MTG Salvation

For reference: Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

So I'm trying to pick a strategy for Sidisi. I've got two basic strategies in mind and I'm not sure which one I would rather pursue.

Idea #1: Delve
So the first idea is to use cards like Back from the Brink, Ongoing Investigation, and Havengul Runebinder to use a Delve like mechanic to get creatures back from the yard. Problem is that it wouldn't hold a lot of overall longevity and would be a pretty serious 1-pump chump. This is honestly my preferred strategy and I'm not going for hyper competitive, just a strategy/engine that is fun to turn over and is different from my Jarad deck. I just worry about 2 things. 1) That the deck will lose steam way to quickly/be too expensive mana-wise to enact and 2) that I lose out on really cool value cards like Prized Amalgam and Champion of Stray Souls.

Idea #2: Rinse and Repeat
This idea is to use recursive creatures like Golgair Grave-Troll, Gravecrawler, et al, and Thousand Year Elixir to gain tons of value out of all the self mill and then an engine to continuously repeat the process. The point is to abuse Sidisi to pump out tons and tons of Zombie tokens. This is kind of boring and expected and just like my Jarad deck. I just really like the idea of being able to fit together Champion of Stray Souls, Prized Amalgam, etc. into a way to pump out ridiculous amounts of Zombie tokens. I want it to really rely on Sidisi too because...that would be more fun to me.

Questions for you guys:
1) I'm sure strategy #2 probably has more cards to support it but what other really cool cards are out there that would help idea #1? If there aren't enough I might just default to idea #2
2) Do you think its possible to delve a lot of cards away without hampering Idea #2 too much and make both fit in the same deck?
3) Are there any fun little undervalued gems that could be put into a Sidisi deck using either strategy?

Yeah, option 2 has more support and is definitely the more powerful way to go. That said, I'd given some thought to the exile strategy for Sidisi before (it does seem more creative/fun), and here are some cards that stood out to me: Skaab Ruinator, Cemetery Reaper, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, maybe Molten-Tail Masticore, and recently Dread Defiler. Of course, some of the better delve cards can be considered as exile sources as well. Other cards that actually improve in quality due to your self-exile theme would include: Deadbridge Chant, Kheru Lich Lord, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Moldgraf Monstrosity (improved chances of the random effect getting you what you want), and Risen Executioner (if you keep your graveyard creature light he can actually be recurable). Also, Rakshasa Vizier would be a good fit as well as Misthollow Griffin and Torrent Elemental.

Quote from Zero_Origin720 »

Yeah, option 2 has more support and is definitely the more powerful way to go. That said, I'd given some thought to the exile strategy for Sidisi before (it does seem more creative/fun), and here are some cards that stood out to me: Skaab Ruinator, Cemetery Reaper, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, maybe Molten-Tail Masticore, and recently Dread Defiler. Of course, some of the better delve cards can be considered as exile sources as well. Other cards that actually improve in quality due to your self-exile theme would include: Deadbridge Chant, Kheru Lich Lord, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Moldgraf Monstrosity (improved chances of the random effect getting you what you want), and Risen Executioner (if you keep your graveyard creature light he can actually be recurable). Also, Rakshasa Vizier would be a good fit as well as Misthollow Griffin and Torrent Elemental.

These are some great suggestions. I've also considered running Soulflayer but that may be a bit much.

I'm curious though. Would it be possible to marry the strategies. Risen Executioner does kind of enable and encourage both. Prized Amalgam works well with that. There aren't a ton of creatures you can cast from the 'yard and I wouldn't want to do a full on reanimator deck, I've already got one of those.

Not sure if it helps but my friend has a constellation themed Sidisi deck that is pretty unique and seems fun to play.

Quote from CSEARLE_54 »

Not sure if it helps but my friend has a constellation themed Sidisi deck that is pretty unique and seems fun to play.

This is interesting. What kind of cards does it play?

Quote from CSEARLE_54 »

Not sure if it helps but my friend has a constellation themed Sidisi deck that is pretty unique and seems fun to play.

Yes, do tell!

The usual suspects from theros block. Courser of Kruphix, Whip of Erebos, Doomwake Giant and he is still trying to trade for an Eidelon of Blossoms. Also plays Herald of the Pantheon i would love to find him more of the older green enchantress style cards but they are kinda hard to come by. The decks is one we have worked together on the last couple months and its come together nicely. Courser for obvious reasons is extra good in Sidisi. If you wanted a list im sure i could get it from him for you guys.

Quote from CSEARLE_54 »

The usual suspects from theros block. Courser of Kruphix, Whip of Erebos, Doomwake Giant and he is still trying to trade for an Eidelon of Blossoms. Also plays Herald of the Pantheon i would love to find him more of the older green enchantress style cards but they are kinda hard to come by. The decks is one we have worked together on the last couple months and its come together nicely. Courser for obvious reasons is extra good in Sidisi. If you wanted a list im sure i could get it from him for you guys.

I like these kinds of "sub-theme" packages. I have a B/W Teysa Humanimator deck that also runs Heliod's Pilgrim and some aura's like Caustic Tar with other enchantments like Sphere of Safety as a back up win-con/strategy. This deck may want to do a lot of other things but having some cards that are enchantments that work with the deck strategy (like Whip) that also facilitate a value based sub-theme. It helps the deck operate better. I'm already planning on running Ongoing Investigation and Whip so Herald and Blossoms would be excellent additions.

The second option is easily the smarter route. My sidisi deck is neither of those ideas. It is zombie tribal and it actually does work.

Graveborn Muse can achieve great levels of card advantage in Sidisi.

Dread Return is also great. Make zombies off Sidisi trigger, fill grave, sac zombies, recur goodies.

My friend makes great use of Wake the Dead and Eternal Witness/Skullwinder.

Soulflayer may still be worth it depending on how many of the creatures you run have relevant keywords (I'd at least consider testing it in a self-exile version of the deck).

As for the self-recurring theme of option 2, if you mean running creatures like Gravecrawler and Bloodghast instead of any creatures that want your graveyard to stay plump, such as Golgari Grave-Troll, then I see no reason why you couldn't marry this approach to option 1. The only requirement to do both would be to have a sufficient amount of self-mill, which is obviously something Sidisi wants you to be doing anyways. Play-testing would be required in order to find the right amount of delve sources to self-mill ratio. To that end, I second the notion of running Mesmeric Orb, and also recommend Nyx Weaver (which also fits with the enchantment sub-theme if you incorporate that). Some of the better dredge creatures are also worth considering.