I feel 22 lands its ALOT for this deck, i usually flooded whit extra lands, whit 2-3 lands you run 90% of the deck, 4 lands and play ranger 100%, maeby 19-20 lands can be the number
22 Lands is the standard number. If you suggest going lower you need a reason beyond "I get flooded a lot" and no list.
Archangel is very difficult to cast reliably on 23 lands at 4 copies. It is more of a 3 copy card at 23 land, and 4 at 24. GQ and TE are really spells that help cast archangel etc. and themselves require mana to use, as do the 3-4 hideaway lands most people run. I do not think you are seriously suggesting running 19 lands including the hideaway lands- you will have difficulty casting spectral procession off that, let alone ranger.
It could be that you don't use these cards, but many people do and it would be bad advice to tell a novice archangel player to cut to 19 lands......
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People with belligerent signatures are trying to compensate for something....
Against Control, Hero of Bladehold is amazing.
It's basically just a remnant from the old sideboard which I haven't changed.
I'll consider buying a Thalia later.
It is still a great card- not going to argue there- and one that can be run in any SS build.
I would certainly recommend Thalia.
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People with belligerent signatures are trying to compensate for something....
I can reliably run 3 Archangels with 22 land, one of which is a GQ. I prefer it to Tec Edge because 0 mana requirement, and the ability to scare the opponent.
20 lands is definitely pushing it, as even when I played with Squawks, I used 21.
Today i play whit the same deck, but running 2x Ranger of Eos + 1x Arcangel of Thune + 1x Brimaz and 20 lands, and i get STUCK on lands every time ... 1, 2 lands ALL the games, WTF, whit 21 lands all works fine, i quit off 1 for 1x Brimaz and everythings goes wrong, i do nothing this tournament 1 win, 1 tie, 2 losee WTF
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
Today i play whit the same deck, but running 2x Ranger of Eos + 1x Arcangel of Thune + 1x Brimaz and 20 lands, and i get STUCK on lands every time ... 1, 2 lands ALL the games, WTF, whit 21 lands all works fine, i quit off 1 for 1x Brimaz and everythings goes wrong, i do nothing this tournament 1 win, 1 tie, 2 losee WTF
You generally need at least 21 lands to play Soul Sisters consistently.
I've been thinking about how interesting a UW Soul Sisters Control deck would be. If you can't beat blue, join it, even though we can beat blue.
While adding blue removes a lot of consistency, it basically removes all the problems with the deck. It gives it interaction, card advantage through Cruise/Dig, counter spells.
New thought, UW Vial Sisters. That way, you can cheat stuff into play and leave up counterspell mana. It's brewing time.
So, with the giant shift back to delver and burn now that KTK is out, have you guys had to adjust your deck lists? Also, how does this deck deal with Chalice of the Void there are quite a few running sound that sideboard in my local metal
So, with the giant shift back to delver and burn now that KTK is out, have you guys had to adjust your deck lists? Also, how does this deck deal with Chalice of the Void there are quite a few running sound that sideboard in my local metal
I haven't had to change my mainboard at all, and my sideboard likely won't change. We're already matched up super well against them.
So, with the giant shift back to delver and burn now that KTK is out, have you guys had to adjust your deck lists? Also, how does this deck deal with Chalice of the Void there are quite a few running sound that sideboard in my local metal
Cavern of Souls beats Chalice of the Void quite nicely (and any other countermagic, for that matter). Most of the creatures in the deck are human, and all of the 1-drop creatures are. On the downside, it does make Spectral Procession harder to cast.
Also, Chalice will typically set to one against us, which means we can Sundering Growth it with relative ease. It's not the best plan, but it works in most cases.
Back to the land discussion, I've actually been skating quite fine with just twenty lands. I am occasionally stuck with a Procession in hand for a turn longer than I want, and am thinking of ticking it up to 21 lands as I find the right number of Auriok Champions (I think it's three, the playset may be too much), but I do think twenty lands is manageable if you limit your taplands. That means probably not running Windbrisk Heights, though.
Exactly.
The number of land needs clarifying in this context, as do sideboard strategies of what comes out in certain matches.
- I am running 4 windbrisk and thus 23 land, inc TE and GQ. 20 with 4 windbrisks would be suicide. The maths says with 22 land you won't hit 5 mana even by turn 6 very often, though, but some builds can deal with this better than others.
As for chalice discussion above- aura of silence works well in boggles/jeskai ascendancy/affinty/tron metas. If they are not in the local meta about I would stick with sundering................
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People with belligerent signatures are trying to compensate for something....
IMO that's too many soul sisters; 8-10 is the amount I'm most comfortable with. If you're playing that many tokens you should consider Anthem effects. I have played around with Goblin Rabblemaster and he wins very quickly if they can't deal with him, so I would consider him over the Goblin Assaults. Since you're playing black mana, I would replace the Squadron Hawks with Lingering Souls. How has Blightning been in your experience? I like having reach, and the discard effect could be strong.
21 lands doesn't feel like enough to support 4x Assemble the Legion, and that's too many of them anyways. Have you tested Archangel of Thune? It's an insane 5-drop.
My recommendation is to swap the Hawks for Souls, drop a couple Soul's Attendants, cut 2 Assembles, and add 4x Zealous Persecution. Really I'd also swap out the two remaining Assembles for Archangels of Thunes, the 4 Goblin Assaults for 4 Goblin Rabblemasters, and probably fit another land or two in there (cutting 1-2 Blightning/Rabblemaster).
I'm interested in your sideboard and I think your mana-base looks unrefined.
EDIT: Your mana-base actually leaves a lot be to desired. You can't run 0 basics in Modern... Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile are going to punish you badly.
EDIT2: One last note is that you could consider Norin the Wary since you're red. Google "Norin Sisters" for other takes on Boros Soul Sisters. (In my testing, Lightning Helix is absolutely great if you're playing against any type of aggro, including burn/delver which dominate the meta on MTGO.)
EDIT3: I lied about the previous one being my last edit. I'm interested in why you run 0 Ajani's Pridemate... Finally, and this really is the last time I'll edit this, you could consider Falkenrath Aristocrat, since you're already in those colors and have a bunch of humans to sacrifice if needed.
That one looks better to me. In addition to the cards I mentioned in my previous post (Lightning Helix, Norin the Wary, Ajani's Pridemate, and Falkenrath Aristocrat), I'd also play around with Mardu Charm, since all of its modes can be useful and it would never be a bad draw. I haven't played around with a Mardu variant of Soul Sisters so I'd love to hear how it does.
Round 1 I lost 0-2 to a UW Prison Enchantment deck. Not much I could do. Sphere of Safety, Runed halo, and Ghostly Prison made sure I could not get any damage through and then it was only a matter of time before he wiped the board and killed me with angel tokens. I did get a 74/75 Archangel at one point so that was fun.
Round 2 and 3 were two very easy 2-0 wins vs UR Delver. Auriok Champions earned their pay those games blocking Swiftspears and gaining tons of life.
Round 4 was a close 2-1 win vs Burn. I lost the first game due to Eidolon of the Great Revel. The second game I won on the backs of couple Champions. The third game was very close. My opponent had a turn 2 Eidolon. I was able to get some life gain to counteract it, but eventually we were both on 5 life. I had cast a Ranger the turn before and grabbed the pair of Martyrs and cast one with mana up to pop it. I gambled he didn't have the Skullcrack and was lucky, bouncing back up to 20 life. That was game.
The land count felt good. I think I only mulliganed once or twice down to 6, and never really got mana screwed or flooded. The Dryad was not needed to combat Treasure Cruise as the Delver match is easy. The Mark of Asylum didn't help much either. The maindeck felt pretty solid, but I am not sure what to do about the sideboard.
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My Modern decks: Death and Taxes, Hatebears, Well Oiled Machine, Merfolk, Nyx Wave, Soul Sisters, Stompy, Matyr Proc, Naya Zoo, Robots (I refuse to call it affinity!), Bogles, Kiki Chord
Today i get 5-0 on a economic modern tournament, no more +140€ per deck
i played the full deck whit only 1 ranger of eos and 2 brave the elements on mainboard and only 7 sideboard cards because economic reasons, there was a lot of burn, goblins, infect, humans, 8rack, monoblack, ur delver and scapeshift
i get 32 booster packs of khans, im very happy whit this deck
so i will keep playing it on tournaments
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
1 copy of a graveyard hate card just seems bad in the sideboard if you take out the militants. Jotun Grunt can hate cruise just as well and is a monster in terms of bringing the pain. More Rest in Peace wouldn't hurt either.
I'd like to see some testing results from that Rabblemaster list. Partially because RabbleSisters is fun to say, but mostly because you've altered the core quite a bit. Definitely interested to see how it fares when you do that.
Here's my current build that I'm taking to a TCG Silver event next week (provided the last Auriok I just ordered gets here in time.)
I feel pretty good about the build, especially with 3 Champs for the UWR matchup (which is so huge locally.) Flare snuck back in for extra removal against Ascendancy and Brave The Elements has replaced Wrath of God because it's just as good at hosing the swarm decks I was using Wrath for (Merfolk, Goblins, Tokens to a lesser extent) without burning my offense. I've been hyping up Jotun so much to everyone else that I really think I should find room for one or two somewhere, but I can't figure out where. Any suggestions?
An extra five round event report. I did an extra event yesterday as I have been super busy with Legacy stuff I stuck with Sistas.
I came fifth out of 20 with my list, similar to my previously printed ones, but only managed 3-2, losing two matches 2-1.
I found room for Thalia main (2) plus one in the side.
As usual I ran 3 grunt over pridemates as they are interactive and pridemates are dead drops mid game vs controlling matches- grunts just do more. Not running BTE means mates lose efficacy. Hawks are not in my list due to their poor performance vs storm, ascendancy, scapeshift, USA and trons which are in my meta big time. I ran 23 land, inc 2 Edges and 4 Windbrisks, and ran the full four champions.
R1
D and T- GW.
G1. He gets a vial t1 start on the draw. I know his deck so well- D and T is my first Modern love, as you can tell from its influence over my Sistas lists. I read his hand perfectly, and I get to 27 ish life with a sista down and Ascendant getting itchy. Giving my self the chance of top decking a way of getting to 30, I path his attacker, knowing he has Resto in hand as he signalled it via vialing up to 4. He bites, and flickers the flcikerwisp, flickering his own splicer, giving me 30 life for sure, and the G1.
G2 He gets an arbiter, but has brought in a sword, laying it t3. T4 he goes to equip- I path and drop Ranger, and the game is mine.
I did warn him about the dangers of dropping a sword early between games.......
R2
Scapeshift.
G1 On the play I hit t1 Ascendant, risking bolt, and t2 Thalia. Miss a land drop t3 and drop a dude, draw a martyr and go for the likely wining move t4 as he is boltless- he mana leaks martyr costing him 3 mana. I miss my next two land drops and he does not.
G2 T0 leyline, T1 ascendant, t2 Grunt, T3 Martyr activation- bolts ascendant- I lay another and later drop Thalia and a spellskite.
G3 I mull to 6- get to 32 life- he combos to do 36 damage via prismatic on the table. My last two draws were land- had they been edge I would have taken six less with lethal on the table as he was on 2 life- had they been a pump or critter he would have died the previous turn..
1-1
R3 RUG
A delver hating RUG midrange cruise build with main deck Sword or W and P.
G1 - yuk. Drew 4 spells, 7 land, having mulled to 5 I think. I did disrupt his mana a bit with Edges, keeping him off cryptic.
G2 - I combo with martyr late but get Thalia and Grunt down early. I see engineered explosives and bring in Stony G3, dropping a boarded in Wrath.
G3 I sneak by getting to 52 life with ascendants by the time he starts to take control. A couple of cryptics and beats with his big guys might have got him back in. Strange feeling being on 52 and not feeling safe.
He has just come back from Std in the last GP where he had a rough Day One, so I felt sorry that he was 1-2 with a potentially very good modern meta deck designed to hurt delver, having avoided the only Delver deck present. He mentioned to me that SS is the worst deck for playing he has seen due to the cheapness and high number of new players picking it up, and that he thinks the deck is a stronger deck than it often appears to be online.
2-1
R4 Ascendancy
G1 - I win and he does not draw ascendancy.
Grunt is a beast.
G2 He wins at a canter, despite Thalia.
G3 I mull away a 7 card hand with no land but all my hate- Aura of Silence, Rest in Peace (yes, I kept it and grunt in and I think it is right to do so), Lin Vala, Spellskite, Thalia, plus Martyr and Ascendant. I would have kept any five plus two in a heartbeat.
I go to 6 cards, he goes to 3 life and wins from there. I offense wise I drew two ascendants and a skite the whole game, but two paths bought me time.
2-2
R5 zoo.
2-0, nothing much to report- same old, same old.
3-2, 8 games won, 5 lost.
Conclusions.
Thalia is great.
Grunt is a beast and a half in every match it was relevant in one mode or other.
We desperately need a Qaslai Pridemage hatebear in mono W for ascendancy.
Thalia/skite are only ok vs Ascendancy- they run twisted image too......
I do not miss hawks in my meta. At all. They are never coming back.
Auriok is very strong as we know- a burn proof bear is so good for planning ahead.
We still need more interaction- we are a hatebear short of enough for interacting with combo decks- and that is with my list, which is hatebear heavy by most standards.
We need some library manipulation- as does the whole bloody format- cutting down blue's manipulation to stop combo decks is all well and good, but so many games come down to bad topdecks, especially man arelated ones, compared to Legacy, where if there is a bad card at the top of the deck you probably put it there with Top, Sylvan, Brainstorm or Ponder.
Our format's combo decks don't really get hurt that much with one single card, even Thalia, and in particular Ascendancy is hard to get a handle on as the best cards against it are dryad militants, Linvala and Qasali pridemages, and we are basically cut out of running the first and last of in that list. Militant in particular would get more play if it were not for zoo. Damn thing needed first strike or flying- another problem of the format- all the one drop men are specialised or not up to it bar delver and its R/U mates, all the one cc spells are good.
22 Lands is the standard number. If you suggest going lower you need a reason beyond "I get flooded a lot" and no list.
Archangel is very difficult to cast reliably on 23 lands at 4 copies. It is more of a 3 copy card at 23 land, and 4 at 24. GQ and TE are really spells that help cast archangel etc. and themselves require mana to use, as do the 3-4 hideaway lands most people run. I do not think you are seriously suggesting running 19 lands including the hideaway lands- you will have difficulty casting spectral procession off that, let alone ranger.
It could be that you don't use these cards, but many people do and it would be bad advice to tell a novice archangel player to cut to 19 lands......
It is still a great card- not going to argue there- and one that can be run in any SS build.
I would certainly recommend Thalia.
20 lands is definitely pushing it, as even when I played with Squawks, I used 21.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
You generally need at least 21 lands to play Soul Sisters consistently.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
While adding blue removes a lot of consistency, it basically removes all the problems with the deck. It gives it interaction, card advantage through Cruise/Dig, counter spells.
New thought, UW Vial Sisters. That way, you can cheat stuff into play and leave up counterspell mana. It's brewing time.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
I haven't had to change my mainboard at all, and my sideboard likely won't change. We're already matched up super well against them.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
Back to the land discussion, I've actually been skating quite fine with just twenty lands. I am occasionally stuck with a Procession in hand for a turn longer than I want, and am thinking of ticking it up to 21 lands as I find the right number of Auriok Champions (I think it's three, the playset may be too much), but I do think twenty lands is manageable if you limit your taplands. That means probably not running Windbrisk Heights, though.
The number of land needs clarifying in this context, as do sideboard strategies of what comes out in certain matches.
- I am running 4 windbrisk and thus 23 land, inc TE and GQ. 20 with 4 windbrisks would be suicide. The maths says with 22 land you won't hit 5 mana even by turn 6 very often, though, but some builds can deal with this better than others.
As for chalice discussion above- aura of silence works well in boggles/jeskai ascendancy/affinty/tron metas. If they are not in the local meta about I would stick with sundering................
4x Auriok Champion
3x Ranger of Eos
4x Serra Ascendant
4x Soul Warden
4x Soul's Attendant
4x Squadron Hawk
4x Arid Mesa
3x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
3x Godless Shrine
4x Marsh Flats
3x Sacred Foundry
4x Assemble the Legion
4x Bitterblossom
4x Goblin Assault
Sorcery (4)
4x Blightning
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
IMO that's too many soul sisters; 8-10 is the amount I'm most comfortable with. If you're playing that many tokens you should consider Anthem effects. I have played around with Goblin Rabblemaster and he wins very quickly if they can't deal with him, so I would consider him over the Goblin Assaults. Since you're playing black mana, I would replace the Squadron Hawks with Lingering Souls. How has Blightning been in your experience? I like having reach, and the discard effect could be strong.
21 lands doesn't feel like enough to support 4x Assemble the Legion, and that's too many of them anyways. Have you tested Archangel of Thune? It's an insane 5-drop.
My recommendation is to swap the Hawks for Souls, drop a couple Soul's Attendants, cut 2 Assembles, and add 4x Zealous Persecution. Really I'd also swap out the two remaining Assembles for Archangels of Thunes, the 4 Goblin Assaults for 4 Goblin Rabblemasters, and probably fit another land or two in there (cutting 1-2 Blightning/Rabblemaster).
I'm interested in your sideboard and I think your mana-base looks unrefined.
EDIT: Your mana-base actually leaves a lot be to desired. You can't run 0 basics in Modern... Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile are going to punish you badly.
EDIT2: One last note is that you could consider Norin the Wary since you're red. Google "Norin Sisters" for other takes on Boros Soul Sisters. (In my testing, Lightning Helix is absolutely great if you're playing against any type of aggro, including burn/delver which dominate the meta on MTGO.)
EDIT3: I lied about the previous one being my last edit. I'm interested in why you run 0 Ajani's Pridemate... Finally, and this really is the last time I'll edit this, you could consider Falkenrath Aristocrat, since you're already in those colors and have a bunch of humans to sacrifice if needed.
Something like this? The deck doe snot exist yet, so SB is still in development.
4x Arid Mesa
1x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Godless Shrine
4x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
3x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Swamp
2x Archangel of Thune
2x Auriok Champion
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
3x Ranger of Eos
4x Serra Ascendant
4x Soul Warden
4x Soul's Attendant
3x Blightning
4x Lingering Souls
Instant (4)
4x Zealous Persecution
Enchantment
4x Bitterblossom
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
2x Martyr of Sands
4x Soul Warden
1x Soul's Attendant
4x Serra Ascendant
4x Auriok Champion
4x Ajani's Pridemate
4x Squadron Hawk
3x Ranger of Eos
2x Archangel of Thune
4x Path to Exile
3x Honor of the Pure
3x Spectral Procession
Lands (22)
18x Plains
4x Windbrisk Heights
1x Dryad Militant
1x Return to the Ranks
2x Spellskite
1x Stony Silence
1x Suppression Field
2x Sundering Growth
2x Pithing Needle
1x Mark of Asylum
1x Rest in Peace
1x Runed Halo
2x Aven Mindcensor
Round 1 I lost 0-2 to a UW Prison Enchantment deck. Not much I could do. Sphere of Safety, Runed halo, and Ghostly Prison made sure I could not get any damage through and then it was only a matter of time before he wiped the board and killed me with angel tokens. I did get a 74/75 Archangel at one point so that was fun.
Round 2 and 3 were two very easy 2-0 wins vs UR Delver. Auriok Champions earned their pay those games blocking Swiftspears and gaining tons of life.
Round 4 was a close 2-1 win vs Burn. I lost the first game due to Eidolon of the Great Revel. The second game I won on the backs of couple Champions. The third game was very close. My opponent had a turn 2 Eidolon. I was able to get some life gain to counteract it, but eventually we were both on 5 life. I had cast a Ranger the turn before and grabbed the pair of Martyrs and cast one with mana up to pop it. I gambled he didn't have the Skullcrack and was lucky, bouncing back up to 20 life. That was game.
The land count felt good. I think I only mulliganed once or twice down to 6, and never really got mana screwed or flooded. The Dryad was not needed to combat Treasure Cruise as the Delver match is easy. The Mark of Asylum didn't help much either. The maindeck felt pretty solid, but I am not sure what to do about the sideboard.
i played the full deck whit only 1 ranger of eos and 2 brave the elements on mainboard and only 7 sideboard cards because economic reasons, there was a lot of burn, goblins, infect, humans, 8rack, monoblack, ur delver and scapeshift
i get 32 booster packs of khans, im very happy whit this deck
so i will keep playing it on tournaments
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I'd like to see some testing results from that Rabblemaster list. Partially because RabbleSisters is fun to say, but mostly because you've altered the core quite a bit. Definitely interested to see how it fares when you do that.
Here's my current build that I'm taking to a TCG Silver event next week (provided the last Auriok I just ordered gets here in time.)
3 Auriok Champion
4 Martyr of Sands
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
4 Squadron Hawks
4 Spectral Procession
4 Honor of the Pure
13 Plains
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Flagstones of Trokair
2 Mistveil Plains
2 Brave The Elements
2 Suppression Field
2 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Rest In Peace
1 Celestial Flare
I feel pretty good about the build, especially with 3 Champs for the UWR matchup (which is so huge locally.) Flare snuck back in for extra removal against Ascendancy and Brave The Elements has replaced Wrath of God because it's just as good at hosing the swarm decks I was using Wrath for (Merfolk, Goblins, Tokens to a lesser extent) without burning my offense. I've been hyping up Jotun so much to everyone else that I really think I should find room for one or two somewhere, but I can't figure out where. Any suggestions?
I came fifth out of 20 with my list, similar to my previously printed ones, but only managed 3-2, losing two matches 2-1.
I found room for Thalia main (2) plus one in the side.
As usual I ran 3 grunt over pridemates as they are interactive and pridemates are dead drops mid game vs controlling matches- grunts just do more. Not running BTE means mates lose efficacy. Hawks are not in my list due to their poor performance vs storm, ascendancy, scapeshift, USA and trons which are in my meta big time. I ran 23 land, inc 2 Edges and 4 Windbrisks, and ran the full four champions.
R1
D and T- GW.
G1. He gets a vial t1 start on the draw. I know his deck so well- D and T is my first Modern love, as you can tell from its influence over my Sistas lists. I read his hand perfectly, and I get to 27 ish life with a sista down and Ascendant getting itchy. Giving my self the chance of top decking a way of getting to 30, I path his attacker, knowing he has Resto in hand as he signalled it via vialing up to 4. He bites, and flickers the flcikerwisp, flickering his own splicer, giving me 30 life for sure, and the G1.
G2 He gets an arbiter, but has brought in a sword, laying it t3. T4 he goes to equip- I path and drop Ranger, and the game is mine.
I did warn him about the dangers of dropping a sword early between games.......
R2
Scapeshift.
G1 On the play I hit t1 Ascendant, risking bolt, and t2 Thalia. Miss a land drop t3 and drop a dude, draw a martyr and go for the likely wining move t4 as he is boltless- he mana leaks martyr costing him 3 mana. I miss my next two land drops and he does not.
G2 T0 leyline, T1 ascendant, t2 Grunt, T3 Martyr activation- bolts ascendant- I lay another and later drop Thalia and a spellskite.
G3 I mull to 6- get to 32 life- he combos to do 36 damage via prismatic on the table. My last two draws were land- had they been edge I would have taken six less with lethal on the table as he was on 2 life- had they been a pump or critter he would have died the previous turn..
1-1
R3 RUG
A delver hating RUG midrange cruise build with main deck Sword or W and P.
G1 - yuk. Drew 4 spells, 7 land, having mulled to 5 I think. I did disrupt his mana a bit with Edges, keeping him off cryptic.
G2 - I combo with martyr late but get Thalia and Grunt down early. I see engineered explosives and bring in Stony G3, dropping a boarded in Wrath.
G3 I sneak by getting to 52 life with ascendants by the time he starts to take control. A couple of cryptics and beats with his big guys might have got him back in. Strange feeling being on 52 and not feeling safe.
He has just come back from Std in the last GP where he had a rough Day One, so I felt sorry that he was 1-2 with a potentially very good modern meta deck designed to hurt delver, having avoided the only Delver deck present. He mentioned to me that SS is the worst deck for playing he has seen due to the cheapness and high number of new players picking it up, and that he thinks the deck is a stronger deck than it often appears to be online.
2-1
R4 Ascendancy
G1 - I win and he does not draw ascendancy.
Grunt is a beast.
G2 He wins at a canter, despite Thalia.
G3 I mull away a 7 card hand with no land but all my hate- Aura of Silence, Rest in Peace (yes, I kept it and grunt in and I think it is right to do so), Lin Vala, Spellskite, Thalia, plus Martyr and Ascendant. I would have kept any five plus two in a heartbeat.
I go to 6 cards, he goes to 3 life and wins from there. I offense wise I drew two ascendants and a skite the whole game, but two paths bought me time.
2-2
R5 zoo.
2-0, nothing much to report- same old, same old.
3-2, 8 games won, 5 lost.
Conclusions.
Thalia is great.
Grunt is a beast and a half in every match it was relevant in one mode or other.
We desperately need a Qaslai Pridemage hatebear in mono W for ascendancy.
Thalia/skite are only ok vs Ascendancy- they run twisted image too......
I do not miss hawks in my meta. At all. They are never coming back.
Auriok is very strong as we know- a burn proof bear is so good for planning ahead.
We still need more interaction- we are a hatebear short of enough for interacting with combo decks- and that is with my list, which is hatebear heavy by most standards.
We need some library manipulation- as does the whole bloody format- cutting down blue's manipulation to stop combo decks is all well and good, but so many games come down to bad topdecks, especially man arelated ones, compared to Legacy, where if there is a bad card at the top of the deck you probably put it there with Top, Sylvan, Brainstorm or Ponder.
Our format's combo decks don't really get hurt that much with one single card, even Thalia, and in particular Ascendancy is hard to get a handle on as the best cards against it are dryad militants, Linvala and Qasali pridemages, and we are basically cut out of running the first and last of in that list. Militant in particular would get more play if it were not for zoo. Damn thing needed first strike or flying- another problem of the format- all the one drop men are specialised or not up to it bar delver and its R/U mates, all the one cc spells are good.