Seems risky! I used this calculator to determine the odds of drawing one or more Leylines with two in the deck, and you'll be seeing them about 22% of the time. This means that, if you play two rounds against decks where you want Leylines, and assuming both rounds go to three games, you'll see about one turn zero Leyline. Doesn't seem worth the slots to me at that point-- kind of like the Martyr number conversation from before. I usually keep two-ofs as cards I don't mind drawing into later. If I like seeing one in my opener, but don't want two, I'll play a three-of (like Martyr). Playsets are reserved for things without diminishing returns, or central synergy pieces (Pridemates). I forget where I picked up this thinking, but I want to say it was from Patrick Chapin, either on a podcast or youtube video.
What do you guys think of Sacred cat? It is a super resilient creature that comes out early, and has good synergies with ajani's pridemate and soul sisters.
I'd put it similar with Doomed Traveller, trading the evasion of flying with a Lifelink. Turn 1 Cat into Turn 2 Pridemate, swing Cat gets a trigger, but it's a little too fragile and doesn't impact board enough to merit consideration. I might try it in Pauper, but not in Modern.
Tournament report time 3-1 against a few of the stronger players at the store, and some less than stellar matchups. Opponents, in order, were on Fish, Eldrazi+Taxes, a sweet Mardu Tokens brew, and Eldrazi Tron. Decklist:
Round 1 vs Josh (Fish): Traditionally a tough matchup, especially without Ghostly Prison or Wrath of God, but I stole G1 because he was stuck on Mutavault Island with a handful of lords. He did get an Aether Vial, but not until turn 3, at which point, I had already hit him with a looter scooter and deployed Sister+Pridemate. He was too far behind and didn't get the chance to come back. G2 I Disenchant his Vial before he gets the chance to use it, and then get an Ancestral ReHawk into Martyr for a quick active Serra. Opponent didn't want to hear that it was an anomaly and it usually goes the other way, but I couldn't blame him; when the Sisters deck wins, it wins hard! 2-0, 1-0 in rounds
Round 2 vs Dan (Eldrazi+Taxes): Dan is arguably the top limited player in the area, but doesn't play as much modern. When I have an edge on my opponent in matchup practice AND overall format experience, I feel favored, even against a bad matchup, which this isn't. Dan didn't make many mistakes, but also didn't have a clear idea of how to win against Sisters, and the mistakes he did make (like allowing me to Quarter his Concealed Courtyard after a turn 2 Leonin Arbiter) paved the way for me to execute my own plans. Dan beats me every time in limited, so it felt good to at least hold my own in my format 2-0, 2-0
Round 3 vs Alex (Mardu Tokens): I suffered from some bad mulligans this round, which was a shame, because Dan is one of the best modern players at the store, and his brew was awesome. Unfortunately, he killed me without showing me more than a handful of cards, but the ones I did see were Lingering Souls, Bitterblossom, Dark Confidant, andButcher of the Horde along with the expected removal from those colors. Butcher OP. He slammed me the turn he came down every time, with haste and lifelink. Despite this, the games were less than interesting, with a mana choke on my part G1, a flood on his part G2, and a victory in turns for Alex. 1-2, 2-1
Round 4 vs Jon (Eldrazi Tron): I've played against Jon a lot recently, including his slamming me 0-2 in the top 8 of the GPT a few weeks ago. This Tron variant has even more potent tools against us than the Gx varieties, but is also much less reliable about getting a mana advantage. About half the time, it feels like a clunky midrange deck and a cakewalk. But then, the turn before you win (talking about G1 now), with you at 50 life and 3 lethal threats, including 2 Serras, he finds his last Tron piece, Maps into a Sanctum of Ugin, and gets Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to double Vindicate your Serras. Feelsbadman. However, his deck's variance makes our hate much more effective, and I'm easily able to keep him off Tron with GQs in G2. G3 he mulligans to 5 and I have a turn 2 Stony into Spectral into Honor and no other relevant spells were cast. Got there! Again, the matchup feels like a dice roll-- Either they blow us out with Walking Ballista or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Chalice of the Void, or we blow them out with GQ and Stony, or they cast some medium Eldrazi that would beat most Jund decks, and our board spirals out of control.
I'm still fully behind the loot-scoot, and am thinking about upping in numbers. The only thing holding me back is not knowing what to cut. I think looting is much closer to drawing a card than people give it credit for, and even if that's a debatable point, Smuggler's Copter gives an insane amount of rate for its cost. For the price of two colorless mana and having a 1/1 (and we always do), it puts considerable pressure on our opponent, doubles our cards seen per turn, regardless of whether it gets to connect or even attack (since it also triggers on block), and is randomly awesomely positioned: it is fliers 9 and 10 against Affinity and Infect, answers Etched Champion, and evades ALL other sorcery based removal, including just about every sweeper (Anger of the Gods, Damnation, All is Dust, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Supreme Verdict, and even instant-speed Kozilek's Return and Izzet Staticaster). True, it's hit by Push, Bolt, and K-Command, but those spells are finding their value regardless of Smuggy's presence. Try it. It's banned for a reason.
Nice work, man! Something I saw recently in a Reid Duke video was Painter's Servant out of the side, which would have stopped Sanctum of Ugin and made him less likely to play and All Is Dust. Naming Red or Black is really good in an Auriok Champion list, as well. I don't know if I'd consider it, but it's definitely AN idea.
I know we've discussed it at length but could you talk a bit about why Repel over Pay No Heed?
When Eye of Ugin was legal, anyone not playing Painter's Servant was making a mistake IMO! As for Repel the Abominable, it has some edge in being better as a Fog, and preventing damage from multiple Valakuts. It's also castable around chalice for 1, and I'm not sure if you can use Pay No Heed to choose a Walking Ballista when it's already in the graveyard. The only place it's really unfortunate is Blighted Agent (human somehow) but this sideboard plan ignores Infect entirely and hopes to dodge it. But I suppose the true reason is that I want to try different variations on that spell (Brave, Mark of Asylum etc) and see what works best. I'll let you know, but I have yet to cast it.
You still have game against Infect in the Disenchant and Ethersworn Canonist. Being able to Path in response to a pump just crushes them sometimes.
That's a really great analysis and upon looking at my sideboard, I'm beginning to see some value in something like
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silences
1-2 Repel The Abominable
3 Non-Creature Removal Targets (Likely a Sundering, Oblivion Ring, Celestial Purge, still)
2 Ethersworn/Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Worship
2 Blessed Alliance
Tightening up in some areas feel really relevant and makes sideboarding a bit easier. I think the 1/1 Worship Prison still makes a little sense for some matchups (Infect) but I really like how each of those cards can completely shut down a deck of problems (Stony hurting Tron, RiP hurting any graveyard/Abzan Coco, Repel hurting Scapeshift dramatically, and Ethersworn shutting off Baral Storm) while Blessed and Worship give me an edge against decks that still fight from a traditional game plan.
Word. Very sensible choices. I really like RiP right now, as it totally shuts down BGx variants, which tend to lean harder on the graveyard than ever. It also wrecks Grixis, which is huge at my meta, and Storm. As for Ghostly Prison vs second Worship, I'm in favor of GP, as it makes good sense to get some variety in that kind of random-hoser card and cast a wider net (GP has play vs Infect for example). Canonist is nuts against some decks, so I might be able to see going up on them. The problem is that Stony and RiP are so powerful in general, and right now in particular for my meta (which is full of Grixis, BGx Shadow, Tron, and Affinity) that I can't justify cutting copies of either. They just win games on their own! Not my preferred way to win, admittedly, but I'll take my free wins where they come
This is what I've got. I just play casually, but even so, should I be looking to speed this up at all? I may take it to a Modern Night, but that might be it. I don't currently have Auriok Champion to substitute into it. Are 2 Rangers enough?
List seems great! Obviously I consider my list ideal, and Aurioks are a house against every midrange deck in town, but they're by no means necessary. I do consider Brimaz a trap, and would recommend a 3rd Ranger instead.
List seems great! Obviously I consider my list ideal, and Aurioks are a house against every midrange deck in town, but they're by no means necessary. I do consider Brimaz a trap, and would recommend a 3rd Ranger instead.
It comes up a lot and there's a little bit in the primer for it. The issue you run into is that it doesn't help Spectral mana, which is the hardest thing to cast. Typically, the only human they'll try to counter is Serra when you're at 30 or a Ranger, so it can be helpful there, but most of the decks who can counter will bolt a sister sooner. If you've got 'em lying around and face a combo heavy meta, try it, but otherwise, I wouldn't advocate spending for it.
I consider myself mostly a collector than a player (I only really do XXX Master drafts / pre-releases), and found myself drafting tokens-lifegain during MM3 and really enjoying it so I decided to finish off Soul Sisters for Modern Nights / the odd local tournament.
My main questions are:
1. Should I try to force Auriok Champion into BW Sisters? I have four of them in a trade binder, but I'm not sure if I should cut things to add rooms initially. I'm actually not sure what my local meta is like because, yeah, primarily draft; but I remember seeing a lot of Jund last October when I took grixis delver to a weekend tournament, so I'd be pretty positive in guessing there has been a huge adoption to Deaths Shadow.
2. Currently my only Black is for flashbacked lingering souls. Given this, should I be running 4 isolated chapels or 4 fetch/1 shrine? I can run both.
3. Should I really be running 4 honor of the pure's given BW having a higher reliance on tokens?
1. There's definitely a case for the Champ, as Death's Shadow is the best deck in Modern and she blanks it. In your list, it would probably mean cutting the ZPs, which does take away that explosive finish that card can give. I've soured on ZP, but I also always run 4 Honor of the Pure, so YMMW.
2. 4 Fetch 1 Shock is more consistent and you can afford the lifeloss. It's a matter of percentage points (I run 4 Isos and rarely have any problem flashing back LS) but it's an upgrade that is worth it often enough to merit it. I do think running a basic swamp is a good idea in mana base. That obviously gets better with a fetch as you can play around Blood Moon. Either way, there's a lot of merit to being able to go get that basic Swamp when they path off Serra or Pridemate.
3. I have a friend who thinks it's the worst card in the deck, but I think it's amazing. One of my main reasons for BW is because going wide can get so many decks in the format and having the Honors speeds that clock up a lot. If Jund is still in the meta, they will try to kill our plan with post-board Night of Souls' Betrayal or Golgari Charm, which Honor blanks. There are so many corner cases like this where that +1/+1 is so relevant.
As far as sideboard goes, you've got most of the card you'd need for a generic meta. Here's what I'd do with that.
You're a little soft to combo with this sideboard, so another Ethersworn/Eidolon of the Great Revel/Thalia, Guardian of Thraben would be helpful, and I'd cut a Purge for that. I'd then go down on 1 Brave and 1 Disenchant from there if you find you really need one thing. You might also move the ZPs to the sideboard for Aurioks or bring the Aurioks in the side if you want to really hose Jund decks. Our primer has some ideas for every match up once you get an idea what you're up against.
Welcome to the format. I have a blog post I've been meaning to make about why Soul Sisters is the best deck for someone brand new to the format, so I really think you've made the right call. Keep us posted!
I need to find one card for my flex slot in soul sisters i have to choose between these cards.maybe some tips?
White monument.gideon ally of zendikar.smuglers copter.secure the waste. balista or blade splicer? Thanks
Not knowing your list, it's tough to say for sure, but from that, I'd go Gideon, Smuggler's, Secure, in that order. I don't think I'd run the other three.
@Bobo: I was wrong about the new Gideon. The card is very strong and I do hope somehow there's a home for him here in Soul Sisters.
I'll be so mad if people's tests in Martyr say he's an include because I REALLY don't want to spend $100 bucks on him. Luckily, with how quick they're sending out the banhammer in standard, they may nuke his value in the near future.
As far as his future in Sisters, I wouldn't be surprised to see folks cut Martyr/Serra to experiment with a build centering around him and Ally of Zendikar, who has already proven to be solid for the deck.
I'll run that sideboard for a few weeks and post tournament reports from Tuesday Modern nights starting next week. Going through my binders I think I must have traded away my white fetches at some point so I ebayed 4 strands to tide me over until I replace them with the flats.
While I was at it I grabbed the last 2 honor of the pures like you suggested, was less of a flex choice and more of a 'I only had 2 in my binders' one.
I look forward to trying to be an active part of the community.
I might have grabbed Windswepts since Junk is a more common deck to transition to for us, but Strands are nice because Paths and Lingering Souls are just as important to that Esper list (and you can transition into UW builds for your change of pace, which are nice if you're okay playing Control)
For everyone still interested, I'm going to be testing this build for the next few weeks to see how it will run for Vegas. My last two decisions I need to make are "Do I need fetches and shocks in there?" (I have them but don't use them right now.) and "Do I need to warp the board to fight Tron or just hope to dodge it enough?" (Stonys and Ghost Quarters in the main with good Walker hate might be enough)
On paper, sideboard looks like a lot on one-ofs, but they're really just variance for different matchups. Debating hard on Ethersworn vs. Eidolon RE: Ad Nauseum.
Round 1 vs Josh (Fish): Traditionally a tough matchup, especially without Ghostly Prison or Wrath of God, but I stole G1 because he was stuck on Mutavault Island with a handful of lords. He did get an Aether Vial, but not until turn 3, at which point, I had already hit him with a looter scooter and deployed Sister+Pridemate. He was too far behind and didn't get the chance to come back. G2 I Disenchant his Vial before he gets the chance to use it, and then get an Ancestral ReHawk into Martyr for a quick active Serra. Opponent didn't want to hear that it was an anomaly and it usually goes the other way, but I couldn't blame him; when the Sisters deck wins, it wins hard! 2-0, 1-0 in rounds
Round 2 vs Dan (Eldrazi+Taxes): Dan is arguably the top limited player in the area, but doesn't play as much modern. When I have an edge on my opponent in matchup practice AND overall format experience, I feel favored, even against a bad matchup, which this isn't. Dan didn't make many mistakes, but also didn't have a clear idea of how to win against Sisters, and the mistakes he did make (like allowing me to Quarter his Concealed Courtyard after a turn 2 Leonin Arbiter) paved the way for me to execute my own plans. Dan beats me every time in limited, so it felt good to at least hold my own in my format 2-0, 2-0
Round 3 vs Alex (Mardu Tokens): I suffered from some bad mulligans this round, which was a shame, because Dan is one of the best modern players at the store, and his brew was awesome. Unfortunately, he killed me without showing me more than a handful of cards, but the ones I did see were Lingering Souls, Bitterblossom, Dark Confidant, andButcher of the Horde along with the expected removal from those colors. Butcher OP. He slammed me the turn he came down every time, with haste and lifelink. Despite this, the games were less than interesting, with a mana choke on my part G1, a flood on his part G2, and a victory in turns for Alex. 1-2, 2-1
Round 4 vs Jon (Eldrazi Tron): I've played against Jon a lot recently, including his slamming me 0-2 in the top 8 of the GPT a few weeks ago. This Tron variant has even more potent tools against us than the Gx varieties, but is also much less reliable about getting a mana advantage. About half the time, it feels like a clunky midrange deck and a cakewalk. But then, the turn before you win (talking about G1 now), with you at 50 life and 3 lethal threats, including 2 Serras, he finds his last Tron piece, Maps into a Sanctum of Ugin, and gets Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to double Vindicate your Serras. Feelsbadman. However, his deck's variance makes our hate much more effective, and I'm easily able to keep him off Tron with GQs in G2. G3 he mulligans to 5 and I have a turn 2 Stony into Spectral into Honor and no other relevant spells were cast. Got there! Again, the matchup feels like a dice roll-- Either they blow us out with Walking Ballista or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Chalice of the Void, or we blow them out with GQ and Stony, or they cast some medium Eldrazi that would beat most Jund decks, and our board spirals out of control.
I'm still fully behind the loot-scoot, and am thinking about upping in numbers. The only thing holding me back is not knowing what to cut. I think looting is much closer to drawing a card than people give it credit for, and even if that's a debatable point, Smuggler's Copter gives an insane amount of rate for its cost. For the price of two colorless mana and having a 1/1 (and we always do), it puts considerable pressure on our opponent, doubles our cards seen per turn, regardless of whether it gets to connect or even attack (since it also triggers on block), and is randomly awesomely positioned: it is fliers 9 and 10 against Affinity and Infect, answers Etched Champion, and evades ALL other sorcery based removal, including just about every sweeper (Anger of the Gods, Damnation, All is Dust, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Supreme Verdict, and even instant-speed Kozilek's Return and Izzet Staticaster). True, it's hit by Push, Bolt, and K-Command, but those spells are finding their value regardless of Smuggy's presence. Try it. It's banned for a reason.
I know we've discussed it at length but could you talk a bit about why Repel over Pay No Heed?
That's a really great analysis and upon looking at my sideboard, I'm beginning to see some value in something like
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silences
1-2 Repel The Abominable
3 Non-Creature Removal Targets (Likely a Sundering, Oblivion Ring, Celestial Purge, still)
2 Ethersworn/Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Worship
2 Blessed Alliance
Tightening up in some areas feel really relevant and makes sideboarding a bit easier. I think the 1/1 Worship Prison still makes a little sense for some matchups (Infect) but I really like how each of those cards can completely shut down a deck of problems (Stony hurting Tron, RiP hurting any graveyard/Abzan Coco, Repel hurting Scapeshift dramatically, and Ethersworn shutting off Baral Storm) while Blessed and Worship give me an edge against decks that still fight from a traditional game plan.
This is what I've got. I just play casually, but even so, should I be looking to speed this up at all? I may take it to a Modern Night, but that might be it. I don't currently have Auriok Champion to substitute into it. Are 2 Rangers enough?
4x Serra Ascendant
4x Soul Warden
4x Soul's Attendant
2x Martyr of Sands
4x Ajani's Pridemate
2x Selfless Spirit
1x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Ranger of Eos
1x Archangel of Thune
4x Path to Exile
Soceries (4):
4x Spectral Procession
Enchantments (4):
3x Honor of the Pure
1x Oblivion Ring
Planeswalkers (2):
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
10x Plains
4x Flagstones of Trokair
4x Ghost Quarter
2x Horizon Canopy
2x Windbrisk Heights
WDeath & TaxesW
Thanks for that advice. I've made that change.
WDeath & TaxesW
I consider myself mostly a collector than a player (I only really do XXX Master drafts / pre-releases), and found myself drafting tokens-lifegain during MM3 and really enjoying it so I decided to finish off Soul Sisters for Modern Nights / the odd local tournament.
My main questions are:
1. Should I try to force Auriok Champion into BW Sisters? I have four of them in a trade binder, but I'm not sure if I should cut things to add rooms initially. I'm actually not sure what my local meta is like because, yeah, primarily draft; but I remember seeing a lot of Jund last October when I took grixis delver to a weekend tournament, so I'd be pretty positive in guessing there has been a huge adoption to Deaths Shadow.
2. Currently my only Black is for flashbacked lingering souls. Given this, should I be running 4 isolated chapels or 4 fetch/1 shrine? I can run both.
3. Should I really be running 4 honor of the pure's given BW having a higher reliance on tokens?
Currently my decklist is:
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Serra Ascendant
3 Martyr of Sands
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Path of Exile
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Zealous Persecution
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Windbrisk Heights
4 Isolated Chapel
12 Plains
And my sideboard is.. really not quite sure yet, because I'm not even sure what the meta looks like.
Common sideboard cards I have access to include:
2 Stony Silence
4 Blessed Alliance
4 Repel the Abominable
1 Ethersworn Cannoness
2 Celestial Purge
2 Brave the Elements
4 Disenchant
I don't mind trading/buying into a refined sideboard, but I would like to give it a few weeks to work out what I actually need first.
If anyone can offer any feedback, I would really appreciate it.
1. There's definitely a case for the Champ, as Death's Shadow is the best deck in Modern and she blanks it. In your list, it would probably mean cutting the ZPs, which does take away that explosive finish that card can give. I've soured on ZP, but I also always run 4 Honor of the Pure, so YMMW.
2. 4 Fetch 1 Shock is more consistent and you can afford the lifeloss. It's a matter of percentage points (I run 4 Isos and rarely have any problem flashing back LS) but it's an upgrade that is worth it often enough to merit it. I do think running a basic swamp is a good idea in mana base. That obviously gets better with a fetch as you can play around Blood Moon. Either way, there's a lot of merit to being able to go get that basic Swamp when they path off Serra or Pridemate.
3. I have a friend who thinks it's the worst card in the deck, but I think it's amazing. One of my main reasons for BW is because going wide can get so many decks in the format and having the Honors speeds that clock up a lot. If Jund is still in the meta, they will try to kill our plan with post-board Night of Souls' Betrayal or Golgari Charm, which Honor blanks. There are so many corner cases like this where that +1/+1 is so relevant.
As far as sideboard goes, you've got most of the card you'd need for a generic meta. Here's what I'd do with that.
2 Stony Silence
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Brave the Elements
2 Repel the Abominable
2 Disenchants
2 Celestial Purge
1 Ethersworn Canonist
You're a little soft to combo with this sideboard, so another Ethersworn/Eidolon of the Great Revel/Thalia, Guardian of Thraben would be helpful, and I'd cut a Purge for that. I'd then go down on 1 Brave and 1 Disenchant from there if you find you really need one thing. You might also move the ZPs to the sideboard for Aurioks or bring the Aurioks in the side if you want to really hose Jund decks. Our primer has some ideas for every match up once you get an idea what you're up against.
Welcome to the format. I have a blog post I've been meaning to make about why Soul Sisters is the best deck for someone brand new to the format, so I really think you've made the right call. Keep us posted!
Not knowing your list, it's tough to say for sure, but from that, I'd go Gideon, Smuggler's, Secure, in that order. I don't think I'd run the other three.
I'll be so mad if people's tests in Martyr say he's an include because I REALLY don't want to spend $100 bucks on him. Luckily, with how quick they're sending out the banhammer in standard, they may nuke his value in the near future.
As far as his future in Sisters, I wouldn't be surprised to see folks cut Martyr/Serra to experiment with a build centering around him and Ally of Zendikar, who has already proven to be solid for the deck.
I'll run that sideboard for a few weeks and post tournament reports from Tuesday Modern nights starting next week. Going through my binders I think I must have traded away my white fetches at some point so I ebayed 4 strands to tide me over until I replace them with the flats.
While I was at it I grabbed the last 2 honor of the pures like you suggested, was less of a flex choice and more of a 'I only had 2 in my binders' one.
I look forward to trying to be an active part of the community.
For everyone still interested, I'm going to be testing this build for the next few weeks to see how it will run for Vegas. My last two decisions I need to make are "Do I need fetches and shocks in there?" (I have them but don't use them right now.) and "Do I need to warp the board to fight Tron or just hope to dodge it enough?" (Stonys and Ghost Quarters in the main with good Walker hate might be enough)
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Soul Warden
3 Serra Ascendant
3 Ranger of Eos
2 Martyr of Sands
2 Archangel of Thune
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silences
2 Repel The Abominable
2 Blessed Alliance
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Worship
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Sundering Growth
1 Celestial Purge
On paper, sideboard looks like a lot on one-ofs, but they're really just variance for different matchups. Debating hard on Ethersworn vs. Eidolon RE: Ad Nauseum.