I see a lot of sideboards running one offs. A one-off Oblivion Ring won't help a thing. I run two in my SB and if I could I'd run three because they're good against a lot of matchups. A one-off won't do much. Same goes for Leyline. It's best when you have a chance of having it in your opening hand. With a one-off this will almost never happen. A singleton Silenece is equally useless. If you run into Pyro a lot, I'd just run three Oblivion Rings. It will slow them down enough for you to beat them. My sideboard currently looks like this:
I noticed that Tron is a tough deck so I added three Stony Silences and two Sundering Growth's, which along with O'Ring I board in against them in stead of PtE (which is sometimes a dead card against tron) and 1 of each soul and 1 martyr. Same goes for matchups against POD. Only I won't board in Sundering growth's for which I keep two path's in the main.
Other than that I've been running well against a lot of decks, even POD (didn't expect that). Aggro decks like aaffinity are a pretty easy matchup. I always beat these decks with flyers and Honors. Combo may be the toughest matchup imo so maybe I'll exchangeb the Sundering Growths for Ethersworn Cannonists.
Removed from the sideboard: 1 Suppression Field, 1 Brave the Elements, 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender, 1 Immortal Servitude
Supression Field felt like the best card in the sideboard but with Deathrite shaman gone it's a lot less useful.
I really like Mikaeus in grindy creatures matchups like Zoo where they'll often have you low on life and can kill your flyers. Spear of Heliod might be better but you can't get it with Ranger.
Considering to add: Sundering Growth, 1x Auriok Champion, Thalia
Aggro decks are already pretty easy to win from. So I don't think Mikaeus is really needed. If Zoo wants to remove tokens or a single Squadron Hawk, fine by me to be honest :). But I don't really like singletons in a SB anyway unless they're a 4th or 5th of something main board if it's necessary. I only play cards in SB for the toughest matchups. Other matchups can just be won by being patient and playing well.
I cut supression field from the SB because it didn't do enough imo. And by that I mean, it hasn't won me games. Most decks it's usefull against we already have a pretty good matchup against. And versus Twin, well a singleton won't do a thing.
Instead of Field I play three Stony Silence since it is an autowin against many tough matchups.
Also, why the singleton Auriok Champion mainboard? I don't even run them in SB since burn is such an easy matchup. Just wondering what the thought process is behind it
Personally I bring in Auriok Champion against almost every aggro deck. Additional life gain is always nice because it increases the chance of a giant Pridemate. Not dying to removal and chump blocking for days is just a nice bonus.
I have been tempted to cut them out entirely though either for more leylines or some grafdigger's cages in the side.
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Auriok Champion is just an other sister who's resilient to most removal. I like having a ton of sisters for creature matchups and blocking Kird Ape+ dodging bolt&anger of the gods is a nice bonus for W. Both kinds of sisters have pro and cons and better/worse matchups so playing some of both allows you to be flexible.
Mikaeus is a 1-of who's worth it because he pairs with Ranger when you need to grind. It's not only about Bolting for Spirits, pretty often you'll need to block to survive a big Goyf/Nacalt. Ranger also gets Burrenton if you need to survive a second Pyroclasm for RG Tron or something like that. Might cut Rule of Law and Suppression Field but I want to give them some more test drive.
I don't like Leyline too much because Scapeshift doesn't do enough damage, same for Burn and Discard isn't really a problem. Against Storm, they just board in Echoing Truth and bonce it before killing you.
I also feel Rest in Peace will only become more important with Deathrite gone.
Why do people keep saying Scapeshift doesn't do enough damage? 7 lands will be 18 damage which doesn't kill us but 8 or higher is exponential. 8 lands is 32 damage, 9 is 54. They are able to do more than enough damage to kill us if we don't win fast enough.
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@ Johnwoods, Leyline's are really awesome :). Even some lockdown decks run them mainboard. They kill a lot of annoying tactics. It's not just the point of not having to discard, it means they have 1 or 2 dead cards in their opening hand.
Leyline of Sanctity:
Leyline does almost nothing vs Scapeshift. They can bounce it before comboing off with Cryptic Command/Repeal/Cyclonic Rift at 8/9 mana. Your best plan is to get to 40 life ASAP with Sisters and Martyr. Most lists only run 2 Valakut so they have a hard time going over 40 damage. A 3rd Valakut is useless to them unless the meta is dominated by Sisters.
Murderous Redcap: If they can combo with this, they can do it with Finks for infinite life, which we can't beat.
Karn: Pretty nice hoser but they run Nature's Claim post board. Same for Mindslaver. Karn can exile it if they are in great position post wipe.
Discard: Thoughtseize/Inquisition/Liliana/Clique: Pretty inefective against SS. We play our stuff fast and have a great topdeck mode.
Burn: Only dangerous if they run Leyline of Punishment or Rain of Gore. Sideboarding for enchantment removal should be effective enough.
Grapeshot: They draw their entire library for a bounce and you can't do anything about it.
In short: Soul Sister doesn't really need Leylines. It's only really good against Burn (already easy) and good RG Tron (better to side something else like Stony Silence/Mindcensor/Suppression Field since they have answers). Post board, most people will board out Thoughtseize because we are beatdown.
Considering the fact that Leyline takes 3-4 sideboard slots and is hard to cast fast, I think these slots are better used for something else. I leave Leylines to decks who fear discarding their few threats and dying to burn.
Good cards against Scapeshift: Anything that gains you life (keep all sisters), all creatures to activate sisters, Martyr (maybe 4th one in SB), Hawks/Ranger for Martyr, Aven Mindcensor (though he dies to everything), Burrenton Forge-Tender. Actually, if Burrenton Forge-Tender does what I think it does, it dodges all removal and can completely negate the damage of a single Valakut, making it quite easy to survive. Nope, Valakut isn't red. It's still good to protect your creatures from Firespout and removal I guess.
Thing is, Scapeshift isn't made to answer all the threats we have, it should be easy most of the time.
Its easy only if they aren't running more than 2 Valakuts, but even then we do have to up our lifegain considerably. You need to get above 36 life to survive the minimum amount of damage from 2 Valakuts. A lot of lists are running Primeval Titan as an alternative win condition so we do have to keep in the Paths, we can't just cut them for better hate.
Ghost Quarter in response to Valakut triggers can kill their 6th mountain which can stifle everything after the first trigger but they can get an extra mountain off of GQ which will save their win con.
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Out of curiosity, would it be worth trying to switch maindeck Squadron Hawks with Leonin Arbiter? It would hurt Ranger, but other than that, it seems nice to run a maindeck hatebear.
As a maindeck hatebear against searches I run 2 Aven Mindcensors and as such I have 2 Auriok Champions in my sideboard.
Because it finally came in the mail I now get to use a Cavern of Souls at GP Richmond most of the time it will be naming Human or Soldier.
Going to go down to 3 Ghost Quarters in my 75 so I can use Cavern. I don't want to cut a Plains as that would hurt Spectral Procession.
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As a maindeck hatebear against searches I run 2 Aven Mindcensors and as such I have 2 Auriok Champions in my sideboard.
Because it finally came in the mail I now get to use a Cavern of Souls at GP Richmond most of the time it will be naming Human or Soldier.
Going to go down to 3 Ghost Quarters in my 75 so I can use Cavern. I don't want to cut a Plains as that would hurt Spectral Procession.
It would be great if you posted your list before going to the tournament. I like the changes you've made to the deck. I believe Cavern of souls is a must knowing how the meta is evolving.
Good luck!
Good cards against Scapeshift: Anything that gains you life (keep all sisters), all creatures to activate sisters, Martyr (maybe 4th one in SB), Hawks/Ranger for Martyr, Aven Mindcensor (though he dies to everything), Burrenton Forge-Tender. Actually, if Burrenton Forge-Tender does what I think it does, it dodges all removal and can completely negate the damage of a single Valakut, making it quite easy to survive. Nope, Valakut isn't red. It's still good to protect your creatures from Firespout and removal I guess.
Thing is, Scapeshift isn't made to answer all the threats we have, it should be easy most of the time.
Strange, I found that Scapeshift may be the worst matchup we have. There is almost no way to interact with them, and we're not fast enough to kill them before they kill us. This is what I've found, while winning from a lot of other tier 1 and 2 decks. Still not sure how to win from Scapeshift, though luckily I haven't seen much of the deck yet.
I must admid I haven't played that many games against the deck yet, so I may have to adjust the way I play against it, but so far I think it might be our worst matchup.
In my meta, I have seen Goblins, U/R Storm, UWR Control, Affinity, B/W Tokens, Infect, Tarmo-Twin, U/B Faeries and Merfolk. What should I change in my SB? I'm thinking I need to maybe get Stony Silence, but aside from that, I'm not sure.
Against Scapeshift our best sideboard card is Aven Mindcensor. Leyline of Sanctity is also good and I'm considering running a second or third copy in my sideboard but I don't know what I'd take out.
Ghost Quarter if used correctly can stifle Valakut triggers. This works because Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless, at the time a Mountain enters the battlefield under your control, you control five or more Mountains other than that new one, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control fewer than five Mountains other than that new one by the time it resolves. What this means is that if we Ghost Quarter them down to 5 or fewer mountains in response to the first Valakut trigger and they don't have any more basic Mountains to find, all but the first Valakut trigger will be countered upon resolution when they don't see enough Mountains.
In this regard Tectonic Edge is better because your opponent doesn't get to search for a new land. However, Ghost Quarter is superior in Tron and Amulet of Vigor match ups because you don't have to wait for them to get a 4th land and those lists tend to run fewer basic lands.
My sideboard is mostly 2'ofs though I bring in 4-8 cards depending on the matchup. The reason for this is because it helps play around Echoing Truth.
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Also, thanks. Nobody else seems to use Knight of Meadowgrain. Very underrated card, imo. I think it should totally hose Goblin decks as well as most aggro decks.
I'd add Thalia. 8-Rack isn't that popular and this deck is already amazing against Burn and Scapeshift.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Rest in Peace
3 Stoney Silence
2 Sundering Growth
I noticed that Tron is a tough deck so I added three Stony Silences and two Sundering Growth's, which along with O'Ring I board in against them in stead of PtE (which is sometimes a dead card against tron) and 1 of each soul and 1 martyr. Same goes for matchups against POD. Only I won't board in Sundering growth's for which I keep two path's in the main.
Other than that I've been running well against a lot of decks, even POD (didn't expect that). Aggro decks like aaffinity are a pretty easy matchup. I always beat these decks with flyers and Honors. Combo may be the toughest matchup imo so maybe I'll exchangeb the Sundering Growths for Ethersworn Cannonists.
4 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Windbrisk Heights
11 Plains
4 Serra Ascendant
3 Martyr of Sands
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Auriok Champion
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Spectral Procession
4 Honor of the Pure
3 Path to Exile
1 Suppression Field
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Rule of Law
1 Path to Exile
1 Aven Mindcensor
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Rest in Peace
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Stony Silence
Removed from the sideboard: 1 Suppression Field, 1 Brave the Elements, 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender, 1 Immortal Servitude
Supression Field felt like the best card in the sideboard but with Deathrite shaman gone it's a lot less useful.
I really like Mikaeus in grindy creatures matchups like Zoo where they'll often have you low on life and can kill your flyers. Spear of Heliod might be better but you can't get it with Ranger.
Considering to add: Sundering Growth, 1x Auriok Champion, Thalia
I cut supression field from the SB because it didn't do enough imo. And by that I mean, it hasn't won me games. Most decks it's usefull against we already have a pretty good matchup against. And versus Twin, well a singleton won't do a thing.
Instead of Field I play three Stony Silence since it is an autowin against many tough matchups.
Also, why the singleton Auriok Champion mainboard? I don't even run them in SB since burn is such an easy matchup. Just wondering what the thought process is behind it
I have been tempted to cut them out entirely though either for more leylines or some grafdigger's cages in the side.
-Anonymous
Mikaeus is a 1-of who's worth it because he pairs with Ranger when you need to grind. It's not only about Bolting for Spirits, pretty often you'll need to block to survive a big Goyf/Nacalt. Ranger also gets Burrenton if you need to survive a second Pyroclasm for RG Tron or something like that. Might cut Rule of Law and Suppression Field but I want to give them some more test drive.
I don't like Leyline too much because Scapeshift doesn't do enough damage, same for Burn and Discard isn't really a problem. Against Storm, they just board in Echoing Truth and bonce it before killing you.
I also feel Rest in Peace will only become more important with Deathrite gone.
-Anonymous
But it depends on your meta of course.
Leyline does almost nothing vs Scapeshift. They can bounce it before comboing off with Cryptic Command/Repeal/Cyclonic Rift at 8/9 mana. Your best plan is to get to 40 life ASAP with Sisters and Martyr. Most lists only run 2 Valakut so they have a hard time going over 40 damage. A 3rd Valakut is useless to them unless the meta is dominated by Sisters.
Murderous Redcap: If they can combo with this, they can do it with Finks for infinite life, which we can't beat.
Karn: Pretty nice hoser but they run Nature's Claim post board. Same for Mindslaver. Karn can exile it if they are in great position post wipe.
Discard: Thoughtseize/Inquisition/Liliana/Clique: Pretty inefective against SS. We play our stuff fast and have a great topdeck mode.
Burn: Only dangerous if they run Leyline of Punishment or Rain of Gore. Sideboarding for enchantment removal should be effective enough.
Gitaxian Probe: They can target themselves.
Grapeshot: They draw their entire library for a bounce and you can't do anything about it.
In short: Soul Sister doesn't really need Leylines. It's only really good against Burn (already easy) and good RG Tron (better to side something else like Stony Silence/Mindcensor/Suppression Field since they have answers). Post board, most people will board out Thoughtseize because we are beatdown.
Considering the fact that Leyline takes 3-4 sideboard slots and is hard to cast fast, I think these slots are better used for something else. I leave Leylines to decks who fear discarding their few threats and dying to burn.
Actually, if Burrenton Forge-Tender does what I think it does, it dodges all removal and can completely negate the damage of a single Valakut, making it quite easy to survive.Nope, Valakut isn't red. It's still good to protect your creatures from Firespout and removal I guess.Thing is, Scapeshift isn't made to answer all the threats we have, it should be easy most of the time.
Ghost Quarter in response to Valakut triggers can kill their 6th mountain which can stifle everything after the first trigger but they can get an extra mountain off of GQ which will save their win con.
-Anonymous
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Because it finally came in the mail I now get to use a Cavern of Souls at GP Richmond most of the time it will be naming Human or Soldier.
Going to go down to 3 Ghost Quarters in my 75 so I can use Cavern. I don't want to cut a Plains as that would hurt Spectral Procession.
-Anonymous
It would be great if you posted your list before going to the tournament. I like the changes you've made to the deck. I believe Cavern of souls is a must knowing how the meta is evolving.
Good luck!
Still trying to figure out slot 15.
Leyline, Canonist, Thalia, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Hero of Bladehold, Ghost Quarter, Tectonic Edge....
So many choices...
-Anonymous
Strange, I found that Scapeshift may be the worst matchup we have. There is almost no way to interact with them, and we're not fast enough to kill them before they kill us. This is what I've found, while winning from a lot of other tier 1 and 2 decks. Still not sure how to win from Scapeshift, though luckily I haven't seen much of the deck yet.
I must admid I haven't played that many games against the deck yet, so I may have to adjust the way I play against it, but so far I think it might be our worst matchup.
2 Pithing Needle
2 nevermore
2 stony silence
2 suppression field
3 wear / tear
2 blood moon
2 rest in peace
4x Ajani's Pridemate
1x Aven Mindcensor
3x Knight of Meadowgrain
3x Martyr of Sands
2x Ranger of Eos
4x Serra Ascendant
4x Soul Warden
3x Soul's Attendant
4x Squadron Hawk
4x Honor of the Pure
1x Oblivion Ring
Land (21)
2x Ghost Quarter
19x Plains
Instant (4)
4x Path to Exile
Sorcery (2)
2x Spectral Procession
1x Angel of Jubilation
1x Aura of Silence
3x Brave the Elements
1x Journey to Nowhere
3x Leonin Arbiter
1x Oblivion Ring
2x Rest in Peace
3x Suppression Field
In my meta, I have seen Goblins, U/R Storm, UWR Control, Affinity, B/W Tokens, Infect, Tarmo-Twin, U/B Faeries and Merfolk. What should I change in my SB? I'm thinking I need to maybe get Stony Silence, but aside from that, I'm not sure.
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Ghost Quarter if used correctly can stifle Valakut triggers. This works because Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless, at the time a Mountain enters the battlefield under your control, you control five or more Mountains other than that new one, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control fewer than five Mountains other than that new one by the time it resolves. What this means is that if we Ghost Quarter them down to 5 or fewer mountains in response to the first Valakut trigger and they don't have any more basic Mountains to find, all but the first Valakut trigger will be countered upon resolution when they don't see enough Mountains.
In this regard Tectonic Edge is better because your opponent doesn't get to search for a new land. However, Ghost Quarter is superior in Tron and Amulet of Vigor match ups because you don't have to wait for them to get a 4th land and those lists tend to run fewer basic lands.
My sideboard is mostly 2'ofs though I bring in 4-8 cards depending on the matchup. The reason for this is because it helps play around Echoing Truth.
-Anonymous
Also, thanks. Nobody else seems to use Knight of Meadowgrain. Very underrated card, imo. I think it should totally hose Goblin decks as well as most aggro decks.
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief