland. Maybe Needle in the board. Dark Depths isn't a problem. Marit Lage's worst matchup is basic Plains. Field of the Dead is slow and not popular now.

To fight Saga we could attack artifacts via Kataki, Loran, Stony Silence. Needle also works vs Saga, Thespian's Stage, and Karakas (Karakas is annoying vs Delney).

[Borg]

It seems to me that Daru Warchief would be a no-no with Delney as he pushes most creatures' power up to 3 and thus eliminates the doubling effect. No?

[FTW]

Good point. Could drop the curve and abuse the mechanic better like this


//Mana: 17
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Karakas
5 Plains

//Artifacts: 8
4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void

//Soldiers: 25
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Militia Bugler
1 Mirror Entity
1 Brutal Cathar
3 Palace Jailer
4 Eagles of the North

//Other Creatures: 10
1 Charming Prince
4 Delney
2 Roaming Throne
3 Solitude

//Sideboard: 15
1 Loran of the Third Path
1 Skyclave Apparition
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Containment Priest
2 Faerie Macabre
2 March of Otherworldly Light
2 Enlistment Officer