Lucky, so no tron/infect/affinity players in you local meta eh.
With only 2 mouth of ronom, the colourless mana won't hurt you. I play 3 ghost quarter and 2 tectonic edge (lots of tron in my neck of the woods), and only rarely have mana troubles. Maybe Rogue's passage to help the pumped ajani's swing, or Emeria, the Sky ruin since you play a enough plains.
On a similar note. Played against almost exclusively tron decks this past week... they are getting hard to beat... What do you guys think about 3-4 surgical extraction in the side board? Blow one of their urza lands up with ghost or edge, then, surgical extraction and no more tron. It's not completely useless against other matchups either, except maybe gifts or pod where there are a lot of singles.
I think if you move to Snow Plains, Scrying Sheets is a better card. Draw into those Paths and don't blow up your own land.
A very generous friend just gave me 4 Thoughtseize and 4 Bitterblossom for a birthday gift, among other things. Part of me really wants to tinker with a list that runs 10-12 Sisters, Pridemate, Serra and then Splashes black for Dark Confidant, Bitterblossom, Lingering Souls and Thoughtseize out of the board. I'd have to lose Thune and Ranger to make the numbers work and for their anti-Bob synergy, though. Don't know if the extra card draw and near-infinite tokens are worth it. But it seems really fun.
I think if you move to Snow Plains, Scrying Sheets is a better card. Draw into those Paths and don't blow up your own land.
A very generous friend just gave me 4 Thoughtseize and 4 Bitterblossom for a birthday gift, among other things. Part of me really wants to tinker with a list that runs 10-12 Sisters, Pridemate, Serra and then Splashes black for Dark Confidant, Bitterblossom, Lingering Souls and Thoughtseize out of the board. I'd have to lose Thune and Ranger to make the numbers work and for their anti-Bob synergy, though. Don't know if the extra card draw and near-infinite tokens are worth it. But it seems really fun.
I have been thinking about that forever. Soo many great BW cards out there that would work for Evil Sisters. I say go for it
I had the same exact idea a month ago. It just wasn't... it was kind of MEH. It made the synergy between cards seem a bit off. I think Lingering Souls is worth it, and maybe Blossom or Thoughtseize for the Archangel, but the Bobs didn't work out for me very well. It made the Ascendant feel semi-irrelevant in the deck.
But I could have tested wrong. I didn't keep that mix together for very long. I think it's worth more extensive playtesting. I know the hand disruption seems an automatic with if you're going to splash black, and the Confidants might be good on paper...
I like Surgical Extraction, but I like Hallowed Moonlight even better in the sideboard. The extraction needs your opponent to have a copy of the card in the graveyard. I like to play Hallowed Moonlight when my opponent plays CoCo... and then I get to draw a card. It's a good feeling.
Extraction effects are a trap. Don't play them in this deck.
Moonlight, on the other hand, is a great card which punishes silly decks like Twin and Company. We're usually favoured against those decks, but extra insurance is nice.
Hallowed Moonlight doesn't deal with tron, which we do pretty bad (right?) against. I'm not experienced enough to know just off hand how surgical extraction does well against all the other decks that PtyLtd listed, but with one rage quit against tron in the bag (first scoffed at me playing soul sisters, then left the game T4 after i tectonic edged and extracted an urza land...), it's incentive enough for me to keep testing/learning.
Moonlight, on the other hand, need untapped mana presumably on their turn, so we trade delaying our play by a bit with delaying theirs by a turn. And, while it replaces itself with a draw, you'd eventually (probably as soon as their next turn) need more than 1, where just one extraction will do the trick (or at least will delay for much longer). Being black in a mono-white deck, Extraction is also double surprise play when we're tapped out. The added kicker is you get to see their hand too. I mean, we sideboard RIP already, which takes care of ~50% (right?) of the decks where Moonlight would be useful. So for me, it's a win more Moonlight or a hard counter (at least for tron) Extraction.
What am i missing? What's the trap?
Side note:
Played against Tainted Remedy today. Lucky that, after a thoughtseize took one, i drew into another sundering growth early enough
We can't beat Tron. Just have to accept that.
Having untapped mana against Twin and CoCo is not hard. Vomit out your hand before T4 and you're all good.
From Channel Fireball: Sideboarding Myths
2. Surgical Extraction and Cranial Extraction Are Good
A linear combo deck revolving around a singular card may be susceptible to Extraction-type cards—in all other scenarios you should avoid adding these types of cards to your deck. It pains me to see people sideboard in Surgical Extraction against non-combo decks. Even against some combo decks, Memoricide is not effective—for example, Modern Splinter Twin combo. Twin decks are resilient against Memoricide because they have interchangeable, redundant combo pieces as well as the capability to win a normal game of Magic with cards like Vendilion Clique and Keranos, God of Storms. I can not tell you how many times I have had Surgical Extraction or Extirpate cast against my Delver deck in Legacy. Do you really think that removing Ponder from my library at the cost of a card from your hand benefits you? As a rule of thumb, try to not put Extraction-type cards in your deck.
Hm... i see how it'd be a lost cause against less single-combo-driven decks. But i'm not sold on it being useless. If all we need are 2 cards to beat tron, and one of which (ghost or edge lands) is already a 4 of main deck, it's not a pipe dream to win postboard games with 2-3 Extractions. Especially if there's room in the sideboard for Moonlight
Gotta second that you're gameplan against Tron (either build really) is race them and Ghost Quarter. Being able to get Serra online early, a Pridemate loaded or an Honor + Spirits is where you win.
I had the same exact idea a month ago. It just wasn't... it was kind of MEH. It made the synergy between cards seem a bit off. I think Lingering Souls is worth it, and maybe Blossom or Thoughtseize for the Archangel, but the Bobs didn't work out for me very well. It made the Ascendant feel semi-irrelevant in the deck.
But I could have tested wrong. I didn't keep that mix together for very long. I think it's worth more extensive playtesting. I know the hand disruption seems an automatic with if you're going to splash black, and the Confidants might be good on paper...
Interested to see your results.
I tend to agree with Evil Sisters, as it would seem sensible. But I've found if you go BW for Souls/Thoughtseize you are going down a trap trying to maintain Sisters. Better off just going BW Tokens then.
Bobs do seem super greedy the more I think about it, and cutting Spectral doesn't seem that fun. The Lingering Souls might be totally worth it, and then you can board into Thoughtseize (or even Orzhov Charm, which is incredibly relevant). Deciding between Bitterblossom and Honor of the Pure (I think I lean Honor) would be the next decision.
Funny... when I tried the build with Blossom and Confidants, I was told to just run Tokens. And I prefer sisters. Auriok Champ is quite an intimidating card for a lot of decks... she's the Rhonda Rousey of Magic cards...
Its been a while since I've visited this thread. I don't really play the deck anymore (still own my paper version but don't have it online anymore) but the version I play(ed) was a B/W version. I never did run any discard. All of the cards I ran were still white so they didn't interfere with Martyr. The number one reason to run this deck, IMO, is the T1 Ascendant into T2 Martyr for a 6/6 Flying Lifelinker turn 2. I can't really imagine why you wouldn't run that. The only changes I made to the deck where removing Ranger of Eos for 3 Orzhov Charm (it had a "fetch" mode like Ranger but pulled from the yard at instant speed instead of the library) and Lingering Souls for Spectral Procession to help fight through U/W/x control matchups. I think a black splash is fine but whatever you add shouldn't screw with Martyr so only multi-colored cards can really be justified I think.
That said, Auriok Champion definitely deserves a place in the 75, depending on your meta, because she can simply win games against certain matchups on her own.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The following link is an invitation to join Pucatrade (card trading service though similar to TCGPLayer). If you follow the link then it awards me with tokens to exchange for actual cards. Thanks! https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
What is y'alls sideboard plan for the current meta? I'm running:
-2 Mark of Asylum (vs anything with bolt, or red sweepers)
-3 Suppression Field (Twin, Jund, Affinity)
-2 Oblivion Ring (catch-all answer, esp vs Amulet or Trons)
-1 Return to the Ranks (I run another MB, great vs any midrange or control deck)
-2 Stony Silence (Affinity, Tron)
-3 Celestial Flare (Great vs worst enemies: Infect and Bogles)
-2 Leonin Arbiters (Fetch hate, considering swapping out for Spellskites)
I should mention I'm running a mono-white build (non-Squadron Hawk plan), everything you'd expect along with one-of Return and Brave the Elements.
I want to post my results from PPTQ but the Latin Unicode thing is killing me. A real pain the but. Oh, well. "Non Latin Unicode Characters temporarily not allowed."
Played a Soul Sisters deck this weekend at my LGS' monthly Modern FNM. Going in I knew it was gonna be a really tough time since my list is very suboptimal as I'm still in need of a fair few key pieces, but I thought my chances were decent enough.
Turns out, it was going to be way rougher.
Round 1 vs Jund. Lost 2-1. Game 1. Got the combos going, curved out really nicely, clinched it in a definitive fashion. I mean, I had an 8/8 Ajani's Pridemate at one time, and when I got an Archangel of Thune on the field, I triggered lifegain three times, which meant that my 1/1 spirit tokens became 4/4 flyers, haha. Game 2. All the discard and hand disruption led to much suffering (2 Lilianas back to back!!). Game 3. Combo fizzled and disruption struck back.
Round 2 vs Infect. Lost 2-0. Game 1. Horrible start because of a mulligan to 4 because of a lack of lands (or usable lands). Infect curved out. Game 2. Made at least 1 misplay. Mana screwed. Infect curved out.
Round 3 vs some kind of mill-lockout deck. Lost 2-0. Game 1. Actually not so bad with the mill itself since I had a fair amount of gas in my opening hand and draws were good. But when your opponent plays something like Ensnaring Bridge and dumps their hand every turn, you can't do anything. Game 2. Same thing, though Ensnaring Bridge didn't show up for a few more turns, but it wasn't enough. I had zero answers for artifacts like that.
Won the random Serum Visions promo though, which was nice, but would have still liked to have put up a good showing with my deck. Like I said, my list was suboptimal to begin with, and I still need a few key pieces. If only they weren't so goddamned expensive!
And I made a mess of things actually. I had 2 Disenchants and even a Banishing Light with me, but I forgot the Disenchants in my GW Hatebears deck, even though I had already raided it for a few pieces, and the Banishing Light I picked up from a friend just before the FNM but blanked on putting it in the sideboard.
And the worst thing of all, I had 2 Leyline of Sanctity in my sideboard that I brought in for the Jund games, but never drew them. Bringing them in was the correct choice, but in my head I was bringing them in for some random burn spells to the face, not because of the discard and all. "You have hexproof" doesn't really come up in standard, lol, and that's the format I play with any regularity.
But yeah, if I had paid slightly more attention to my deckbuilding, I could have had a better showing. At least had a much stronger game for it. But I'll be better prepared for next time.
I wasn't really sure what to do about Infect actually, and I sided in some more removal and some tricks, but didn't really help.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
its not a bad idea tbh.
Active thread contributor of Jeskai Prowess Tempo
A very generous friend just gave me 4 Thoughtseize and 4 Bitterblossom for a birthday gift, among other things. Part of me really wants to tinker with a list that runs 10-12 Sisters, Pridemate, Serra and then Splashes black for Dark Confidant, Bitterblossom, Lingering Souls and Thoughtseize out of the board. I'd have to lose Thune and Ranger to make the numbers work and for their anti-Bob synergy, though. Don't know if the extra card draw and near-infinite tokens are worth it. But it seems really fun.
I have been thinking about that forever. Soo many great BW cards out there that would work for Evil Sisters. I say go for it
But I could have tested wrong. I didn't keep that mix together for very long. I think it's worth more extensive playtesting. I know the hand disruption seems an automatic with if you're going to splash black, and the Confidants might be good on paper...
Interested to see your results.
Moonlight, on the other hand, is a great card which punishes silly decks like Twin and Company. We're usually favoured against those decks, but extra insurance is nice.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
Moonlight, on the other hand, need untapped mana presumably on their turn, so we trade delaying our play by a bit with delaying theirs by a turn. And, while it replaces itself with a draw, you'd eventually (probably as soon as their next turn) need more than 1, where just one extraction will do the trick (or at least will delay for much longer). Being black in a mono-white deck, Extraction is also double surprise play when we're tapped out. The added kicker is you get to see their hand too. I mean, we sideboard RIP already, which takes care of ~50% (right?) of the decks where Moonlight would be useful. So for me, it's a win more Moonlight or a hard counter (at least for tron) Extraction.
What am i missing? What's the trap?
Side note:
Played against Tainted Remedy today. Lucky that, after a thoughtseize took one, i drew into another sundering growth early enough
Having untapped mana against Twin and CoCo is not hard. Vomit out your hand before T4 and you're all good.
From Channel Fireball: Sideboarding Myths
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
I tend to agree with Evil Sisters, as it would seem sensible. But I've found if you go BW for Souls/Thoughtseize you are going down a trap trying to maintain Sisters. Better off just going BW Tokens then.
Modern
URB Grixis Delver
GWB Abzan Company
RWB Mardu Burn
WB Martyr Proc
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
Maybe not.
Auriok Champion is functionally strictly better than the other sisters. You can win more games with a pro red 1/1 than you can with anything else.
UWR Control
Legacy:
W D&T
That said, Auriok Champion definitely deserves a place in the 75, depending on your meta, because she can simply win games against certain matchups on her own.
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
-2 Mark of Asylum (vs anything with bolt, or red sweepers)
-3 Suppression Field (Twin, Jund, Affinity)
-2 Oblivion Ring (catch-all answer, esp vs Amulet or Trons)
-1 Return to the Ranks (I run another MB, great vs any midrange or control deck)
-2 Stony Silence (Affinity, Tron)
-3 Celestial Flare (Great vs worst enemies: Infect and Bogles)
-2 Leonin Arbiters (Fetch hate, considering swapping out for Spellskites)
I should mention I'm running a mono-white build (non-Squadron Hawk plan), everything you'd expect along with one-of Return and Brave the Elements.
I want to post my results from PPTQ but the Latin Unicode thing is killing me. A real pain the but. Oh, well. "Non Latin Unicode Characters temporarily not allowed."
Turns out, it was going to be way rougher.
Round 1 vs Jund. Lost 2-1. Game 1. Got the combos going, curved out really nicely, clinched it in a definitive fashion. I mean, I had an 8/8 Ajani's Pridemate at one time, and when I got an Archangel of Thune on the field, I triggered lifegain three times, which meant that my 1/1 spirit tokens became 4/4 flyers, haha. Game 2. All the discard and hand disruption led to much suffering (2 Lilianas back to back!!). Game 3. Combo fizzled and disruption struck back.
Round 2 vs Infect. Lost 2-0. Game 1. Horrible start because of a mulligan to 4 because of a lack of lands (or usable lands). Infect curved out. Game 2. Made at least 1 misplay. Mana screwed. Infect curved out.
Round 3 vs some kind of mill-lockout deck. Lost 2-0. Game 1. Actually not so bad with the mill itself since I had a fair amount of gas in my opening hand and draws were good. But when your opponent plays something like Ensnaring Bridge and dumps their hand every turn, you can't do anything. Game 2. Same thing, though Ensnaring Bridge didn't show up for a few more turns, but it wasn't enough. I had zero answers for artifacts like that.
Won the random Serum Visions promo though, which was nice, but would have still liked to have put up a good showing with my deck. Like I said, my list was suboptimal to begin with, and I still need a few key pieces. If only they weren't so goddamned expensive!
And I made a mess of things actually. I had 2 Disenchants and even a Banishing Light with me, but I forgot the Disenchants in my GW Hatebears deck, even though I had already raided it for a few pieces, and the Banishing Light I picked up from a friend just before the FNM but blanked on putting it in the sideboard.
And the worst thing of all, I had 2 Leyline of Sanctity in my sideboard that I brought in for the Jund games, but never drew them. Bringing them in was the correct choice, but in my head I was bringing them in for some random burn spells to the face, not because of the discard and all. "You have hexproof" doesn't really come up in standard, lol, and that's the format I play with any regularity.
But yeah, if I had paid slightly more attention to my deckbuilding, I could have had a better showing. At least had a much stronger game for it. But I'll be better prepared for next time.
I wasn't really sure what to do about Infect actually, and I sided in some more removal and some tricks, but didn't really help.