- Jund Panorama
- Terminal Moraine
- Warped Landscape
- Myriad Landscape
- Blighted Woodland
- Blighted Fen
- Font of Fertility
- Seal of Primordium
- Seal of Doom
- All is Dust
- Oath of Nissa (can't legend rule it like you can in Standard right now, but this sort of thing tends to get swept up in Austere Commands and whatnot)
- Oath of Liliana (ditto)
- Garruk Wildspeaker
Mutavault would be fine here as well but if you don't own one already it's probably not worth the price-tag for this deck.
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Introduction
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Admittedly, I haven't touched this post in a while, but the deck still exists. During Modern Horizons spoilers, we got Sisay, Weatherlight Captain! This deck is going rainbow! Will update once I have a new list.
My first experience with Magic was playing as a kid during Kamigawa block. It's probably due to nostalgia-goggles, but I'm definitely still in the pro-Kamigawa camp. I loved the art and the flavor and, most of all, I loved the legendary creatures. In all fantasy environments, I'm drawn to strong world-building and for me, legendary creatures really help to create the world of Magic. I love being able to play with all the unique characters of the multiverse. So, over the years, I've had a couple of versions of a "legendary tribal" deck: first in the form of my casual Samurai deck as a kid, then my first EDH deck (Naya Samurai/legendaries), and now this deck. In building this deck, I had two rules: 1) the focus had to be on legendary creatures (and planeswalkers) and 2) all of the non-land cards had to either depict women, or directly benefit the "legendary tribal" theme. And so, here is the list:
Decklist
1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
The Legendary Ladies
1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Captain Sisay
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Ephara, God of the Polis
1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Marwyn, the Nurterer
1 Masako the Humorless
1 Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
1 Myojin of Life's Web
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Rubinia Soulsinger
1 Selvala, Explorer Returned
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
Planeswalkers
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
1 Huatli, Radiant Champion
1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
1 Tamiyo, Field Researcher
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Eternal Witness
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Thalia's Lancers
"Legendary Matters"
1 Time of Need
1 Heroes' Podium
1 Day of Destiny
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Thran Temporal Gateway
Ramp
1 Cultivate
1 Farseek
1 Nature's Lore
1 Nissa's Pilgrimage
1 Nissa's Renewal
1 Zendikar Resurgent
Anthems
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Marshal's Anthem
Removal
1 Akroma's Vengeance
1 Austere Command
1 Broken Bond
1 Rest in Peace
1 Rout
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tornado
1 Chord of Calling
1 Elemental Bond
1 Oath of Nissa
1 Rhystic Study
1 Selvala's Stampede
1 Shamanic Revelation
Other Lands
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Breeding Pool
1 Canopy Vista
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Flooded Strand
7 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Misty Rainforest
7 Plains
1 Prairie Stream
1 Rupture Spire
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Terramorphic Expanse
About the Deck
As far as play style, the deck plays out similar to a midrange/goodstuff deck. Most of the creatures have a big impact on the board, and with things like Heroes' Podium, Day of Destiny, and Cathars' Crusade we can usually be hitting very hard, very fast. That being said, this deck is definitely more casual than competitive. I've chosen to stick to the theme over "more competitive" card choices, so I don't pull this deck out when I'm playing to win at a more cutthroat table.
Some of the ladies have also proven to be much more effective than other. In a deck with this many legendary cards, an early Captain Sisay wins games. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a white staple for a reason, and gives us a huge swing in power. I really like Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker as a pillowfort card and, though it's a expensive, Myojin of Life's Web often dumps a huge number of creatures onto the board.
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I agree with toc that you've hit the nail on the head with most of the attractive cards. At the moment, I have one flex spot in my list, in that I'm ready to cut Rite of Replication (Side note: I've decided Night of Souls' Betrayal is here to stay). At the moment I'm trying Primal Amulet in that slot, but I haven't actually got any games in since I made the switch so who knows if it's actually good...
Blast Zone is the only auto-include, but that's largely because it's a land, and thus easier to fit in.
Kefnet will definitely be the first card I test from WAR. I'll probably try a few games with Amulet, then a few games with Kefnet, and see which one feels better. I do like some of the other cards you mentioned, I just don't see any of them being worth cutting anything from my list at the moment. If I had to choose a second favorite, it would probably be Finale of Eternity, for all the reasons Weebo mentioned, but again I don't see me cutting anything for it.
And yes, in combo Dralnu, Citadel is nuts. Personally, I'm sticking with PE as my "back pocket" combo though, since I lean more on control.
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Lingering Souls is definitely a good card. It's fallen out of favor, as many lists are cutting black, but if you run black, I would think LS is almost an auto-include.
Kiora has also been discussed here in the past. I ran her in my first version of the deck. Personally, I like Gideon of the Trials better, but I don't think she's terrible.
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Also, I'll be at the SCG Classic this weekend (couldn't find a team for the Open) playing RB. Here's the list I'm taking:
2 Evolving Wilds
2 Flooded Strand
1 Forest
2 Island
1 Mistveil Plains
2 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
2 Wooded Foothills
Planeswalker
1 Gideon of the Trials
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
Enchantment
4 Ardent Plea
2 As Foretold
2 Blood Moon
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Greater Gargadon
1 Keranos, God of Storms
3 Simian Spirit Guide
Instant
2 Bant Charm
1 Beast Within
4 Violent Outburst
Sorcery
3 Restore Balance
Artifact
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Firewild Borderpost
2 Wildfield Borderpost
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Blood Moon
2 Culling Scales
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Oketra's Last Mercy
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Ricochet Trap
2 Wear / Tear
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1) three colors can complicate your mana base, and an important part of any control deck is making sure you are as mana-efficient as possible
2) I think Kess will replace Jeleva as the go-to Grixis storm commander and will earn a reputation for being a storm commander
3) The biggest issue for me is the fact that Kess is limited to once per your turn. This prevents both Paradox Engine shenanigans, as well as casting spells from your graveyard on your opponents' turn
That being said, most of those reasons are more personal than everything, so I think Kess can be a totally viable option if you want to add red to this type of deck.
Side note: Weebos, I love the Magi Nation reference. Haven't thought of that game in years...
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So I haven't had time to test anything from C17 yet. However, I've finally got to use The Great Aurora enough to know that it's excellent here so:
IN
+ The Great Aurora
OUT
- Soul of New Phyrexia
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Do you have a link to that list? Are they really running cascade cards and Ancestral Vision? That seems like a bad idea...
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For reference, my list is the same as the one I posted previously except I replaced Chandra with Gideon of the Trials, the 2 copies of Detention Sphere with 2 copies of Beast Within and cut Thassa, God of the Sea and 1 Fieldmist Borderpost for 2 copies of Bant Charm. I definitely think Beast Within is the way to go over DSphere and I think I like the charms, but I didn't get to use them a ton.
Titanshift
In my opinion, this is by far the deck's best match-up. Scapeshift builds with a lot of blue and counterspells can give us trouble, but that version seems to be pretty rare. Without counterspells, there isn't much the deck can do when we're repeatedly wiping their lands. Worst case scenario, they bring in Chalice of the Void out of the sideboard, but we have ways to deal with that.
In game 1, I keep a hand with two lands, two borderposts, two copies of Ardent Plea and a Greater Gargadon. I misplay turn 1 and play the UW BP instead of GR, which means I can't suspend GG on turn 2. It doesn't matter because the opponent ramps turns 2 and 3 and I respond with Ardent Plea, dropping him from 5 lands to 1. He doesn't draw into anymore lands and I cast Nahiri on turn 4 that wins me the game.
In: 3 Leyline of Sanctity, Out: 2 Anger of the Gods, 1 Beast Within
Game 2 he plays Chalice of the Void on 0 turn 2, but I play Blood Moon on turn 3, so we both get a slow start. Once I remove Chalice, I cast Violent Outburst on his draw step and sac all my lands to GG. He has 2 Khalni Heart Expedition on the field, so he's able to rebuild his lands quickly, but not faster than my GG beats.
Win 2-0
Ad Nauseam
There wasn't much to game 1. The opponent missed a lot of land drops, which meant they couldn't really get going before I started disrupting their plans. One thing this game taught me was that against spell-based combo decks like Ad Naus, it can be more disruptive to use RB to wipe their hand rather than their lands.
In: 2 Wear / Tear Out: 2 Anger of the Gods
Game 2 I slow them down by destroying their turn 2 Pentad Prism and then landing a turn 3 Blood Moon[c/]. Next turn I play As Foretold and after that, I suspend GG and cast Violent Outburst during their draw step. Figuring I can just use As Foretold to cast my spells, I sac all my lands to GG and the opponent scoops.
Win 2-0
Counters Company
Game 1 I had to mull down to 5 and eventually kept something with 2 lands, Nahiri, and 2 Violent Outburst, with an Ardent Plea left on top with the scry (on the draw). They land a turn 2 Vizier and I don't have the mana on turn 3 to cascade into Restore Balance (drew a borderpost instead of a land). Worse yet, they cast Collected Company at the end of turn. I lucked out and they didn't find the Devoted Druid. Turn 4, they float mana in response to Balance and cast another CoCo. I just respond by casting yet another Balance the next turn. They play Vizier, I cast Nahiri, remove the Vizier once it swings, hard cast a SSG to protect Nahiri, and eventually win with her ult.
I ended up not boarding anything in for this match-up. There really isn't anything in my SB that helps and, as long as they don't get a quick turn 3 kill, this match-up feels pretty favored.
Game 2, a SSG allows me to play As Foretold into Restore Balance that wipes all of their lands. Once again, they float mana and cast CoCo, finding Rhonas and Vizier. Next turn, I cast Gideon of the Trials to neutralize Vizier beats. They cast Devoted Druid, but then scoop to Restore Balance the next turn.
Win 2-0
Affinity
Game 1, I'm on the draw and I mull to 5, keeping 2 Anger of the Gods, 2 lands, and a borderpost, with a second borderpost left on top of my library. The opponent plays an Arcbound Ravager and is able to play enough artifacts to protect Vault Skirge from Anger of the Gods. He has to go down to one land for this though, which slows him down. I Beast Within the SKirge and then cast my second Anger of the Gods two turns later. At this point, he only had Glimmervoid and the Anger took out his only artifact, so this left him with 0 permanents. Once he rebuilds, I just take everything out again with Restore Balance and win with GG beats.
In: 2 Wear / Tear, 2 Ghostly Prison, Out: Firewild Borderpost, Simian Spirit Guide, 2 Blood Moon
Game 2 was pretty straightforward. All it took was a Wear/Tear on my turn 1 borderpost to slow me down enough to give him the win. I even had back to back cascaders to deal with Hangarback Walk and the resulting tokens, but it still wasn't enough.
Game 3 I suspend a GG on turn 1 and he starts beating down with Signal Pest equipped with Cranial Plating on turn 2. I Wear the Plating, he takes out my borderpost with Ancient Grudge and I decide to just go all out and sac all my lands in response to a Balance, leaving him with just a Mox Opal. He gets me down to 6 thanks to Galvanic Blast and tries to win with Memnite beats. I'm able to sac enough artifacts/lands in order to cast GG in response to attacks, take out his one blocker, and then win with GG beats. That's an important trick to remember if you're running GG: he can be cast off suspend at instant-speed if you have things to sac.
Win 2-1
UR Kiln Fiend
I hadn't played this matchup before, but given that their win-con is very creature based, it feels pretty favored for us. My only concern is that they can sometimes get in a turn 3 win, which is game over if we're on the draw. I try playing cautiously in game 1, because I don't know how many counters they're running. I can cascade on turn 3, but decide to wait since I have Violent Outburst and figure they need to tap out to go for an early win. Sure enough, next turn the opponent taps out for three Kiln Fiend triggers plus Temur Battle Rage. I respond with Violent Outburst and save myself. I play Gideon, who's able to hold off another Fiend until I can find another cascader that wipes the opponent's board. They scoop.
In: 2 Ricochet Trap Out: 2 Blood Moon
Game 2 I keep a glorious hand with one basic land, 3 borderposts, 2 Ardent Plea and a Violent Outburst. The opponent counters my second borderpost, but after the second Restore Balance wipes all of their lands, they scoop.
Win 2-0
Overall, I'm very happy with my list right now. I definitely lucked out in a lot of ways, seeing as I didn't hit any of my terrible matchups. That being said, I'm pretty excited that I was able to go 5-0 with my favorite deck. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not 100% convinced on Bant Charm yet, but the combination of removal and a potential counter feels pretty good.
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I agree that finding things to cut when sideboarding is the hardest part. I'm still not super confident about it, but here's what I'd probably do in those match-ups:
Abzan midrange - OUT: Thassa, Blood Moon, SSG, Firewild Borderpost, IN: 2 Ghostly Prison, 2 Wear / Tear
4c CoCo - OUT: Thassa, Fieldmist Borderpost IN: 2 Ghostly Prison
Zoo - OUT: 3 Blood Moon, SSG IN: 2 Ghostly Prison, 2 Timely Reinforcements
Lantern - OUT: 2 Anger of the Gods, 3 Blood Moon, 2 SSG IN: 2 Wear / Tear, 3 Leylines, 2 Culling Scales