We ended up going to time because it required a lot of thought. I got him to 1 life on my Turn 2 and he almost scooped when he topdecked on turn 3. But he played it out very well. He had a ton of lands out, and I had two soul sisters. He had put Splinter Twin on Snapcaster last turn in order to recur his graveyard, which had cryptic (in order to fog). At this point, his graveyard was 2x IOK, 2x Serum Visions, 2x Kommand, +lands. He made a snapcaster token and drew a blank of Serum visions, but then used Scry 2. He then threw another twin on the Snapcaster token and made another snapcaster token targeting the second Serum Visions, which drew the card that he scryed to the top with his first serum visions. Then he cast the Deceiver Exarch that he just drew when it was my turn and tapped down my Soul Warden on upkeep, leaving the exarch as a blocker for my only attacker, the other Soul's Attendant. I couldn't push the one damage through unless I had topdecked a Path to Exile to remove the blocker. Alas, I found a champion and couldn't win. He couldn't win either even though he had a third Twin in hand, because I had two soul sisters and he only had a potential topdeck of Terminate to remove them, which wouldn't have helped. I was disappointed that I drew that but very impressed by the play and was okay with it because that was pretty sweet.
He could have ambushed your two sisters with Exarch untapping the Snapcaster when you attack, and kill you with Twin afterwards?
He could have ambushed your two sisters with Exarch untapping the Snapcaster when you attack, and kill you with Twin afterwards?
I had a Wear // Tear in hand that I couldn't cast on my Turn 2 because I had tapped out. If I didn't have it then he could have won on his Turn 5, although he didn't really think of that and just shook my hand right there.
FWIW although the Mardu version looks more powerful on paper than the boros version, i always felt the boros version performs more consistently because you max out on the most important and secondary cards.
mardu norin forces you to cut certain cards for the black splash and results in high chance of you stumbling. at that point, playing b/w tokens might be a better choice. for those who really want to max out on mardu norin, the deck's main anchors are dark confident, auriok champion and of coz norin.
lastly, mardu norin's sequencing is quite different from the boros version. they do not play the same.
Notes: Outpost Siege and Abbot of Keral Keep has been amazing. Especially Abbot as it gets me to my 4th land early or an extra card late. I did misplay with Outpost Siege by not naming dragons vs UW control though.
Changes I would make:
-1 Soul Warden
+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender (free up slots in sb)
-1 Mountain
+1 Ghost Quarter (you know)
General post board strategy in difficult matchups: Mull until you have Champion+Norin or the high impact hate cards (Suppression Field vs Grishoalbrand, Stony Silence, etc.)
Fun Fact: Abzan opponent dropped my singleton Blood Moon on the table when shuffling my deck. He then proceeds to fetch only basics and manascrewed himself. No you cant cast Liliana with Plains Forest Swamp Gavony Township
Awesome stuff, sjcelvis! Always happy to see some decent performance out our little guy that could. Gotta love those kind of moments where an opponent has a huge advantage and completely screws it up.
I've thought about mainboard Burrenton as well. It really sucks to have the board wiped (I think RG Tron is nigh unbeatable for us) but to be honest I think it comes down to a local meta call. You dodge Pyroclasm and Anger, but almost all spot removal is still an issue. You still get hit by Terminate, Abrupt Decay, any black removal, Path, or get bounced with Cryptic when it hurts most.
How do you find Suppression Field has been working out for you? I'm currently contemplating going up to 4 Stonies (to have a chance at beating Tron) but I like how you split the difference. I feel like they both accomplish similar things, but haven't had enough experience with Suppression to make the call.
On a separate note, anyone excited about BFZ from a Norin perspective? Personally I think Serene Steward has potential. Seems like a nice mana sink for when Norin comes back at end of turn... sort of distributing Ajani's Pridemate's power at a cost. Not saying it would be a replacement for the cat, but there's something appealing about turning the Soul Sisters themselves into hulking beasts. A 5/5 Auriok Champion would just be insane.
Another possibly fun card to fool around with is Outnumber. If it could target players it could have had serious potential, but even still I might give it a shot.
Suppression Field is obviously a meta call. It is nuts against Griselbrand. I think it is even better than Rest in Peace in this matchup. Lantern control was not in my meta though.
I have been trying to work on a mono red Norin list. The advantage is it's more of a machine gun when it comes to ETB triggers. The downside is unless Genesis Chamber is out there is NO board presence.
I stumbled upon this deck a short while ago and have been quite taken by it. It's a ton of fun and something completely different from what I normally see at my LGS. I've been playing around and testing it on cockatrice against some more common lists like Affinity and Twin and have done decently. One deck I cannot seem to touch however, is BW Tokens. Does anyone have any experience or insight for this matchup? It seems that as soon as Sorin hits the field they stabilize and become untouchable from the +1/0 Lifelink every turn. That and the early discard hurts and pathing a Champion of the Parish or Ajani's Pridemate later on really hurts as I can't pull them back with Return to the Ranks.
Here's what I'm currently testing, and if some slots seem strange (2x Fling, 2x Dismember) that's either because they are and I'm curious how they interact (Fling in response to removal, if being continually chumped, or for the last bit of damage), or they are fillers for other cards (Dismember in place of Path to Exile, since I only have a single copy at the moment).
The Ratchet Bomb in the SB was to try and combat the BW Tokens matchup, and Brave the Elements to combat decks that run Paths or Bounce effects, and to get past blockers. Again, in the process of trying and testing a lot of cards out to see how they work. Currently, it feels like I'm too heavy on the spells, but I'm not sure what else I'd put back in. Maybe some Impact Tremors for more damage or Spirit Bonds to help against flyers.
Looking forward to what you all might think, and I will post back more as I get more chances to test it.
My first changes would be +1 Soul Warden +1 Ranger of Eos -2 Fling. You can have the 3rd Ranger to tutor for Legion Loyalist for the tokens matchup. Also conveniently good vs BGx and URx.
Then you can go two ways.
1) Ajani's Pridemate. You need additional sisters in Auriok Champion. With these large creatures, Legion Loyalist becomes a good tutor target to provide first strike and trample. You probably want Serra Ascendant as well. This works better if you need to race in the meta (combos, linear aggro like Affinity or Bogles).
2) Impact Tremors. This gives you reach without going to combat. Lightning Berserker. Works better in a blue/grindy metagame as you just need to resolve some permanents and grind them out from there.
After perusing the thread, this is the R/W list I've come up with. It's untested and I'm still tweaking numbers back and forth. What do y'all think?
Please bear in mind that I don't have the cash for Cavern of Souls or Blood Moon right now. I'd ideally like to have 2x Cavern of Souls; Blood Moon is risky because Burn is just so prominent in my local meta.
I'm strongly considering taking out Mentor for Return to the Ranks. I'm also wondering about dropping the 4th Wear / Tear from my board, but Torpor Orb scares me pretty bad and Bogles hate is not a bad thing around here either.
I go by fetches now. Battlefield Forge often costs 2+ damage that I would rather just play fetches and shocks. That enables Clifftop Retreat better. (and i dont even play that)
also, i've been pretty fond of boros charm 2x in MB and 1 SB. card works miracles... it has been better than any electrickery\fling\temur battlerage\brave the elements. that alone made me drop from 2 mark of asylum for a lone one in SB
I wouldn't mind swapping out that lone Brave the Elements for a 3rd Boros Charm. You haven't run into any situations where Brave the Elements would have saved you when Boros Charm did not? I always get confused about which cards protect from which effects.
I go by fetches now. Battlefield Forge often costs 2+ damage that I would rather just play fetches and shocks. That enables Clifftop Retreat better. (and i dont even play that)
I'd probably squeeze two Blood Moon in the board if I had them, but right now they're not in the budget. Fortunately my local meta is lousy with red decks anyway, so I'm not missing much. I had to put in some orders on TCG Player to finish the deck up and I just ordered a 3rd Stony Silence, so I can make that swap.
As for the lands, I knew those were budget, so if those are the only thing I'm really missing then I'm doing well. I'd love to have 2 Cavern of Souls, 4 Arid Mesa and 3-4 Sacred Foundry. The only thing good about pain lands is that they're cheap.
I've never heard of Flagstones of Trokair but I love it! Anything that spites friggin' 8Rack is high on my list.
I think that for the time being, until my budget improves, I'll just start with the shocks and maybe get some of the cheaper fetches like Bloodstained Mire or something. It seems like after that, 2-3 Cavern of Souls would be more important than Arid Mesa.
As far as Ghost Quarter though, I'm not a huge fan. Colorless mana isn't super useful in this deck, and I try to avoid land destruction wherever possible.
I do wonder about cards like Spear of Heliod for our Myr tokens, or Ring of Thune for pumping Champ or Pridemate even faster / swing more often. Any point to these?
I think that for the time being, until my budget improves, I'll just start with the shocks and maybe get some of the cheaper fetches like Bloodstained Mire or something. It seems like after that, 2-3 Cavern of Souls would be more important than Arid Mesa.
I do wonder about cards like Spear of Heliod for our Myr tokens, or Ring of Thune for pumping Champ or Pridemate even faster / swing more often. Any point to these?
I wouldn't mind swapping out that lone Brave the Elements for a 3rd Boros Charm. You haven't run into any situations where Brave the Elements would have saved you when Boros Charm did not? I always get confused about which cards protect from which effects.
Another use for Brave the Elements is that it can protect from targeted exile effects, namely Path to Exile which hurts far more than having our cards hit the yard, because at least then we have a chance to recur them with Return to the Ranks. Boros Charm is definitely more versatile and likely to be better in most cases, but if your meta runs a lot of Path effects, it could be beneficial. Maybe in the SB to swap with your Charms in those matchups.
i usually run protection spells like boros charm and brave the elements as a 2:2 choice. lately i been thinking of running 2 - 3 soulfire grandmasters as a mid game tempo drop.
I'd be really curious to hear how testing goes with the Soulfire Grandmaster. I'm currently running a lower spell count in my deck, but if he pulls as much weight as it looks like he has the potential for, I'd love to hear about it.
I'm currently trying to find a middle ground between Soul Sisters to stabilize and make myself difficult to kill and adding Impact Tremors and Lightning Berserker to really ensure I am triggering all the good stuff in this deck.
The land base is definitely budget as I am just getting into the format and don't have any of the staples. Shelling out for some Cavern of Souls though, because those seriously make life so much easier. Ghost Quarters have been interesting... Threw them in for Tron, but it's still hopelessly one-sided. Will need to test them more to see if they are worth it; I'm sure I'd rather run Blood Moon, but again, budget. So far it's been very consistent that I see a mix of 2-3 Impact Tremors/Genesis Chamber (and these play very nice with each other) by Turn 4 or 5 and either Norin the Wary or Lightning Berserker (often both) along with sisters/champs. The downside is I have a lot less interaction with my opponent, but so far the consistency of assembling combo pieces has been worth it.
Still trying to find a SB that I'm happy with, but so far the all star is definitely Mark of Asylum. My biggest concern typically is the opponent having the ability to ping Norin, and Mark stops it cold, while also blanking basically all red removal (which is popular in my URx Delver flooded meta). Just pretend like all your creatures have half of Auriok Champion's ability, and that's kind of what it's like. Celestial Purge is in testing to deal with pesky Walkers. The weakest has been Suppression Field, but it seems so good in theory... still testing and not sure what else I'd put in the board. Suggestions?
Also considering adding another silver bullet 1-Drop or two to fetch with Ranger of Eos, but options don't seem great. A quick search pulled up these for me, sort of arranged in order of appeal:
Has anyone run with any of these? What were your thoughts? I could see Dragonmaster Outcaster doing wonders if it ever goes off, but I figure at that late in the game, we should be out-grinding our opponents anyway. Grim Lavamancer seems like the highest utility option, especially with my lower spell count. If anyone has experience with this in particular I'd love to hear it. And Burrenton Forge-Tender has been mentioned a couple times here, can anyone share some stories of how well this card worked or didn't?
For the Tron matchup, you need two things to win: 1) a fast clock, and 2) they screw up.
1) A fast clock pretty much means Norin+Champion or Norin+Sister+Pridemate. Genesis Chamber may work but they have Pyroclasm.
2) Ghost Quarter helps. Sometimes they only got one Karn, Liberated and you have two big dudes, or Genesis Chamber. Sometimes you path their only Wurmcoil Engine. But that's about it.
Brave the Elements
Oh god I totally missed Path to Exile and Dismember. I generally don't mind Path to Exile though as it ramps me up to my 4-drops. I dont mind 1-2 in my sideboard if I have slots.
This card is only playable if you play Ajani's Pridemate.
edit: I guess there's also Vapor Snag. Now it is getting better.
Burrenton Forge-Tender
Pretty much a meta-call. I like one in the main as I want one somewhere in my 75 and putting it in the main saves me a sideboard slot.
Grim Lavamancer
Never tested it, but I guess we don't have much of a graveyard to support.
The main draw to Humans is really Cavern of Souls. Mentor of the Meek is interesting though.
Champion of the Parish comes to mind as well for Humans, no doubt ;-)
EDH - GU Kruphix, God of Horizons, WB Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, GUR Surrak Dragonclaw, WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores, R Purphoros, God of the Forge, RW Archangel Avacyn
He could have ambushed your two sisters with Exarch untapping the Snapcaster when you attack, and kill you with Twin afterwards?
I had a Wear // Tear in hand that I couldn't cast on my Turn 2 because I had tapped out. If I didn't have it then he could have won on his Turn 5, although he didn't really think of that and just shook my hand right there.
EDH - GU Kruphix, God of Horizons, WB Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, GUR Surrak Dragonclaw, WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores, R Purphoros, God of the Forge, RW Archangel Avacyn
mardu norin forces you to cut certain cards for the black splash and results in high chance of you stumbling. at that point, playing b/w tokens might be a better choice. for those who really want to max out on mardu norin, the deck's main anchors are dark confident, auriok champion and of coz norin.
lastly, mardu norin's sequencing is quite different from the boros version. they do not play the same.
Active thread contributor of Jeskai Prowess Tempo
Anyways, I got 9th place in my WMCQ with Norin sisters.
4 Norin the Wary
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Lightning Berserker
2 Abbot of Keral Keep
1 Auriok Champion
3 Ranger of Eos
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Genesis Chamber
4 Impact Tremors
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
1 Electrickery
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Clifftop Retreat
3 Mountain
3 Plains
2 Outpost Siege
2 Electrickery
2 Suppression Field
3 Stony Silence
1 Celestial Purge
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Blood Moon
1 Spellskite
2 Wear // Tear
Notes:
Outpost Siege and Abbot of Keral Keep has been amazing. Especially Abbot as it gets me to my 4th land early or an extra card late. I did misplay with Outpost Siege by not naming dragons vs UW control though.
Changes I would make:
-1 Soul Warden
+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender (free up slots in sb)
-1 Mountain
+1 Ghost Quarter (you know)
sb:
-1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
-2 Electrickery (too low impact)
-1 Wear // Tear
+2 Patrician's Scorn
+1 Blood Moon
+1 Spellskite
General post board strategy in difficult matchups: Mull until you have Champion+Norin or the high impact hate cards (Suppression Field vs Grishoalbrand, Stony Silence, etc.)
Fun Fact: Abzan opponent dropped my singleton Blood Moon on the table when shuffling my deck. He then proceeds to fetch only basics and manascrewed himself. No you cant cast Liliana with Plains Forest Swamp Gavony Township
I've thought about mainboard Burrenton as well. It really sucks to have the board wiped (I think RG Tron is nigh unbeatable for us) but to be honest I think it comes down to a local meta call. You dodge Pyroclasm and Anger, but almost all spot removal is still an issue. You still get hit by Terminate, Abrupt Decay, any black removal, Path, or get bounced with Cryptic when it hurts most.
How do you find Suppression Field has been working out for you? I'm currently contemplating going up to 4 Stonies (to have a chance at beating Tron) but I like how you split the difference. I feel like they both accomplish similar things, but haven't had enough experience with Suppression to make the call.
On a separate note, anyone excited about BFZ from a Norin perspective? Personally I think Serene Steward has potential. Seems like a nice mana sink for when Norin comes back at end of turn... sort of distributing Ajani's Pridemate's power at a cost. Not saying it would be a replacement for the cat, but there's something appealing about turning the Soul Sisters themselves into hulking beasts. A 5/5 Auriok Champion would just be insane.
Another possibly fun card to fool around with is Outnumber. If it could target players it could have had serious potential, but even still I might give it a shot.
I would expect the Twin players to board out Splinter Twin against us (I think they should) but in case they didn't, I bring Suppression Field in. It is also incidentally good against all the fetches Grixis Twin has, Grim Lavamancer, Desolate Lighthouse, Tasigur, the Golden Fang.
I also board in Suppression Field if I'm on the play and I know he has Ghirapur Æther Grid.
4 Glitterfang
4 Lightning Berserker
2 Archwing Dragon
4 Impact Tremors
4 Genesis Chamber
2 Outpost Siege
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
2 Confusion in the Ranks
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Axe
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Infernal Plunge
1 Kher Keep
21 Mountain
Here's what I'm currently testing, and if some slots seem strange (2x Fling, 2x Dismember) that's either because they are and I'm curious how they interact (Fling in response to removal, if being continually chumped, or for the last bit of damage), or they are fillers for other cards (Dismember in place of Path to Exile, since I only have a single copy at the moment).
4 Norin the Wary
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Soul Warden
2 Ranger of Eos
1 Legion Loyalist
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
Spells (11)
2 Fling
2 Dismember
2 Return to the Ranks
2 Boros Charm
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Path to Exile
4 Genesis Chamber
2 Outpost Siege
Land (20)
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Clifftop Retreat
9 Plains
3 Mountain
3 Wear // Tear
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Electrickery
2 Mark of Asylum
2 Brave the Elements
I initially ran 4x Impact Tremors and 2-3x Mentor of the Meek, but have swapped those for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Outpost Siege after reading through this thread. So far I am loving the Outpost Siege over the Mentor of the Meek as he would often be removed immediately and not draw anything.
The Ratchet Bomb in the SB was to try and combat the BW Tokens matchup, and Brave the Elements to combat decks that run Paths or Bounce effects, and to get past blockers. Again, in the process of trying and testing a lot of cards out to see how they work. Currently, it feels like I'm too heavy on the spells, but I'm not sure what else I'd put back in. Maybe some Impact Tremors for more damage or Spirit Bonds to help against flyers.
Looking forward to what you all might think, and I will post back more as I get more chances to test it.
My first changes would be +1 Soul Warden +1 Ranger of Eos -2 Fling. You can have the 3rd Ranger to tutor for Legion Loyalist for the tokens matchup. Also conveniently good vs BGx and URx.
And you need Cavern of Souls to be competitive.
this deck is real
The core: Soul Sisters, Norin the Wary, Champion of the Parish, Genesis Chamber, 2~3 Ranger of Eos, 1~2 Purphoros, God of the Forge, 20-21 lands. That's around 42 cards.
Then you can go two ways.
1) Ajani's Pridemate. You need additional sisters in Auriok Champion. With these large creatures, Legion Loyalist becomes a good tutor target to provide first strike and trample. You probably want Serra Ascendant as well. This works better if you need to race in the meta (combos, linear aggro like Affinity or Bogles).
2) Impact Tremors. This gives you reach without going to combat. Lightning Berserker. Works better in a blue/grindy metagame as you just need to resolve some permanents and grind them out from there.
Complete your deck with your choice of removals (bolt, path, Electrickery), CA engines (Return to the Ranks, Outpost Siege) or anything (Boros Charm, Thalia, Guardian of Theraben, Abbot of Keral Keep).
Please bear in mind that I don't have the cash for Cavern of Souls or Blood Moon right now. I'd ideally like to have 2x Cavern of Souls; Blood Moon is risky because Burn is just so prominent in my local meta.
3x Ajani's Pridemate
2x Auriok Champion
4x Champion of the Parish
1x Legion Loyalist
2x Mentor of the Meek
4x Norin the Wary
2x Purphoros, God of the Forge
2x Ranger of Eos
4x Soul Warden
4x Soul's Attendant
2x Boros Charm
3x Lightning Bolt
3x Path to Exile
Artifacts:
4x Genesis Chamber
Lands:
4x Battlefield Forge
4x Clifftop Retreat
4x Mountain
8x Plains
1x Brave the Elements
3x Electrickery
3x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Spellskite
2x Stony Silence
4x Wear / Tear
I'm strongly considering taking out Mentor for Return to the Ranks. I'm also wondering about dropping the 4th Wear / Tear from my board, but Torpor Orb scares me pretty bad and Bogles hate is not a bad thing around here either.
The greedy part of me wants to fit in some Ghost Quarters and a Burrenton Forge-Tender. And I think the 4th Wear // Tear can be the 3rd Stony Silence or a Blood Moon.
I go by fetches now. Battlefield Forge often costs 2+ damage that I would rather just play fetches and shocks. That enables Clifftop Retreat better. (and i dont even play that)
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Plains
3 Mountain
2 Flagstones of Trokair
2 Ghost Quarter
or try:
4 Clifftop Retreat
3 Mountain
3 Plains
3 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Ghost Quarter
I wouldn't mind swapping out that lone Brave the Elements for a 3rd Boros Charm. You haven't run into any situations where Brave the Elements would have saved you when Boros Charm did not? I always get confused about which cards protect from which effects.
I'd probably squeeze two Blood Moon in the board if I had them, but right now they're not in the budget. Fortunately my local meta is lousy with red decks anyway, so I'm not missing much. I had to put in some orders on TCG Player to finish the deck up and I just ordered a 3rd Stony Silence, so I can make that swap.
As for the lands, I knew those were budget, so if those are the only thing I'm really missing then I'm doing well. I'd love to have 2 Cavern of Souls, 4 Arid Mesa and 3-4 Sacred Foundry. The only thing good about pain lands is that they're cheap.
I've never heard of Flagstones of Trokair but I love it! Anything that spites friggin' 8Rack is high on my list.
I think that for the time being, until my budget improves, I'll just start with the shocks and maybe get some of the cheaper fetches like Bloodstained Mire or something. It seems like after that, 2-3 Cavern of Souls would be more important than Arid Mesa.
As far as Ghost Quarter though, I'm not a huge fan. Colorless mana isn't super useful in this deck, and I try to avoid land destruction wherever possible.
I do wonder about cards like Spear of Heliod for our Myr tokens, or Ring of Thune for pumping Champ or Pridemate even faster / swing more often. Any point to these?
Thanks for the advice guys!
Boros Charm is good against any mass destroy effects. Engineereed Explosives, Oblivion Stone, Wraths of Gods. Double Strike and deal 4 are both good options to have.
You can destroy your own Flagstones of Trokair with Ghost Quarter!
They do mess up your Clifftop Retreat. Also Blood Moons, though you shouldn't need that if you play Ghost Quarters, so pick either one.
Consider this package if you have issues with Amulet Bloom/Tron/Affinity/Infect/Smallpox (yes Ghost Quarter is a good card).
2-3 Cavern of Souls is more important than Arid Mesa. Definitely.
Go with Windswept Heath and Flooded Strand. Plains is more important.
Spear of Heliod feels like an overkill to me. If we assemble Norin+Genesis Chamber we should be in very good shape already. Also Legion Loyalist beats the Myrror match.
That being said, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar may be a good option.
Ring of Thune I'd rather play Lightning Berserker
Another use for Brave the Elements is that it can protect from targeted exile effects, namely Path to Exile which hurts far more than having our cards hit the yard, because at least then we have a chance to recur them with Return to the Ranks. Boros Charm is definitely more versatile and likely to be better in most cases, but if your meta runs a lot of Path effects, it could be beneficial. Maybe in the SB to swap with your Charms in those matchups.
Edit: Brave the Elements also protects against Dismember
Active thread contributor of Jeskai Prowess Tempo
I'm currently trying to find a middle ground between Soul Sisters to stabilize and make myself difficult to kill and adding Impact Tremors and Lightning Berserker to really ensure I am triggering all the good stuff in this deck.
Here's my current list:
4x Norin the Wary
4x Lightning Berserker
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Soul's Attendant
2x Soul Warden
2x Auriok Champion
2x Ranger of Eos
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Legion Loyalist
Spells: (6)
3x Lightning Bolt
2x Boros Charm
1x Path to Exile
4x Genesis Chamber
4x Impact Tremors
2x Outpost Siege
Land: (20)
4x Battlefield Forge
2x Cavern of Souls
2x Ghost Quarter
6x Mountain
6x Plains
3x Wear // Tear
2x Celestial Purge
2x Return to the Ranks
2x Mark of Asylum
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
2x Suppresion Field
The land base is definitely budget as I am just getting into the format and don't have any of the staples. Shelling out for some Cavern of Souls though, because those seriously make life so much easier. Ghost Quarters have been interesting... Threw them in for Tron, but it's still hopelessly one-sided. Will need to test them more to see if they are worth it; I'm sure I'd rather run Blood Moon, but again, budget. So far it's been very consistent that I see a mix of 2-3 Impact Tremors/Genesis Chamber (and these play very nice with each other) by Turn 4 or 5 and either Norin the Wary or Lightning Berserker (often both) along with sisters/champs. The downside is I have a lot less interaction with my opponent, but so far the consistency of assembling combo pieces has been worth it.
Still trying to find a SB that I'm happy with, but so far the all star is definitely Mark of Asylum. My biggest concern typically is the opponent having the ability to ping Norin, and Mark stops it cold, while also blanking basically all red removal (which is popular in my URx Delver flooded meta). Just pretend like all your creatures have half of Auriok Champion's ability, and that's kind of what it's like. Celestial Purge is in testing to deal with pesky Walkers. The weakest has been Suppression Field, but it seems so good in theory... still testing and not sure what else I'd put in the board. Suggestions?
Also considering adding another silver bullet 1-Drop or two to fetch with Ranger of Eos, but options don't seem great. A quick search pulled up these for me, sort of arranged in order of appeal:
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
1 Signal Pest
Has anyone run with any of these? What were your thoughts? I could see Dragonmaster Outcaster doing wonders if it ever goes off, but I figure at that late in the game, we should be out-grinding our opponents anyway. Grim Lavamancer seems like the highest utility option, especially with my lower spell count. If anyone has experience with this in particular I'd love to hear it. And Burrenton Forge-Tender has been mentioned a couple times here, can anyone share some stories of how well this card worked or didn't?
Thanks guys, loving this deck.
1) A fast clock pretty much means Norin+Champion or Norin+Sister+Pridemate. Genesis Chamber may work but they have Pyroclasm.
2) Ghost Quarter helps. Sometimes they only got one Karn, Liberated and you have two big dudes, or Genesis Chamber. Sometimes you path their only Wurmcoil Engine. But that's about it.
Brave the Elements
Oh god I totally missed Path to Exile and Dismember. I generally don't mind Path to Exile though as it ramps me up to my 4-drops. I dont mind 1-2 in my sideboard if I have slots.
This card is only playable if you play Ajani's Pridemate.
edit: I guess there's also Vapor Snag. Now it is getting better.
Mark of Asylum
The ping effects in question are Grim Lavamancer, Huntmaster of the Fells and Olivia Voldaren, so basically the whole Jund deck. I don't have much opinion on this card, but that's for some reference.
Celestial Purge
I do play Celestial Purges. Doesn't hit Tarmogoyf but hits all the cards above, as well as Tasigur/Angler, Liliana of the Veil, Night of Souls' Betrayal.
Burrenton Forge-Tender
Pretty much a meta-call. I like one in the main as I want one somewhere in my 75 and putting it in the main saves me a sideboard slot.
Grim Lavamancer
Never tested it, but I guess we don't have much of a graveyard to support.