Hello, this is my first deck-list in the EDH Multiplayer subforum. I decided to post this list because out of all the decks I have ever played, I enjoy this one the most.
First off, I know I play staples, I am very cognizant of this fact.
Secondly: the meat. I built this deck around locking my opponents out of combat. I haven't met a lot of guys that will swing into Darien and a sister for anything less than lethal damage. That's the goal, stave your opponents off from attacking, while keeping Darien on the board. This is mainly achieved through consistently hitting land drops and accelerants to recast him. There is also a small package involving Stoneforge and a couple of equipment to help him stay on the board even when facing removal.
I guess the important part is explaining how the deck wins. We hit them. Simple, yes? I suppose I should still explain. There are two ways of winning through combat. The "I have a lot of pumped up creatures and creature tokens" route or the "Look, Darien has evasion and swings for a very good amount of general damage" route.
Next we have the roles of our cards. Any card that has an obvious role will not be accompanied by further explanation under its respective heading. Of course if there is a question pertaining to one of these cards (or any card) I will be more than happy to give you my best answer. Some card synergies will be listed here as well.
This list is for the cards that make our creatures, especially our (hopefully massive amount of) tokens, more fearsome.
Eldrazi Monument: Serves multiple roles, protecting our creatures, pumping our creatures, and giving them some evasion. Cradle of Vitality: We plan on gaining some life, so why not make our creatures bigger at the same time? Ajani Goldmane: Also gives creatures vigilance, great for the fact his buffing is not tied to him remaining on the board Elspeth, Knight-Errant: She falls here under buff, because her role is usually to give Darien a boost in power and give him some evasion, her soldier making ability can be useful as well when you have other buffs on the field. Marshal's Anthem: Serves a dual purpose of giving us a little more gas by putting a creature from our graveyard back into our hand. Adaptive Automaton: Why isn't this glorious anthem? I felt like the deck needed more dependable bodies. Captain of the Watch:She has a decent etb ability by making three soliders, but where she really shines is pumping them up and giving them my favorite ability in this deck: vigilance. Daru Warchief: Decent buff, but I think where he shines is allowing us to cast Darien a turn early (yes, Darien has been errated to be a soldier ). Gauntlet of Power: This is most likely my favorite card in the deck. It gives our guys some fangs in combat and allows us more options by giving us some more mana. It edges out Caged Sun because of its cheaper mana cost. Caged Sun: If Gauntlet of Power is my favorite card in the deck, you can bet the card that buffs our creatures and helps only our mana pool is my second favorite. Archangel of Thune: This is a card I need to test more, but I believe she is potentially bonkers, like Tom Cruise bonkers. Field Marshal Honor of the Pure Cathar's Crusade
These are some cool dudes and dudettes that put more dudes and dudettes on our side of the battlefield.
Hero of Bladehold: Also notable is her battle cry ability, which will make our creatures a little more fearsome in combat. Mobilization: I mentioned once in the Creature Buffs section how much I love vigilance, it still holds true. The fact we can throw as much mana into it at the end of our opponent's turn is great. We can get a pseudo-haste effect for multiple tokens. Benalish Commander: AKA, the beat stick. Usually when I'm dropping this guy down, he comes in with a power and toughness that is much more than fair for his casting or suspend cost. Elspeth Tirel: I'm a little hesitant to put her here instead of in the Life Gain section, but her -2 ability also gains life in most situations, so I'd say I use that ability more often. I'd also note her final ability can be useful with enough soldier tokens. Precinct Captain: I have a love hate relationship with this card. It's good to open in your first hand, but it stinks if you happen to draw it when and you're in late game. This is a card I am very open to suggestions of swapping. Martial Coup: I have casted this card without annihilating every other creature on the board. Those situations aren't often, but sometimes I'm comfortable with making a handful of soldiers with a high power. Kjeldoran Outpost: I don't count this card when deciding how many lands I should run. I decide on 37 lands as a good number and use the outpost as a quasi-enchantment that gets blown up by land destruction and has an additional casting cost of sacrificing a land. This card can take a little used to getting the timing down for it as it can mess with your tempo. Devout Invocation: Another card I need to test more. It has been good and bad. Somtimes tapping out for several four fours with flying is good, sometimes it isn't. This is another card that is high on the list of cuts. Conqueror's Pledge
Some say we only have one life to live, these cards would beg to differ.
Angelic Chorus: At first glance, this card seems pretty underwhelming, but when you combine it with the fact we have a lot of spells that buff our tokens and a decent number of effects that make tokens, we're seeing real gain in our life total. One damage for a 2/2 soldier will actually net gain us a life with chorus on the battlefield! Soul Warden: I'll say this once, any card that rewards us with life for creatures entering the battlefield will actually keep us from losing life with Darien on the battlefield. Note: It doesn't actually keep us from losing life, it keeps us from net-losing life. We still have to take the initial damage to make a token and gain life. Angel's Grace: This little number goes here because she will stop that lethal swing and will give us a decent amount of soldiers with Darien on the battlefield and actually keep our life total from going to one with Darien and a life gainer on the battlefield. I like this card over Worship, because it can't be answered and Worship is a visible threat. Path of Bravery: Sometimes isn't the hero we deserve, but is the hero we need. While it isn't ideal for us to be using this card as means of catch up in life, it isn't bad. It can be our pseudo-sister, or it can help us gain life when we have Darien and a Sister out, putting our lift total further and further away from that lethal swing. Not to mention it will buff our creatures when we hit a good total. Suture Priest: In general, I don't like to punish my opponents for playing cards. This is the one exception I make because its first ability is necessary for the deck and its second ability is only a minor drawback. I'd be more than happy to relieve her for a card that doesn't punish my opponent without an increase in mana cost. Soul's Attendant
The deck's biggest challenge is creating card advantage through extra draw, these are some of my answers.
Sensei's Divining Top: This staple gets a lot of hate. I myself don't include it in every deck. I don't like some of the other mana-intensive colorless draw-fixers, so I go with top. Land Tax: Even more than its ability to allow us to rarely miss land-drops, I love this card for the fact it thins our deck of land. I'm in the camp of hating a land draw deep in the game with plenty on board already. This is my best answer to that (besides something silly like Endless Horizons). Mask of Memory: I think the only reason this card doesn't see a lot of play is the popularity in multicolor decks, with one of those colors having draw power in it's slice of the pie (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, BLUE AND BLACK). It's a good fit in this deck, and we can even Stoneforge for it if we've already managed to draw some good equipment. It is also very reasonably costed. The trickiest part can be the damage getting it, but I'm sure we can find ways. Sword of Fire and Ice: Last I checked it wasn't a staple, but it has gained a lot of popularity. The protection is also very relevant, but as a monowhite deck, we are looking for good colorless spells to make up our draws.
These are cards I had to lump together in a vague heading
Salvage Scout: I like this guy for multiple reasons. 1) He brings back my artifacts. 2) I can search for him with Ranger of Eos if I already have a few sisters. 3) I can bring him back with Sun Titan's tirggered ability. Knight-Captain of Eos: For those times you just don't want to get in the face. Expedition Map: This card is a champion. It searches for our Emeria or our Ancient Tomb, maybe even outpost if we were lucky enough to draw into the other two. Ancient Tomb: I love turning drawbacks into advantages. We can make two soldiers a turn with this card and Darien on the field. With a sister as well, we don't actually lose life. Mana Vault: This one burns good too, and y'know, gives us a decent bang for our buck mana wise. You just have to learn the right situation in which to untap it. Stoneforge Mystic: I think three very good equipment is excuse enough to run her, especially when the deck's biggest drawback is being able to get those extra draws and we are running a couple equipment that will let us draw in the right circumstances.
This card needs its own heading
Darien, King of Kjeldor: We can double the tokens made by Darien's triggered ability. Precinct Captain: Two is better than one Stoneforge Mystic: I like it when my creatures get to dual wield swords. Hero of Bladehold: We actually have two here. Battlecry and the soldier making effect. Depending on the board state, we will choose the most appropriate target. Ranger of Eos: Get all our one drops! Archangel of Thune: MORE POWA (and toughness). It may not always be the best option depending on your board state, but it is something to keep in mind when tangled in a convoluted board state where every point of damage matters. Sun Titan: There are plenty of cards with cmc 3 or less in the deck and I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them wound up in the graveyard. Sun Titan actually brings back the resonator for more shenanigans. Land Tax: I can't think of many times we need six basic lands in our hand, but deck thinning isn't a bad thing, plus it gives us targets to discard to our Mask of Memory and gives us Sun Titan targets as well (all of which can also be copied by the resonator). Cradle of Vitality: We can now make two fatties. Cathars' Crusade: This one is in the same position as the archangel, but still good to be aware of. Mask of Memory: Manufacturing more ways to draw Sword of Fire and Ice: The two extra damage won't always be relevant, but I still love drawing cards. Sword of Light and Shadow: The life gain may not be great, but bringing back two creature cards to your hand is. Emeria, the Sky Ruin: Recursion is good
Cards I didn't include for various reasons
Mana Crypt: Currently on the list for expense and fear that it may be banned due to its availability issue mixed with its level of power. Would consider including it later. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: I don't like praetors. I think they go too far in punishing your opponent. I took a solemn oath to never run a praetor, even the bad ones from original Ravnica Block and Empires. Serra Ascendant: Turn one, this guy is just unfair. I don't get a lot of joy out of playing him.
Cards I want to test
Well of Lost Dreams: Our deck gains life and I would love to be rewarded for that by extra draws. It seems good now, but I have yet to acquire one and test it. Jade Monolith: I like the idea of being able to save my blockers and make soldiers or save Darien. It also has some political implications that definitely need some testing.
Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, and let me know what you think.
I do have a question for you though, did I use too many spoiler tags and if so, should I get rid of all of them or just some?
First off, I know I play staples, I am very cognizant of this fact.
Secondly: the meat. I built this deck around locking my opponents out of combat. I haven't met a lot of guys that will swing into Darien and a sister for anything less than lethal damage. That's the goal, stave your opponents off from attacking, while keeping Darien on the board. This is mainly achieved through consistently hitting land drops and accelerants to recast him. There is also a small package involving Stoneforge and a couple of equipment to help him stay on the board even when facing removal.
I guess the important part is explaining how the deck wins. We hit them. Simple, yes? I suppose I should still explain. There are two ways of winning through combat. The "I have a lot of pumped up creatures and creature tokens" route or the "Look, Darien has evasion and swings for a very good amount of general damage" route.
6 Darien, King of Kjeldor
//Creatures (18)
1 Salvage Scout
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Soul Warden
1 Soul's Attendant
2 Suture Priest
2 Ballyrush Banneret
2 Precinct Captain
2 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Field Marshal
3 Adaptive Automaton
4 Daru Warchief
4 Benalish Commander
4 Hero of Bladehold
4 Ranger of Eos
5 Knight-Captain of Eos
5 Catapult Master
5 Archangel of Thune
6 Captain of the Watch
6 Sun Titan
//Planeswalkers (3)
4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Ajani Goldmane
5 Elspeth Tirel
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
3 Extraplanar Lens
3 Worn Powerstone
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Coalition Relic
5 Gauntlet of Power
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Caged Sun
//Enchantments (10)
1 Land tax
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Path to Bravery
3 Mobilization
4 Cradle of Vitality
4 Marshal's Anthem
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Angelic Chorus
//Other Artifacts (9)
1 Expedition Map
1 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Strionic Resonator
2 Mask of Memory
3 Sword of Light and Shadow
3 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Darksteel Plate
5 Eldrazi Monument
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Angel's Grace
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
3 Crib Swap
4 Return to Dust
4 Wrath of God
4 Day of Judgment
5 Conqueror's Pledge
7 Martial Coup
7 Hour of Reckoning
7 Devout Invocation
//Lands (38)
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
35 Snow-Covered Plains
Deck-list as of 7/22/13
Next we have the roles of our cards. Any card that has an obvious role will not be accompanied by further explanation under its respective heading. Of course if there is a question pertaining to one of these cards (or any card) I will be more than happy to give you my best answer. Some card synergies will be listed here as well.
This list is for the cards that make our creatures, especially our (hopefully massive amount of) tokens, more fearsome.
Eldrazi Monument: Serves multiple roles, protecting our creatures, pumping our creatures, and giving them some evasion.
Cradle of Vitality: We plan on gaining some life, so why not make our creatures bigger at the same time?
Ajani Goldmane: Also gives creatures vigilance, great for the fact his buffing is not tied to him remaining on the board
Elspeth, Knight-Errant: She falls here under buff, because her role is usually to give Darien a boost in power and give him some evasion, her soldier making ability can be useful as well when you have other buffs on the field.
Marshal's Anthem: Serves a dual purpose of giving us a little more gas by putting a creature from our graveyard back into our hand.
Adaptive Automaton: Why isn't this glorious anthem? I felt like the deck needed more dependable bodies.
Captain of the Watch:She has a decent etb ability by making three soliders, but where she really shines is pumping them up and giving them my favorite ability in this deck: vigilance.
Daru Warchief: Decent buff, but I think where he shines is allowing us to cast Darien a turn early (yes, Darien has been errated to be a soldier ).
Gauntlet of Power: This is most likely my favorite card in the deck. It gives our guys some fangs in combat and allows us more options by giving us some more mana. It edges out Caged Sun because of its cheaper mana cost.
Caged Sun: If Gauntlet of Power is my favorite card in the deck, you can bet the card that buffs our creatures and helps only our mana pool is my second favorite.
Archangel of Thune: This is a card I need to test more, but I believe she is potentially bonkers, like Tom Cruise bonkers.
Field Marshal
Honor of the Pure
Cathar's Crusade
These are some cool dudes and dudettes that put more dudes and dudettes on our side of the battlefield.
Hero of Bladehold: Also notable is her battle cry ability, which will make our creatures a little more fearsome in combat.
Mobilization: I mentioned once in the Creature Buffs section how much I love vigilance, it still holds true. The fact we can throw as much mana into it at the end of our opponent's turn is great. We can get a pseudo-haste effect for multiple tokens.
Benalish Commander: AKA, the beat stick. Usually when I'm dropping this guy down, he comes in with a power and toughness that is much more than fair for his casting or suspend cost.
Elspeth Tirel: I'm a little hesitant to put her here instead of in the Life Gain section, but her -2 ability also gains life in most situations, so I'd say I use that ability more often. I'd also note her final ability can be useful with enough soldier tokens.
Precinct Captain: I have a love hate relationship with this card. It's good to open in your first hand, but it stinks if you happen to draw it when and you're in late game. This is a card I am very open to suggestions of swapping.
Martial Coup: I have casted this card without annihilating every other creature on the board. Those situations aren't often, but sometimes I'm comfortable with making a handful of soldiers with a high power.
Kjeldoran Outpost: I don't count this card when deciding how many lands I should run. I decide on 37 lands as a good number and use the outpost as a quasi-enchantment that gets blown up by land destruction and has an additional casting cost of sacrificing a land. This card can take a little used to getting the timing down for it as it can mess with your tempo.
Devout Invocation: Another card I need to test more. It has been good and bad. Somtimes tapping out for several four fours with flying is good, sometimes it isn't. This is another card that is high on the list of cuts.
Conqueror's Pledge
Some say we only have one life to live, these cards would beg to differ.
Angelic Chorus: At first glance, this card seems pretty underwhelming, but when you combine it with the fact we have a lot of spells that buff our tokens and a decent number of effects that make tokens, we're seeing real gain in our life total. One damage for a 2/2 soldier will actually net gain us a life with chorus on the battlefield!
Soul Warden: I'll say this once, any card that rewards us with life for creatures entering the battlefield will actually keep us from losing life with Darien on the battlefield. Note: It doesn't actually keep us from losing life, it keeps us from net-losing life. We still have to take the initial damage to make a token and gain life.
Angel's Grace: This little number goes here because she will stop that lethal swing and will give us a decent amount of soldiers with Darien on the battlefield and actually keep our life total from going to one with Darien and a life gainer on the battlefield. I like this card over Worship, because it can't be answered and Worship is a visible threat.
Path of Bravery: Sometimes isn't the hero we deserve, but is the hero we need. While it isn't ideal for us to be using this card as means of catch up in life, it isn't bad. It can be our pseudo-sister, or it can help us gain life when we have Darien and a Sister out, putting our lift total further and further away from that lethal swing. Not to mention it will buff our creatures when we hit a good total.
Suture Priest: In general, I don't like to punish my opponents for playing cards. This is the one exception I make because its first ability is necessary for the deck and its second ability is only a minor drawback. I'd be more than happy to relieve her for a card that doesn't punish my opponent without an increase in mana cost.
Soul's Attendant
The deck's biggest challenge is creating card advantage through extra draw, these are some of my answers.
Sensei's Divining Top: This staple gets a lot of hate. I myself don't include it in every deck. I don't like some of the other mana-intensive colorless draw-fixers, so I go with top.
Land Tax: Even more than its ability to allow us to rarely miss land-drops, I love this card for the fact it thins our deck of land. I'm in the camp of hating a land draw deep in the game with plenty on board already. This is my best answer to that (besides something silly like Endless Horizons).
Mask of Memory: I think the only reason this card doesn't see a lot of play is the popularity in multicolor decks, with one of those colors having draw power in it's slice of the pie (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, BLUE AND BLACK). It's a good fit in this deck, and we can even Stoneforge for it if we've already managed to draw some good equipment. It is also very reasonably costed. The trickiest part can be the damage getting it, but I'm sure we can find ways.
Sword of Fire and Ice: Last I checked it wasn't a staple, but it has gained a lot of popularity. The protection is also very relevant, but as a monowhite deck, we are looking for good colorless spells to make up our draws.
These are cards I had to lump together in a vague heading
Salvage Scout: I like this guy for multiple reasons. 1) He brings back my artifacts. 2) I can search for him with Ranger of Eos if I already have a few sisters. 3) I can bring him back with Sun Titan's tirggered ability.
Knight-Captain of Eos: For those times you just don't want to get in the face.
Expedition Map: This card is a champion. It searches for our Emeria or our Ancient Tomb, maybe even outpost if we were lucky enough to draw into the other two.
Ancient Tomb: I love turning drawbacks into advantages. We can make two soldiers a turn with this card and Darien on the field. With a sister as well, we don't actually lose life.
Mana Vault: This one burns good too, and y'know, gives us a decent bang for our buck mana wise. You just have to learn the right situation in which to untap it.
Stoneforge Mystic: I think three very good equipment is excuse enough to run her, especially when the deck's biggest drawback is being able to get those extra draws and we are running a couple equipment that will let us draw in the right circumstances.
This card needs its own heading
Darien, King of Kjeldor: We can double the tokens made by Darien's triggered ability.
Precinct Captain: Two is better than one
Stoneforge Mystic: I like it when my creatures get to dual wield swords.
Hero of Bladehold: We actually have two here. Battlecry and the soldier making effect. Depending on the board state, we will choose the most appropriate target.
Ranger of Eos: Get all our one drops!
Archangel of Thune: MORE POWA (and toughness). It may not always be the best option depending on your board state, but it is something to keep in mind when tangled in a convoluted board state where every point of damage matters.
Sun Titan: There are plenty of cards with cmc 3 or less in the deck and I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them wound up in the graveyard. Sun Titan actually brings back the resonator for more shenanigans.
Land Tax: I can't think of many times we need six basic lands in our hand, but deck thinning isn't a bad thing, plus it gives us targets to discard to our Mask of Memory and gives us Sun Titan targets as well (all of which can also be copied by the resonator).
Cradle of Vitality: We can now make two fatties.
Cathars' Crusade: This one is in the same position as the archangel, but still good to be aware of.
Mask of Memory: Manufacturing more ways to draw
Sword of Fire and Ice: The two extra damage won't always be relevant, but I still love drawing cards.
Sword of Light and Shadow: The life gain may not be great, but bringing back two creature cards to your hand is.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin: Recursion is good
Cards I didn't include for various reasons
Mana Crypt: Currently on the list for expense and fear that it may be banned due to its availability issue mixed with its level of power. Would consider including it later.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: I don't like praetors. I think they go too far in punishing your opponent. I took a solemn oath to never run a praetor, even the bad ones from original Ravnica Block and Empires.
Serra Ascendant: Turn one, this guy is just unfair. I don't get a lot of joy out of playing him.
Cards I want to test
Well of Lost Dreams: Our deck gains life and I would love to be rewarded for that by extra draws. It seems good now, but I have yet to acquire one and test it.
Jade Monolith: I like the idea of being able to save my blockers and make soldiers or save Darien. It also has some political implications that definitely need some testing.
Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, and let me know what you think.
I do have a question for you though, did I use too many spoiler tags and if so, should I get rid of all of them or just some?