What Is BW Tokens?
BW Tokens is a deck with widely different definitions. Some consider it an aggro-swarm deck that aims to win with a horde of tokens. Others consider it a grindy midrange deck that is known for making Jund cry with the card advantage offered by cards such as Lingering Souls and Spectral Procession and a variety of hand attack and removal spells. Still others consider the deck to be a BW control deck centered around hand attack, the best removal available to black and white, and more recently, Ghost Quarter, and seeks to end the game by outvalueing the opponent with cards that produce multiple threats at once. So this really begs the question: what the heck is this deck? The answer is that there is no real answer. BW Tokens is a meta deck at heart, which means that it can be built to fight in any given meta. Affinity and midrange are king of the hill? Outgrind them with Lingering Souls and hand attack. Is Burn and fast aggro the name of the game? You get to experience the hilarity of maindeck Timely Reinforcements. However, each variant will share a few aspects. The first is targeted discard and efficient removal, such as Duress and Path to Exile. The second is that any variant will be a "fair" deck - we aren't trying to assemble a doomsday device or combo out. A skilled pilot can come out of left field and secure victory easily in a known meta. With this core knowledge out of the way, let's get to the card choices.
Many builds recently have begun splashing a third color (particularly red but I've seen green) for more targeted removal and better sideboard cards. Other players, including myself, have enjoyed success with Liliana of the Veil. This primer WILL NOT be covering their inclusion, along with the on-color fetch, Marsh Flats. Why? Because this is a budget primer, and for many players, these cards (or what cards enable them in terms of the splash) are not what comes to mind when someone thinks budget. However, as you will see, these cards are never auto-includes for this deck, or necessary, and with the printing of the Onslaught fetches in Khans of Tarkir, budget players can fetch out the lands they need, albeit with less flexibility.
Card Choices
The numbers shown here are for traditional lists, i.e., a grindy midrange game. Some of these are also hard and fast rules, while others are far more flexible. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide what you want to play, and I will state when a card should be included. I am going to go over what shell these cards fit best in before I go over the various shells so you can see what looks the most competitive and go from there.
NOTE: You will see the terms "aggro," "midrange," and "control" being used to describe varies builds of BW Tokens. I use these terms loosely to indicate the speed that they aim to win, with aggro jamming in as many tokens as possible as early as possible, midrange being the average tokens deck (otherwise denoted as "traditional" lists) and control aiming to slow roll the whole game.
Token Generators: Generally 12-16
This is the single most flexible spot in the deck, and what you play is entirely based upon the shell you are running. Lingering Souls - This card is a massive beating against midrange decks, such as Jund, and the swarms of artifacts that Affinity vomits out onto the table. This is the best card in the deck, and offers extreme flexibility against an opponent's Liliana of the Veil. We are never sad to see Lingering Souls, and is an auto four-of in any variation. Spectral Procession - Our mana base is designed to cast this card for 3 white mana, but isn't too shabby casting it for two white and two generic. his is very similar to Lingering Souls. However, if you are running Ghost Quarter in the maindeck, do not run this card. The mana is too stressful for this deck to handle. Instead, you should be playing... Midnight Haunting - Instant speed Lingering Souls, but is slightly below the curve. If you think GQ is necessary, or you just love blowing up lands, this is your Spectral Procession. It is, however, a little too slow for aggro and midrangey versions, so run Spectral if you don't mainboard GQ. Raise the Alarm - This is the big upside to playing the aggro shell. Two 1/1's for two mana at instant speed is pretty bread and butter in this deck. On a budget, it is a great four of. However, it can feel pretty mediocre at times, but the instant speed allows for some fun blocking shenanigans. Flashing in 2/2's after an anthem has hit the board is nuts against fast aggro, but just a bunch of chump blockers otherwise. At the end of the day, this card is worth the inclusion in your deck. I personally would run 3-4. Secure the Wastes - This card is very interesting. It scales very well into the late game, but is just terrible if X<3. The only place this card sees play is as a one or two-of in control shells. If you are playing a control game, this card is for you, right next to Lingering Souls and Midnight Haunting. If not, there are better options for you than this card.
Hand Attack: 6-9
Hand attack is traditionally one of the most expensive parts of buying a Modern deck. However, there are very plausible replacements to the very expensive ones, such as Inquisition of Kozilek, which is somehow almost twice as expensive as Thoughtseize now. I personally recommend dedicating a larger portion of your budget to hand attack and removal due to how important they are. Do not skimp on this partof your deck! We do better in the late game, unless you are aggro, in which case hand attack is even more important because they will naturally draw fewer cards over the course of the game. Budget hand attack is difficult because they are not as versatile or effective as Thoughtseize or IoK. With this in mind, you will need to eventually make the upgrade. Thoughtseize - 1 black mana to hit anything that may cause us trouble. Always worth at most 3 slots; 4 is a bit excessive because the life loss hurts us. While this card is rather expensive for budget purposes, anyone on a $200-250 budget is going to want this card. Duress - The single best discard spell if you are on a budget. Duress does it all, although it was much better when Twin was around. Still, there is no reason not to run a playset. Castigate - This one is a little bit awkward. I have never personally run it, but I've heard that it is a decent card for our purposes. The exile is not irrelevant either, especially against Goyf decks. I would only run this if you think you won't be doing much turn two, but only as a two-of. Avoid this if possible. Tidehollow Sculler - This is an interesting one. Running creatures mainboard in this deck is bad because it makes your opponent's spot removal much better. Usually, spot removal is terrible against us because we generate 2-3 or even 4 creatures from just one card, essentially a 2 or 3-for-1 against our opponent. However, Tidehollow is one of the few exceptions. A 2/2 body for two with discard is actually very good in the aggro shell, and decent in the traditional versions, although he is worse there. It is worth noting that if an opponent removes it before you get to exile with him, his leaves the battlefield trigger resolve before you get to exile a card, essentially spending two mana to force your opponent to discard two cards permanently: one because of casting removal and one for the enters the battlefield trigger. What is also worth noting is what to take with Sculler. Most would think to take the removal to keep the Sculler. However, sometimes the correct play is to take a creature or another important card to force your opponent to remove it, essentially a tempo loss for your opponent. This isn't always true, but knowing what to hit with Sculler is a very useful skill. TL:DR, Sculler is worth 3-4 slots in a deck, but is overshadowed by TS and IoK. It is entirely reasonable to decide to not include him when tallying up your discard spells, but rather running him in addition to other discard spells.
Creatures: This is entirely dependent on the build, but typically the answer is zero in the maindeck. However, there are a couple of exceptions other than the aforementioned Tidehollow Sculler. Hero of Bladehold - For her mana cost, she does a lot. Creating dudes when she attacks and pumping the whole team up makes combat math miserable for the opponent. She is only good in aggro shells, and typically a sideboard card for when the opponent boards out removal. However, in aggro, she is worth 2 mainboard slots, right next to Sculler's 4, a total of 6 creatures. It's high, but I've been told it works great. Not a must include for aggro, but a very respectable option. Leonin Arbiter - If you can't beat 'em, make their mana base really bad. This Leonin Mafioso is a pain in the rear for any 2-3 colored deck to play against. In some of your opponent's openers, they will literally not be able to cast spells if they don't crack their fetches in response to him being cast. Any Chord of Calling deck will HATE this guy. Super sweet in midange and control, and I recommend running 3-4 if you choose to run him.
Removal: 4-6, with aggro running fewer and midrange and control running the most. Path to Exile - I don't need to explain this. Run 4 Dismember - -5/-5 is nothing to sneeze at, and is very capable of, well... dismembering large creatures. Goyf will almost always die to this, along with anything else. The ability to pay life is a very nice bonus, but is an issue to consider. Murderous Cut - My personal favorite to run next to Path, one black mana to kill anything is ridiculous. Only ever run one because we really don't want to delve out Souls and we don't generally fill our yard fast enough. Slaughter Pact - Sometimes you just have to kill something, no matter what the cost is. The upkeep cost needs to be factored in before casting this, such as what three less mana will do to your game plan. A fine one-of, but I feel there are better options.
Anthems: 4-6. Aggro builds are going to run far more than any other variant, while traditional list want to run four. Intangible Virtue - Auto 4 of unless you feel you don't need it. The vigilance is far more relevant than most would think. There is nothing more satisfying than +1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor with this in play, and then your opponent tries to swing back. It's gross, and the lifegain is outrageous. Honor of the Pure - Only play if you are in an aggro shell, because aggro needs the pump. Traditional lists don't need this card.
In a similar vein, but not quite an anthem is Zealous Persecution. It was way better when Twin still existed, but is still great against Burn, Affinity, and other fast aggro decks because it is often a one-sided board wipe. It's worth 1 or 2 slots in your deck if you're midrange or aggro. Control will typically ignore this card in favor of Wrath of God. Do not count Persecution when you are counting up your anthem effects in your list. Rather, think of it as a utility spell.
Planeswalker: ~3-4. This number is also very flexible. In fact, a ran 6 for a few weeks! There are lots of walkers that do very different things, but my experience, along with the experience of others, has shown that there are a few great ones out there. Sorin, Solemn Visitor - This guy + Intangible Virtue is probably the best play in this deck. He is an absolute house when we have 2 or 3 guys in play. He can make tokens, but typically if we are doing that we are in a losing position and desperately need a creature. Always run at least 2, but I personally run 3. Elspeth, Knight-Errant Don't discredit her for making one token. She's a fine inclusion, but less and less players are running her these days. On a budget, she's fine. However, given the popularity of Sorin SV she's kind of been overshadowed. Most lists don't even touch he anymore. She great in aggro builds (Jumping a Sculler or Hero of Bladehold is just funny), but her usefulness goes down with how slow your deck is. The power boost can really turn games around though, so she carries an odd risk/reward factor to her. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - The newest addition to our arsenal, Gideon has proven his worth several times over. He's a token generator, and anthem, and a solid beater if we need it. Being a 4 mana anthem isn't terrible, and the 2/2 tokens he makes only get larger with our other anthems. I haven't seen any list that play more than 2, and Sorin is almost always played with as as many slots dedicated to him as Gideon. Even though Sorin takes charge when it comes to planeswalkers, don't count Gideon out. He never ceases to impress.
Lands: 24, no exceptions. You need to hit land drops in this deck, and running 23 lands will have you mana screwed in no time. The general consensus is 24, and I wouldn't stray away from that. On a budget, you will almost always find yourself playing a playset of Isolated Chapel and 3-4 Caves of Koilos. If you can afford Godless Shrine, get your playset. It is far easier to play with a playset of shocks then it is with a playset of fetches. If you get Shrines, swap them in for Caves of Koilos, although running one Caves is never a bad idea. Any fetches you run must be able to get white (the cheapest one currently is Windswept Heath ). Fetid Heath is nice to have, but not necessary. Get two somewhere down the road. As for basics, a single Swamp is always necessary to get when something gets Pathed, although I personally play two. For utility lands, there are a few option, and you will always be playing some number of these, but certainly not all of them. Shambling Vent - Taps for both colors and become a guy with a relevant body in the late game. Entering tapped sucks, but if you can jump him with Elspeth he's nuts. Most lists don't run him, but I feel like he is worth, at most, two slots. Windbrisk Heights - The only pseudo card draw available to us. This can blow out games with an instant speed Intangible Virtue. Note that this card ignores normal timing restrictions. It does enter tapped, so you really shouldn't run more than 3 between this and Vents, but I play 2 Heights and 2 Vents and get along just fine for the most part (Yes, awkward hands do exist). Vault of the Archangel - This being our only colorless source (usually) means that we can still play Spectral and this. It can swing games around, making combat a nightmare. Only ever run one, but you are always going to be running this unless you play... Ghost Quarter - If you are playing this, you aren't running 2. You are running 4 mainboard or 3 in the main and one in the side. Only use in control strategies, alongside Midnight Haunting, Secure the Wastes, others. You will not be playing Vault in the main if you play this.
Of course, there several other options you could run. Here's a list of just a few, and I will try to make this list more complete as time goes on. This list makes up of cards that have proven their worth but don't often see play and cards that are untested but have potential. These are in no particular order, so dig in and find something you think is cool!
Hanweir Militia Captain - A white Bitterblossom? This card seems really cool, but extremely difficult to untap with. Perhaps it can shine in some list. Call the Bloodline - Turns unnecessary lands into tokens. However, it is very slow, but when you're running slow isn't that where this card shines? Promise of Bunrei - One of my favorite cards in Magic, and definitely my favorite card on this list. It protects against wraths and even makes attacking absolutely terrible for your opponent. Please, somebody try this! Gather the Townsfolk - Functionally a second Raise the Alarm, but it is a sorcery. Fateful Hour is not irrelevant in Modern, and when it's on, this card is absolutely insane: it will get you back into the game, but it is a nonbo with Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Hour of Reckoning - A Plague Wind that your tokens can tap into. Those who run this have reported that you can just blow out your opponent.
Sideboard
When sideboarding, it is important to remember a couple of things.
1. Is my opponent using X resource in a meaningful way?
2. Is this card better than another card in my deck already?
If the answer to any of these is no, you probably aren't bringing that card in. However, when you are sideboarding, you aren't trying to bring in cards that inconvenience your opponent. You want to absolutely ruin their day. Also remember that it is impossible to have sideboard cards for each matchup, so build your sideboard for your meta. DO NOT netdeck a sideboard UNLESS you are heading into an unknown meta. It is not built for your meta, but it can suit just fine for a start. Also try not to have two cards in your sideboard that fill the same role (For example, don't play Relic of Progenitus and Rest in Peace). This is a list of our options, and I've tried to include as many as I can. Post something if you have suggestions!
Stony Silence - Beats up on Affinity and Tron, two popular decks. Tron is an absolute miserable matchup for us, but having this card makes everything easier. Affinity doesn't mind it as much, but it does make Cranial Plating and Darksteel Citadel really bad Kataki, War's Wage - The Tabrnacle at Pendrell Vale for artifacts. A huge beating for Affinity. Burrenton Forge-Tender - If Grixis and UWR Control are popular, this card is an all-star in the the sideboard. He's also great to board in against Affinity to counter their Whipflare post-board. Relic of Progenitus - Graveyard hate that doesn't stop Lingering Souls. We can also draw a card out of it in a pinch. Rest in Peace - Because Tarmogoyf and Snapcaster Mage suck. Duress - You should play some amount of extra hand attack in the sideboard for control and combo matchups if you have Thoughtseize and IoK. If not, you may want to save those SB slots for something else. Hero of Bladehold - If you aren't playing this in the MB, you might be running this fine gal in the side. NOTE: You should ALWAYS have a few beefy creatures in the sideboard for games 2 and 3. Your opponent will board out most of their spot removal against you. Brimaz, King of Oreskos - The alternative to Hero. I wouldn't mainboard this guy because he fights for the 3 mana slot. While each has it's pros and cons, Hero is generally thought to be better, but I like this guy a lot too. The vigilance is a massive beating on combat math. Play two in the sideboard if you aren't doing so with Hero. If you mainboard Hero, leave this guy out. Zealous Persecution - It's fine as a one of in the SB, but really only does work against Affinity, Elves, and other aggro decks. Only slot it in if aggro is present. Ghost Quarter - Generally you want to have at least two in the SB. Keeps Tron off of their mana. It's also great against decks like Kiki-Chord, 4c Gifts, and other decks that decided to get greedy with their manabase. Timely Reinforcements - The hard stop to aggro decks. The life gain and bodies are ridiculous for the cost, but require a certain setup. If you can go painland into Thoughtseize you should be fine, so long as you don't play any token generators beforehand. This definitely deserves a few slots, and can even be mainboarded if you so choose. Grafdigger's Cage - Doesn't stop Living End, it makes Abzan Company and Gifts Ungiven decks cry. Very solid silver bullet. Hallowed Moonlight - Nahiri decks and Collected Company decks beware! Really great if there is a heavy amount of creature-based combo decks in your metagame. Torpor Orb - While Moonlight is pretty sweet, this completely shuts down the Melira combo until they can remove this. You also don't have to leave mana open for it, and you can be proactive after playing this. We are also unaffected by this, whereas Moonlight can lead to awkward situationin which we nuke some fresh tokens to shut down a combo. Pithing Needle - Great for when the opponent is using a combo that relies on ACTIVATED ABILITIES. Also great against man lands, planeswalkers, and other abilities. Surgical Extraction, Extirpate, and similar effects - Great for when the opponent is is NOT using activated abilities or if you can hit an integral part of their deck with removal or have it somehow end up in the grave. The choice is really yours on which you want to use, but Extirpate having split second is a boon against control decks while you can cast Surgical while being tapped out. Stain the Mind is hilarious. The look on opponents' faces is amazing when you just name something and then get it out.
Sample Decklists
Traditional List
I have divided this section into a few subsections. One is what an average decklist looks like. Then, I will go over matchups and a guide to playing the deck. Finally I will go over the decklists I recommend building. Note that this list is not included there, but you could certainly start with it.
Matchups
Despite the multiple variations of BW Tokens, the matchups are fairly similar. However, it's worth noting that some matchups are entirely dependent on the sideboard. While you can't possibly pack hate for all of these, you can prepare yourself for a given meta. I have provided some base statistics where I can, and given a basic idea of the matchup where I can't.
*UNDER CONSTRUCTION*
Affinity 50/50
This matchup is pretty much even both pre- and post-sideboard. Game one is all about landing anthems and gaining life thanks to Sorin. Zealous Persecution is essentially a Plague Wind. Kill Master of Etherium and Steel Overseer on sight. Be sure to factor in Arcbound Ravager activations when calculating combat math. Post-board bring in something to protect your team from Whipflare and pack artifact hate.
Jund 60/40 pre-board 50/50 post-board
Despite the saying that Lingering Souls makes Jund cry, don't blow off this matchup as a freebie because you will be punished. Discard their threats and leave their removal because it sucks against us. Despite the possibility, they will not die to Dark Confident, so kill it or else it will cause them to kill you. They will bring in sweepers such as Anger of the Gods or Damnation, so try to bring in more threats and removal to neuter both their threats and answers. Discard is TERRIBLE against them so bring it all out and become the beatdown.
Burn Massively dependent on build, but generally favorable both pre- and post-board
Lightning Bolt: The Deck. If Sorin sticks, they lose the game. Just keep holding on for as long as you can and trade for their creatures. Using discard against their burn sets them pretty far back. Expect Destructive Revelry out of the sideboard.
Bogles Largely terrible, but the statistics are hard to get. 30/70?
Just awful. Their guys (guy?) just get huge so fast that we can't keep up, and removing them is impossible. Post board in Ghost Quarter to shut down Dryad Arbor, which they will load up if you let them. Get Celestial Flare in your sideboard if a Bogles player exists in your meta.
Living End Pretty disgusting pre-board, but favorable post-board
Who likes wraths effects all the time? We don't. That's fine because if you can remove their cascade effects you can delay the inevitable in game one. Never flashback Lingering Souls until after a Living End resolves. Bring in grave hate and removal, and hope for the best!
Jeskai ControlI originally thought this was a very difficult matchup until I talked to a UWR Control pilot and played against him. They just can't keep up with our inherent card advantage because they can't actually gain any outside of Snapcaster Mage. Serum Visions only replaces itself, people! Just keep jamming your tokens generators and you'll win. Furthermore, almost all of their creatures have 1 toughness, so Zealous Persecution is incredibly, well, zealous in killing their stuff! Kill Nahiri like she's number one on the FBI's most wanted list. Pack Anguished Unmakings to kill her, but watch out for Celestial Colonnade beats in the late game, but this shouldn't be a problem because so much of our stuff flies.
Abzan Company 50/50, but dependent on draws A very resilient deck that looks to win with the Melira, Sylvok Outcast/Kitchen Finks/Viscera Seer combo. This deck backs it with Collected Company and Chord of Calling, creating a very strong search engine. Path to Exile is pretty good, but you need to keep bashing their face while simultaneously killing their creatures whenever you can. This matchup is a real grind, but very winnable. Just get ready to kill whatever you can. Surgical Extraction and other similar effects are pretty great post-board, with the best targets being Viscera Seer and Kitchen Finks. The crown jewel, however, is Grafdigger's Cage. Play it watch them weep! At least, as long as they don't have Qasali Pridemage in play, which they will surely bring more in from the sideboard.
How to Play BW Tokens
This is taken directly from the BW Tokens primer written by michaelvogler in the Developing Competitive thread. There will be a link to it at the end of the primer.
First, determine your mulligan strategy. The ideal hand has 2-3 lands, 1 Lingering Souls/Spectral Procession, 1 Intangible Virtue or Sorin, 1 Discard effect, and [a playable or relevant spell This can be more hand attack, a second token generator, or a removal spell. A second anthem effect is not generally optimal but it varies from hand to hand. Replace the word "Bitterblossom" with whatever seems most relevant]. You can reasonably mulligan down to 6 and achieve this. If you mulligan much further than this, you want to look for hands that get you land and discard effects.
If you do not find yourself with one or more of these cards (minus lands), the following math can help you make the decision to mulligan:
The probability of drawing 1 token generator in the first 8 cards you see is 85%. The probability of drawing into you spectral procession or lingering souls within the first 9 cards is 75%.
If you run 7 discard effects, the probability of drawing into one with your opening hand (7 cards) is 60%.
6 Removal effects will yield you about a 54% chance of drawing one in your opening hand.
The probability that you will draw into a creature buff within the first 10 cards is about 83%.
Basically, you need to think about your matchup and prioritize what you want to have in the opening hand. If you choose to mulligan down to six, that is fine and you might want to keep the hand even if you don’t have a token generator because it is far less likely that you will draw into a discard or removal effect by turn 2 than a token generator.
Second, and again depending upon the matchup, you ought to try to force a discard on turn 1. That is highly desireable if you can turn 2 bitterblossom and turn 3 lingering souls/spectral procession. Otherwise, don’t be afraid to play a land tapped the first turn and then thoughtseize on turn 2.
Third, we generally want to cast a token generating spell by turn 3. Usually, that spell is Lingering Souls or Spectral Procession. However, if you haven’t drawn a discard effect until this turn (and we are 74% to do so) then you should strongly consider casting it. This is especially true of combo matchups since your opponent is trying to assemble all of their pieces and will probably have most of them here.
Fourth, once we have some tokens we try to take care of them so they can go to work. Turn 4 and later see us using Windbrisk Heights, Intangible Virtue, and Sorin.
With 12 token generators, we are at 42% to see two copies in our opening hand. As the game progresses, you are at about 93% to draw another one by the 12th card (if you want that card to be a Spectral Procession type effect, the probability is around 81% by the 12th card). That means that if the first generator gets countered, you will probably draw another one by about turn 5. That has major implications for Sorin, since his -2 ability gets you a token but his -6 forces your opponent to sacrifice creatures. The odds are good that if you -2 Sorin, you will lose him or the token by the next turn and set your game plan back.
Sample Decklists
In this section, I will list several decklists that I recommend as both a starting build or a starting template for designing your own decklists. I will briefly state what I like and dislike, and provide links if there is any sort of videos associated with the list. Without further ado, the lists!
Yes, the Modern Event deck is a competitive, intro point into BW Tokens. You can find this for various prices, but probably cheaper online than at your LGS. Despite everybody bashing on it, it still contains 3 Paths and 2 IoK's, which is nothing to scoff at. Although it is more of an old school build, a few upgrades and you're there! I would personally cut the Shrines and the Sword in favor of 3 Sorins and try to find some room for the fourth Tidehollow Sculler. Soul Warden is not very good, I would replace her with more IoK's and get Thoughtseizes. As for the manabase, City of Brass is just terrible. I would find Godless Shrines and Shambling Vents. However, the only change that is completely urgent is the last Path. Everything else can be taken in steps. As for the sideboard, it depends on your meta, but it's fairly strong for an unknown meta at your first Modern FNM. I personally started with the Event Deck, and what you choose to include is entirely up to you! If you are confused on upgrades, please post them in the comments or PM me. I love helping people upgrade decks, and I'm sure other people do too!
This is a much more "all in" version of tokens built by MTGGoldfish's SaffronOlive for Budget Magic (A link to the page can be found here http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-95-36-tix-modern-white-black-tokens). For just over $100, you get some bang for your buck. However, this list does have some issues. First off, Sorin Solemn Visitor is better than his Lord of Innistrad counterpart. While both function fine, Sorin SV is just much better, even if he is a nonbo with Gather the Townsfolk. Second, the lack of mainboard discard really hurts this deck. But this deck really isn't concerned with what your opponent is doing. This build just wants to jam everything sideways all the time forever. "All every token sideways," as a caveman would put it. Plus, you get to play Promise of Bunrei! What is there not to love about this list? This build might even benefit with the inclusion of a Sword of X and Y...
This is very similar to my list. You can easily acquire this for ~$250 if you don't mind buying slightly to mildly played cards. There isn't much to talk about here other than upgrades, which are really just fetches, Bitterblossoms, and one or two Fetid Heath. As for a sideboard, that is dependent on your metagame, but if you aren't sure the sideboard from the Event Deck is very versatile. I would swap out the 3 Relics for 2 Rest in Peace and cut a Duress in favor of 2 Hero of Bladeholds or a silver bullet, like Pithing Needle.
Conclusion
Special thanks to michaelvogler for creating and maintaining the current BW Tokens thread. Without him I wouldn't have been able to make this thread. Please feel free to post lists, matchup advice, and sideboard cards!
I am in the same "no fetches or bitterblossoms" boat. I have very little experience with UWR. My best guess is that Desolate Lighthouse will win them the game in the long run. Grixis is a matter of putting the pressure on early and not overextending. Try to keep around 3 or 4 tokens on the board max at one time. Hero is an absolute house in the sideboard. Honestly, your list looks like a more turned version of my personal list, which I haven't posted yet. Post your results!
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I made myself a budget BW tokens from the other thread. One card that I am running (for budget reasons) is Castigate. I see that you suggest Tidehollow Skuller (which is probably a better option), though. Is there any reason for me to run Castigate over Skuller?
Great thread. I already found a few things that I should adjust my current list. I haven't modified this deck in quite some time in favor of others.
It's truly a meta call. The main upside to Castigate is that it exiles the card, which is relevant against any Goyf deck and control decks because it stops them from reusing it with Snapcaster. Sculler also exiles but they can also get the card back. Sculler is a removal magnet, but sometimes that is perfectly fine. Also, curving discard is really annoying for your opponent and incredibly fun to do. What's your list? It may be that Sculler isn't necessary.
Which version of Infect are you talking about? Both matchups suck but there are ways of dealing with it. Celestial Flare is generally thought to be the best option.
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I wouldn't side out Thoughtseize against Jund, but other than nice work! My FNM SUCKED. I went 0-3 drop. The lack of Bitterblossom in my meta really makes the deck hard to play. Also, 2 Blood Moon decks and zero Disenchants in the side. That explains literally my entire night.
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Sadly BW (non-Budget) Tokens is almost entirely Tier 3 and a budget version can't be expected to being better.
It's a great entry to get tapped into Midrange in Modern, the other "big" Midrange Decks are much more expensive.
The big plus BW tokens has is it's easy tranformation to other decks once you got all the staples.
Green is easy to splash for, Mardu Tokens / Midrange is quite affordable and Esper Midrange is easy to aquire nowadays with a cheap Manabase and Beaters (Geist of Saint Traft, Tasigur, the Golden Fang...).
Tokens is easiliy upgraded in small steps and useful additions (a cornerstone most modern decks doesn't share), you can easily collect a whole bunch of modern staples ('seize, IoK, Bob, Lili, Bossom, Marsh Flats, Planeswalkers...) and the learning curve gives plenty of interesting choices, gameplay and (most important) fun. Mastering Thoughtseize alone will take a lot of time, Creatures and Planeswalkers will leave someone with a lot of possible lines to play the match out.
I don't think so, but i maybe wrong with this assumption.
Sometimes Tokens just dies to random bad draws and being out-aggroed vs. Infect, Robots or Burn. Path to Exile isn't always enough to stop there good draws and Thougtseize alone doesn't stop all serious Combo Decks.
It's the way you already mentioned it, having the right mixture of removal, Discard / Disruption and Beaters / Planeswalkers.
It is highly tweakable but loses to some Tier 2 / 3 strategy's.
In some situations you wish for a Lightning Bolt in others you need a fast clock.
A quick shot at our Tier 1 contenders we got the Aggro-thing and Midrange-Shell (sometimes with Combo-Backup).
Combo is being oppressed for now with a lot of hate running around, so the fine-tuning for BW Tokens isn't that much of a problem.
With W you got a lot of powerful sideboard-options and black provides serious disruption and removal.
The deck does rise and fall with it's pilots skill and Metagame-Knowledge, Sideboard-Choices and sometimes good or bad topdecks (a common problem amongst midrange decks).
It easily transforms into more midrangier decks with adding pricier Cards (Lilian of the veil, Dark Confidant, Bitterblossom...) and has to be learned from the inside out (Do i sound repetitive?).
Yeah I get what you mean. I find it very hard to get out aggroed by Affinity after the first two or three turns, but yeah we can get rolled super fast. There are times we wish we had Bolt, but red tends to make the manabase far less consistent, which is a huge plus to playing this deck. Your assumption is mostly correct, but some points are a little off. Tuning Tokens to deal with token hate thanks to ThopterSword is really difficult but not impossible.
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So you make me curious about this deck, so i sleeved it up yesterday.
Got to make some replacements because i only own a bunch of off-color fetchlands:
The BW Tokens thread in the developing competitive section has concluded that ThopterSword is not what this deck wants. We aren't able to tutor any piece up so we have to draw them naturally and both halves are mediocre at best on their own. I would replace Deltas with Heaths because you always want white fetches: we almost never fetch out a basic swamp. The only other thing I see that I would change is flopping the numbers on Elspeth and Sorin: 1 Elspeth is all you need, but we are never upset to see Sorin. Other than these tiny changes, this is a solid list! As for the splash, most dislike it because it's not really good and strains the manabase a lot more than you would think.
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Great report! I would sub out a Zealous Persecution for the fourth Lingering Souls. That card is one of the main reasons to play Tokens. Always run 4. The Jund matchup, without Bitterblossom, is very frustrating and difficult, but not unwinnable. It's about drawing better than they do, which is obviously very hard.
@Xinone The fact that our life total is halved and we are slow to get a clock going makes the matchup rough. If you play like a control deck for the first few turns you can get there no sweat, but it requires good amounts removal.
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So i took the deck to a local store 8-man. And it works:
Round 1 - Living end
A friend of mine which borrowed my deck.
Match 1 i iok him with a bunch of cyclers, beast within and fulminator. Then seize him, still no combo piece. He topdecked it T3 and went for the kill. I pathed but that wasn't enough. Next time i catched him with rest in peace, leaving him with nothing to so. Match 3 i got stain the mind for LE but he comboes out with 2 Dudes in grave. I topdecked 5 lands with a resolved RiP...sadly not enough.
Game 2 - UWR Control
All grindy matches. Went forth and back, Elspeth and lingering souls had been allstars. Also Raise was MVP of The matches. Win 2:1
Game 3 - BUG Infect
Match 1 i had everything i need to outpace him. Match 2 i mulled and stripped his hand. I topdecked good and he couldn't keep up.
So finally i was very pleased and it was a bunch of fun to play. I piloted the deck properly (not perfect!) and instantly knew how to sideboard. That's the result of some years on The modern format and a bunch of ptq's and pptq's + other local tournaments.
Also the Maindeck felt fin, thus needs a bit of fine tuning. The sideboard was right too, just felt lackluster in choices regarding the combo MU.
pack a bunch of Dismember instead of sunlance.
They help in many MU and are quite cheap.
Tick up your MD removal to 6 - 8 or you hit them not often enough.
The lifeloss hurts, but Infect, Robots, Burn and Tasigur + goyf are all dealt with immediately for just 1 Mana
I just recognized that phyrexian arena is a total valid card in tokens.
Maybe i fit 2 in, i had the impression that a dark confidant would be a great addition (hurts too much here). Carddraw is sth. that i personally miss in bw tokens.
2nd change will be the inclusion of shambling vent as a third copy. some lists even run the full playset!
One thing I personally would like to talk about is Sorin, Lord of Innistrad vs. Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Is Solemn Visitor really that much better? I really like that Lord ticks up to make tokens even though a 2/2 flyer is the boss sauce you have to tick him down into Bolt range to do it. I have 2 Lords right now. I could easily trade them off on Pucatrade for the Visitor I'm just not sure. Anyone have any advice or insight on this?
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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
There are some pros and cons to each. Lord Innistrad spits out guys and can make unremovable anthem effects, which is very relevant. However, we have no problem flooding the board with tokens already. While it is repeatable, which is important in order to recover from board wipes, it's generally mediocre at turn four. Solemn Visitor is basically a mirror of Lord of Innistrad. However, his anthem also gives lifelink until the beginning of your NEXT turn. This make it very hard for our opponent to attack into us with Intangible Virtue on the table because we attack with 3 tokens for 9 and then we can block and gain 9 more, effectively a 27 point life swing. It's even good without Virtue. Because we are a slow and fair deck, we lose a lot of life early. The lifegain mitigates this (and Bitterblossom damage) and we can be upwards of 40 life. His minus is really only used if we're desperate to get a guy on the board, but it's still useful. Furthermore, his ultimate isn't actually irrelevant and can single handedly win control matchups. I've seen splits of each in a few lists but never heard their results. Ultimately, Solemn Visitor is better for getting us back into the game by gaining ludicrous amounts of life and creating a one-sided Abyss.
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What Is BW Tokens?
BW Tokens is a deck with widely different definitions. Some consider it an aggro-swarm deck that aims to win with a horde of tokens. Others consider it a grindy midrange deck that is known for making Jund cry with the card advantage offered by cards such as Lingering Souls and Spectral Procession and a variety of hand attack and removal spells. Still others consider the deck to be a BW control deck centered around hand attack, the best removal available to black and white, and more recently, Ghost Quarter, and seeks to end the game by outvalueing the opponent with cards that produce multiple threats at once. So this really begs the question: what the heck is this deck? The answer is that there is no real answer. BW Tokens is a meta deck at heart, which means that it can be built to fight in any given meta. Affinity and midrange are king of the hill? Outgrind them with Lingering Souls and hand attack. Is Burn and fast aggro the name of the game? You get to experience the hilarity of maindeck Timely Reinforcements. However, each variant will share a few aspects. The first is targeted discard and efficient removal, such as Duress and Path to Exile. The second is that any variant will be a "fair" deck - we aren't trying to assemble a doomsday device or combo out. A skilled pilot can come out of left field and secure victory easily in a known meta. With this core knowledge out of the way, let's get to the card choices.
Card Choices
The numbers shown here are for traditional lists, i.e., a grindy midrange game. Some of these are also hard and fast rules, while others are far more flexible. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide what you want to play, and I will state when a card should be included. I am going to go over what shell these cards fit best in before I go over the various shells so you can see what looks the most competitive and go from there.
NOTE: You will see the terms "aggro," "midrange," and "control" being used to describe varies builds of BW Tokens. I use these terms loosely to indicate the speed that they aim to win, with aggro jamming in as many tokens as possible as early as possible, midrange being the average tokens deck (otherwise denoted as "traditional" lists) and control aiming to slow roll the whole game.
Token Generators: Generally 12-16
This is the single most flexible spot in the deck, and what you play is entirely based upon the shell you are running.
Lingering Souls - This card is a massive beating against midrange decks, such as Jund, and the swarms of artifacts that Affinity vomits out onto the table. This is the best card in the deck, and offers extreme flexibility against an opponent's Liliana of the Veil. We are never sad to see Lingering Souls, and is an auto four-of in any variation.
Spectral Procession - Our mana base is designed to cast this card for 3 white mana, but isn't too shabby casting it for two white and two generic. his is very similar to Lingering Souls. However, if you are running Ghost Quarter in the maindeck, do not run this card. The mana is too stressful for this deck to handle. Instead, you should be playing...
Midnight Haunting - Instant speed Lingering Souls, but is slightly below the curve. If you think GQ is necessary, or you just love blowing up lands, this is your Spectral Procession. It is, however, a little too slow for aggro and midrangey versions, so run Spectral if you don't mainboard GQ.
Raise the Alarm - This is the big upside to playing the aggro shell. Two 1/1's for two mana at instant speed is pretty bread and butter in this deck. On a budget, it is a great four of. However, it can feel pretty mediocre at times, but the instant speed allows for some fun blocking shenanigans. Flashing in 2/2's after an anthem has hit the board is nuts against fast aggro, but just a bunch of chump blockers otherwise. At the end of the day, this card is worth the inclusion in your deck. I personally would run 3-4.
Secure the Wastes - This card is very interesting. It scales very well into the late game, but is just terrible if X<3. The only place this card sees play is as a one or two-of in control shells. If you are playing a control game, this card is for you, right next to Lingering Souls and Midnight Haunting. If not, there are better options for you than this card.
Hand Attack: 6-9
Hand attack is traditionally one of the most expensive parts of buying a Modern deck. However, there are very plausible replacements to the very expensive ones, such as Inquisition of Kozilek, which is somehow almost twice as expensive as Thoughtseize now. I personally recommend dedicating a larger portion of your budget to hand attack and removal due to how important they are. Do not skimp on this partof your deck! We do better in the late game, unless you are aggro, in which case hand attack is even more important because they will naturally draw fewer cards over the course of the game. Budget hand attack is difficult because they are not as versatile or effective as Thoughtseize or IoK. With this in mind, you will need to eventually make the upgrade.
Thoughtseize - 1 black mana to hit anything that may cause us trouble. Always worth at most 3 slots; 4 is a bit excessive because the life loss hurts us. While this card is rather expensive for budget purposes, anyone on a $200-250 budget is going to want this card.
Duress - The single best discard spell if you are on a budget. Duress does it all, although it was much better when Twin was around. Still, there is no reason not to run a playset.
Castigate - This one is a little bit awkward. I have never personally run it, but I've heard that it is a decent card for our purposes. The exile is not irrelevant either, especially against Goyf decks. I would only run this if you think you won't be doing much turn two, but only as a two-of. Avoid this if possible.
Tidehollow Sculler - This is an interesting one. Running creatures mainboard in this deck is bad because it makes your opponent's spot removal much better. Usually, spot removal is terrible against us because we generate 2-3 or even 4 creatures from just one card, essentially a 2 or 3-for-1 against our opponent. However, Tidehollow is one of the few exceptions. A 2/2 body for two with discard is actually very good in the aggro shell, and decent in the traditional versions, although he is worse there. It is worth noting that if an opponent removes it before you get to exile with him, his leaves the battlefield trigger resolve before you get to exile a card, essentially spending two mana to force your opponent to discard two cards permanently: one because of casting removal and one for the enters the battlefield trigger. What is also worth noting is what to take with Sculler. Most would think to take the removal to keep the Sculler. However, sometimes the correct play is to take a creature or another important card to force your opponent to remove it, essentially a tempo loss for your opponent. This isn't always true, but knowing what to hit with Sculler is a very useful skill. TL:DR, Sculler is worth 3-4 slots in a deck, but is overshadowed by TS and IoK. It is entirely reasonable to decide to not include him when tallying up your discard spells, but rather running him in addition to other discard spells.
Creatures: This is entirely dependent on the build, but typically the answer is zero in the maindeck. However, there are a couple of exceptions other than the aforementioned Tidehollow Sculler.
Hero of Bladehold - For her mana cost, she does a lot. Creating dudes when she attacks and pumping the whole team up makes combat math miserable for the opponent. She is only good in aggro shells, and typically a sideboard card for when the opponent boards out removal. However, in aggro, she is worth 2 mainboard slots, right next to Sculler's 4, a total of 6 creatures. It's high, but I've been told it works great. Not a must include for aggro, but a very respectable option.
Leonin Arbiter - If you can't beat 'em, make their mana base really bad. This Leonin Mafioso is a pain in the rear for any 2-3 colored deck to play against. In some of your opponent's openers, they will literally not be able to cast spells if they don't crack their fetches in response to him being cast. Any Chord of Calling deck will HATE this guy. Super sweet in midange and control, and I recommend running 3-4 if you choose to run him.
Removal: 4-6, with aggro running fewer and midrange and control running the most.
Path to Exile - I don't need to explain this. Run 4
Dismember - -5/-5 is nothing to sneeze at, and is very capable of, well... dismembering large creatures. Goyf will almost always die to this, along with anything else. The ability to pay life is a very nice bonus, but is an issue to consider.
Murderous Cut - My personal favorite to run next to Path, one black mana to kill anything is ridiculous. Only ever run one because we really don't want to delve out Souls and we don't generally fill our yard fast enough.
Slaughter Pact - Sometimes you just have to kill something, no matter what the cost is. The upkeep cost needs to be factored in before casting this, such as what three less mana will do to your game plan. A fine one-of, but I feel there are better options.
Anthems: 4-6. Aggro builds are going to run far more than any other variant, while traditional list want to run four.
Intangible Virtue - Auto 4 of unless you feel you don't need it. The vigilance is far more relevant than most would think. There is nothing more satisfying than +1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor with this in play, and then your opponent tries to swing back. It's gross, and the lifegain is outrageous.
Honor of the Pure - Only play if you are in an aggro shell, because aggro needs the pump. Traditional lists don't need this card.
In a similar vein, but not quite an anthem is Zealous Persecution. It was way better when Twin still existed, but is still great against Burn, Affinity, and other fast aggro decks because it is often a one-sided board wipe. It's worth 1 or 2 slots in your deck if you're midrange or aggro. Control will typically ignore this card in favor of Wrath of God. Do not count Persecution when you are counting up your anthem effects in your list. Rather, think of it as a utility spell.
Planeswalker: ~3-4. This number is also very flexible. In fact, a ran 6 for a few weeks! There are lots of walkers that do very different things, but my experience, along with the experience of others, has shown that there are a few great ones out there.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor - This guy + Intangible Virtue is probably the best play in this deck. He is an absolute house when we have 2 or 3 guys in play. He can make tokens, but typically if we are doing that we are in a losing position and desperately need a creature. Always run at least 2, but I personally run 3.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant Don't discredit her for making one token. She's a fine inclusion, but less and less players are running her these days. On a budget, she's fine. However, given the popularity of Sorin SV she's kind of been overshadowed. Most lists don't even touch he anymore. She great in aggro builds (Jumping a Sculler or Hero of Bladehold is just funny), but her usefulness goes down with how slow your deck is. The power boost can really turn games around though, so she carries an odd risk/reward factor to her.
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - The newest addition to our arsenal, Gideon has proven his worth several times over. He's a token generator, and anthem, and a solid beater if we need it. Being a 4 mana anthem isn't terrible, and the 2/2 tokens he makes only get larger with our other anthems. I haven't seen any list that play more than 2, and Sorin is almost always played with as as many slots dedicated to him as Gideon. Even though Sorin takes charge when it comes to planeswalkers, don't count Gideon out. He never ceases to impress.
Lands: 24, no exceptions. You need to hit land drops in this deck, and running 23 lands will have you mana screwed in no time. The general consensus is 24, and I wouldn't stray away from that. On a budget, you will almost always find yourself playing a playset of Isolated Chapel and 3-4 Caves of Koilos. If you can afford Godless Shrine, get your playset. It is far easier to play with a playset of shocks then it is with a playset of fetches. If you get Shrines, swap them in for Caves of Koilos, although running one Caves is never a bad idea. Any fetches you run must be able to get white (the cheapest one currently is Windswept Heath ). Fetid Heath is nice to have, but not necessary. Get two somewhere down the road. As for basics, a single Swamp is always necessary to get when something gets Pathed, although I personally play two. For utility lands, there are a few option, and you will always be playing some number of these, but certainly not all of them.
Shambling Vent - Taps for both colors and become a guy with a relevant body in the late game. Entering tapped sucks, but if you can jump him with Elspeth he's nuts. Most lists don't run him, but I feel like he is worth, at most, two slots.
Windbrisk Heights - The only pseudo card draw available to us. This can blow out games with an instant speed Intangible Virtue. Note that this card ignores normal timing restrictions. It does enter tapped, so you really shouldn't run more than 3 between this and Vents, but I play 2 Heights and 2 Vents and get along just fine for the most part (Yes, awkward hands do exist).
Vault of the Archangel - This being our only colorless source (usually) means that we can still play Spectral and this. It can swing games around, making combat a nightmare. Only ever run one, but you are always going to be running this unless you play...
Ghost Quarter - If you are playing this, you aren't running 2. You are running 4 mainboard or 3 in the main and one in the side. Only use in control strategies, alongside Midnight Haunting, Secure the Wastes, others. You will not be playing Vault in the main if you play this.
Hanweir Militia Captain - A white Bitterblossom? This card seems really cool, but extremely difficult to untap with. Perhaps it can shine in some list.
Call the Bloodline - Turns unnecessary lands into tokens. However, it is very slow, but when you're running slow isn't that where this card shines?
Promise of Bunrei - One of my favorite cards in Magic, and definitely my favorite card on this list. It protects against wraths and even makes attacking absolutely terrible for your opponent. Please, somebody try this!
Gather the Townsfolk - Functionally a second Raise the Alarm, but it is a sorcery. Fateful Hour is not irrelevant in Modern, and when it's on, this card is absolutely insane: it will get you back into the game, but it is a nonbo with Sorin, Solemn Visitor.
Hour of Reckoning - A Plague Wind that your tokens can tap into. Those who run this have reported that you can just blow out your opponent.
When sideboarding, it is important to remember a couple of things.
1. Is my opponent using X resource in a meaningful way?
2. Is this card better than another card in my deck already?
If the answer to any of these is no, you probably aren't bringing that card in. However, when you are sideboarding, you aren't trying to bring in cards that inconvenience your opponent. You want to absolutely ruin their day. Also remember that it is impossible to have sideboard cards for each matchup, so build your sideboard for your meta. DO NOT netdeck a sideboard UNLESS you are heading into an unknown meta. It is not built for your meta, but it can suit just fine for a start. Also try not to have two cards in your sideboard that fill the same role (For example, don't play Relic of Progenitus and Rest in Peace). This is a list of our options, and I've tried to include as many as I can. Post something if you have suggestions!
Stony Silence - Beats up on Affinity and Tron, two popular decks. Tron is an absolute miserable matchup for us, but having this card makes everything easier. Affinity doesn't mind it as much, but it does make Cranial Plating and Darksteel Citadel really bad
Kataki, War's Wage - The Tabrnacle at Pendrell Vale for artifacts. A huge beating for Affinity.
Burrenton Forge-Tender - If Grixis and UWR Control are popular, this card is an all-star in the the sideboard. He's also great to board in against Affinity to counter their Whipflare post-board.
Relic of Progenitus - Graveyard hate that doesn't stop Lingering Souls. We can also draw a card out of it in a pinch.
Rest in Peace - Because Tarmogoyf and Snapcaster Mage suck.
Duress - You should play some amount of extra hand attack in the sideboard for control and combo matchups if you have Thoughtseize and IoK. If not, you may want to save those SB slots for something else.
Hero of Bladehold - If you aren't playing this in the MB, you might be running this fine gal in the side. NOTE: You should ALWAYS have a few beefy creatures in the sideboard for games 2 and 3. Your opponent will board out most of their spot removal against you.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos - The alternative to Hero. I wouldn't mainboard this guy because he fights for the 3 mana slot. While each has it's pros and cons, Hero is generally thought to be better, but I like this guy a lot too. The vigilance is a massive beating on combat math. Play two in the sideboard if you aren't doing so with Hero. If you mainboard Hero, leave this guy out.
Zealous Persecution - It's fine as a one of in the SB, but really only does work against Affinity, Elves, and other aggro decks. Only slot it in if aggro is present.
Ghost Quarter - Generally you want to have at least two in the SB. Keeps Tron off of their mana. It's also great against decks like Kiki-Chord, 4c Gifts, and other decks that decided to get greedy with their manabase.
Timely Reinforcements - The hard stop to aggro decks. The life gain and bodies are ridiculous for the cost, but require a certain setup. If you can go painland into Thoughtseize you should be fine, so long as you don't play any token generators beforehand. This definitely deserves a few slots, and can even be mainboarded if you so choose.
Grafdigger's Cage - Doesn't stop Living End, it makes Abzan Company and Gifts Ungiven decks cry. Very solid silver bullet.
Hallowed Moonlight - Nahiri decks and Collected Company decks beware! Really great if there is a heavy amount of creature-based combo decks in your metagame.
Torpor Orb - While Moonlight is pretty sweet, this completely shuts down the Melira combo until they can remove this. You also don't have to leave mana open for it, and you can be proactive after playing this. We are also unaffected by this, whereas Moonlight can lead to awkward situationin which we nuke some fresh tokens to shut down a combo.
Pithing Needle - Great for when the opponent is using a combo that relies on ACTIVATED ABILITIES. Also great against man lands, planeswalkers, and other abilities.
Surgical Extraction, Extirpate, and similar effects - Great for when the opponent is is NOT using activated abilities or if you can hit an integral part of their deck with removal or have it somehow end up in the grave. The choice is really yours on which you want to use, but Extirpate having split second is a boon against control decks while you can cast Surgical while being tapped out. Stain the Mind is hilarious. The look on opponents' faces is amazing when you just name something and then get it out.
Traditional List
I have divided this section into a few subsections. One is what an average decklist looks like. Then, I will go over matchups and a guide to playing the deck. Finally I will go over the decklists I recommend building. Note that this list is not included there, but you could certainly start with it.
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Raise the Alarm
Discard:
3 Tidehollow Sculler (Or Thoughtseize, if you have the cash.)
4 Duress
Creature buffs:
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Zealous Persecution
4 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Murderous Cut
Planeswalker:
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands:
2 Shambling Vent
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Windswept Heath (Or more basics. Deck works just fine without.)
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Swamp
5 Plains
Matchups
Despite the multiple variations of BW Tokens, the matchups are fairly similar. However, it's worth noting that some matchups are entirely dependent on the sideboard. While you can't possibly pack hate for all of these, you can prepare yourself for a given meta. I have provided some base statistics where I can, and given a basic idea of the matchup where I can't.
Affinity 50/50
This matchup is pretty much even both pre- and post-sideboard. Game one is all about landing anthems and gaining life thanks to Sorin. Zealous Persecution is essentially a Plague Wind. Kill Master of Etherium and Steel Overseer on sight. Be sure to factor in Arcbound Ravager activations when calculating combat math. Post-board bring in something to protect your team from Whipflare and pack artifact hate.
Jund 60/40 pre-board 50/50 post-board
Despite the saying that Lingering Souls makes Jund cry, don't blow off this matchup as a freebie because you will be punished. Discard their threats and leave their removal because it sucks against us. Despite the possibility, they will not die to Dark Confident, so kill it or else it will cause them to kill you. They will bring in sweepers such as Anger of the Gods or Damnation, so try to bring in more threats and removal to neuter both their threats and answers. Discard is TERRIBLE against them so bring it all out and become the beatdown.
Burn Massively dependent on build, but generally favorable both pre- and post-board
Lightning Bolt: The Deck. If Sorin sticks, they lose the game. Just keep holding on for as long as you can and trade for their creatures. Using discard against their burn sets them pretty far back. Expect Destructive Revelry out of the sideboard.
Bogles Largely terrible, but the statistics are hard to get. 30/70?
Just awful. Their guys (guy?) just get huge so fast that we can't keep up, and removing them is impossible. Post board in Ghost Quarter to shut down Dryad Arbor, which they will load up if you let them. Get Celestial Flare in your sideboard if a Bogles player exists in your meta.
Living End Pretty disgusting pre-board, but favorable post-board
Who likes wraths effects all the time? We don't. That's fine because if you can remove their cascade effects you can delay the inevitable in game one. Never flashback Lingering Souls until after a Living End resolves. Bring in grave hate and removal, and hope for the best!
Jeskai ControlI originally thought this was a very difficult matchup until I talked to a UWR Control pilot and played against him. They just can't keep up with our inherent card advantage because they can't actually gain any outside of Snapcaster Mage. Serum Visions only replaces itself, people! Just keep jamming your tokens generators and you'll win. Furthermore, almost all of their creatures have 1 toughness, so Zealous Persecution is incredibly, well, zealous in killing their stuff! Kill Nahiri like she's number one on the FBI's most wanted list. Pack Anguished Unmakings to kill her, but watch out for Celestial Colonnade beats in the late game, but this shouldn't be a problem because so much of our stuff flies.
Abzan Company 50/50, but dependent on draws A very resilient deck that looks to win with the Melira, Sylvok Outcast/Kitchen Finks/Viscera Seer combo. This deck backs it with Collected Company and Chord of Calling, creating a very strong search engine. Path to Exile is pretty good, but you need to keep bashing their face while simultaneously killing their creatures whenever you can. This matchup is a real grind, but very winnable. Just get ready to kill whatever you can. Surgical Extraction and other similar effects are pretty great post-board, with the best targets being Viscera Seer and Kitchen Finks. The crown jewel, however, is Grafdigger's Cage. Play it watch them weep! At least, as long as they don't have Qasali Pridemage in play, which they will surely bring more in from the sideboard.
How to Play BW Tokens
First, determine your mulligan strategy. The ideal hand has 2-3 lands, 1 Lingering Souls/Spectral Procession, 1 Intangible Virtue or Sorin, 1 Discard effect, and [a playable or relevant spell This can be more hand attack, a second token generator, or a removal spell. A second anthem effect is not generally optimal but it varies from hand to hand. Replace the word "Bitterblossom" with whatever seems most relevant]. You can reasonably mulligan down to 6 and achieve this. If you mulligan much further than this, you want to look for hands that get you land and discard effects.
If you do not find yourself with one or more of these cards (minus lands), the following math can help you make the decision to mulligan:
The probability of drawing 1 token generator in the first 8 cards you see is 85%. The probability of drawing into you spectral procession or lingering souls within the first 9 cards is 75%.
If you run 7 discard effects, the probability of drawing into one with your opening hand (7 cards) is 60%.
6 Removal effects will yield you about a 54% chance of drawing one in your opening hand.
The probability that you will draw into a creature buff within the first 10 cards is about 83%.
Basically, you need to think about your matchup and prioritize what you want to have in the opening hand. If you choose to mulligan down to six, that is fine and you might want to keep the hand even if you don’t have a token generator because it is far less likely that you will draw into a discard or removal effect by turn 2 than a token generator.
Second, and again depending upon the matchup, you ought to try to force a discard on turn 1. That is highly desireable if you can turn 2 bitterblossom and turn 3 lingering souls/spectral procession. Otherwise, don’t be afraid to play a land tapped the first turn and then thoughtseize on turn 2.
Third, we generally want to cast a token generating spell by turn 3. Usually, that spell is Lingering Souls or Spectral Procession. However, if you haven’t drawn a discard effect until this turn (and we are 74% to do so) then you should strongly consider casting it. This is especially true of combo matchups since your opponent is trying to assemble all of their pieces and will probably have most of them here.
Fourth, once we have some tokens we try to take care of them so they can go to work. Turn 4 and later see us using Windbrisk Heights, Intangible Virtue, and Sorin.
With 12 token generators, we are at 42% to see two copies in our opening hand. As the game progresses, you are at about 93% to draw another one by the 12th card (if you want that card to be a Spectral Procession type effect, the probability is around 81% by the 12th card). That means that if the first generator gets countered, you will probably draw another one by about turn 5. That has major implications for Sorin, since his -2 ability gets you a token but his -6 forces your opponent to sacrifice creatures. The odds are good that if you -2 Sorin, you will lose him or the token by the next turn and set your game plan back.
Sample Decklists
In this section, I will list several decklists that I recommend as both a starting build or a starting template for designing your own decklists. I will briefly state what I like and dislike, and provide links if there is any sort of videos associated with the list. Without further ado, the lists!
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Creature (5)
2 Soul Warden
3 Tidehollow Sculler
Sorcery (10)
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
Instant (10)
3 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Zealous Persecution
Artifact (3)
2 Shrine of Loyal Legions
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Honor of the Pure
4 Intangible Virtue
Land (24)
4 Caves of Koilos
2 City of Brass
4 Isolated Chapel
5 Plains
4 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Windbrisk Heights
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Dismember
3 Duress
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Kataki, War's Wage
3 Relic of Progenitus
Yes, the Modern Event deck is a competitive, intro point into BW Tokens. You can find this for various prices, but probably cheaper online than at your LGS. Despite everybody bashing on it, it still contains 3 Paths and 2 IoK's, which is nothing to scoff at. Although it is more of an old school build, a few upgrades and you're there! I would personally cut the Shrines and the Sword in favor of 3 Sorins and try to find some room for the fourth Tidehollow Sculler. Soul Warden is not very good, I would replace her with more IoK's and get Thoughtseizes. As for the manabase, City of Brass is just terrible. I would find Godless Shrines and Shambling Vents. However, the only change that is completely urgent is the last Path. Everything else can be taken in steps. As for the sideboard, it depends on your meta, but it's fairly strong for an unknown meta at your first Modern FNM. I personally started with the Event Deck, and what you choose to include is entirely up to you! If you are confused on upgrades, please post them in the comments or PM me. I love helping people upgrade decks, and I'm sure other people do too!
3 Hero of Bladehold
Spells (35)
4 Path to Exile
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Zealous Persecution
4 Lingering Souls
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Promise of Bunrei
4 Spectral Procession
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Triplicate Spirits
4 Caves of Koilos
13 Plains
1 Scoured Barrens
4 Temple of Silence
3 Tormod's Crypt
4 Duress
3 Disenchant
3 Journey to Nowhere
2 Oblivion Ring
This is a much more "all in" version of tokens built by MTGGoldfish's SaffronOlive for Budget Magic (A link to the page can be found here http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-95-36-tix-modern-white-black-tokens). For just over $100, you get some bang for your buck. However, this list does have some issues. First off, Sorin Solemn Visitor is better than his Lord of Innistrad counterpart. While both function fine, Sorin SV is just much better, even if he is a nonbo with Gather the Townsfolk. Second, the lack of mainboard discard really hurts this deck. But this deck really isn't concerned with what your opponent is doing. This build just wants to jam everything sideways all the time forever. "All every token sideways," as a caveman would put it. Plus, you get to play Promise of Bunrei! What is there not to love about this list? This build might even benefit with the inclusion of a Sword of X and Y...
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
8 Plains
1 Shambling Vent
1 Swamp
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Murderous Cut
4 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Honor of the Pure
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
3 Thoughtseize
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
This is very similar to my list. You can easily acquire this for ~$250 if you don't mind buying slightly to mildly played cards. There isn't much to talk about here other than upgrades, which are really just fetches, Bitterblossoms, and one or two Fetid Heath. As for a sideboard, that is dependent on your metagame, but if you aren't sure the sideboard from the Event Deck is very versatile. I would swap out the 3 Relics for 2 Rest in Peace and cut a Duress in favor of 2 Hero of Bladeholds or a silver bullet, like Pithing Needle.
Conclusion
Special thanks to michaelvogler for creating and maintaining the current BW Tokens thread. Without him I wouldn't have been able to make this thread. Please feel free to post lists, matchup advice, and sideboard cards!
Great thread. I already found a few things that I should adjust my current list. I haven't modified this deck in quite some time in favor of others.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/36546
My Peasant Cube Forum
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-lists/682833-360-peasant-hasteds-cube
My Riviera Live Draft Cube
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/35647
Sadly BW (non-Budget) Tokens is almost entirely Tier 3 and a budget version can't be expected to being better.
It's a great entry to get tapped into Midrange in Modern, the other "big" Midrange Decks are much more expensive.
The big plus BW tokens has is it's easy tranformation to other decks once you got all the staples.
Green is easy to splash for, Mardu Tokens / Midrange is quite affordable and Esper Midrange is easy to aquire nowadays with a cheap Manabase and Beaters (Geist of Saint Traft, Tasigur, the Golden Fang...).
Tokens is easiliy upgraded in small steps and useful additions (a cornerstone most modern decks doesn't share), you can easily collect a whole bunch of modern staples ('seize, IoK, Bob, Lili, Bossom, Marsh Flats, Planeswalkers...) and the learning curve gives plenty of interesting choices, gameplay and (most important) fun. Mastering Thoughtseize alone will take a lot of time, Creatures and Planeswalkers will leave someone with a lot of possible lines to play the match out.
Green @ it's best
Sometimes Tokens just dies to random bad draws and being out-aggroed vs. Infect, Robots or Burn.
Path to Exile isn't always enough to stop there good draws and Thougtseize alone doesn't stop all serious Combo Decks.
It's the way you already mentioned it, having the right mixture of removal, Discard / Disruption and Beaters / Planeswalkers.
It is highly tweakable but loses to some Tier 2 / 3 strategy's.
In some situations you wish for a Lightning Bolt in others you need a fast clock.
A quick shot at our Tier 1 contenders we got the Aggro-thing and Midrange-Shell (sometimes with Combo-Backup).
Combo is being oppressed for now with a lot of hate running around, so the fine-tuning for BW Tokens isn't that much of a problem.
With W you got a lot of powerful sideboard-options and black provides serious disruption and removal.
The deck does rise and fall with it's pilots skill and Metagame-Knowledge, Sideboard-Choices and sometimes good or bad topdecks (a common problem amongst midrange decks).
It easily transforms into more midrangier decks with adding pricier Cards (Lilian of the veil, Dark Confidant, Bitterblossom...) and has to be learned from the inside out (Do i sound repetitive?).
Green @ it's best
Got to make some replacements because i only own a bunch of off-color fetchlands:
4 Flooded Strand
3 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Windbrisk Heights
2 Shambling Vents
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Plains
2 Swamp
24 Lands
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
12 Tokenmaker
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Honor of the Pure
7 Hymns
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
2 Tidehollow Sculler
7 Discard
1 Murderous Cut
2 Dismember
7 Removal
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
3 Planeswalkers
I could replace Deltas with Windsept Heath in case it is necessary.
Sideboard is basically what i own:
2 Rest in Peace
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Hushwing Gryff
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Duress
2 Disenchant
3 Fulminator Mage
I hope this covers Ramp and Combo Strategy's enough to give me a chance.
Isn't it possible to include Thopter / Sword Combo into the Deck?
It's in-colors and has a lot of synergies with the Deck.
A U splash would be fine too for Polymorph + Emmy or just Geist of Saint Traft.
Meddling Mage covers a lot of combo-decks too.
Green @ it's best
@Xinone The fact that our life total is halved and we are slow to get a clock going makes the matchup rough. If you play like a control deck for the first few turns you can get there no sweat, but it requires good amounts removal.
Round 1 - Living end
A friend of mine which borrowed my deck.
Match 1 i iok him with a bunch of cyclers, beast within and fulminator. Then seize him, still no combo piece. He topdecked it T3 and went for the kill. I pathed but that wasn't enough. Next time i catched him with rest in peace, leaving him with nothing to so. Match 3 i got stain the mind for LE but he comboes out with 2 Dudes in grave. I topdecked 5 lands with a resolved RiP...sadly not enough.
Game 2 - UWR Control
All grindy matches. Went forth and back, Elspeth and lingering souls had been allstars. Also Raise was MVP of The matches. Win 2:1
Game 3 - BUG Infect
Match 1 i had everything i need to outpace him. Match 2 i mulled and stripped his hand. I topdecked good and he couldn't keep up.
So finally i was very pleased and it was a bunch of fun to play. I piloted the deck properly (not perfect!) and instantly knew how to sideboard. That's the result of some years on The modern format and a bunch of ptq's and pptq's + other local tournaments.
Also the Maindeck felt fin, thus needs a bit of fine tuning. The sideboard was right too, just felt lackluster in choices regarding the combo MU.
Green @ it's best
pack a bunch of Dismember instead of sunlance.
They help in many MU and are quite cheap.
Tick up your MD removal to 6 - 8 or you hit them not often enough.
The lifeloss hurts, but Infect, Robots, Burn and Tasigur + goyf are all dealt with immediately for just 1 Mana
I just recognized that phyrexian arena is a total valid card in tokens.
Maybe i fit 2 in, i had the impression that a dark confidant would be a great addition (hurts too much here). Carddraw is sth. that i personally miss in bw tokens.
2nd change will be the inclusion of shambling vent as a third copy. some lists even run the full playset!
Green @ it's best
One thing I personally would like to talk about is Sorin, Lord of Innistrad vs. Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Is Solemn Visitor really that much better? I really like that Lord ticks up to make tokens even though a 2/2 flyer is the boss sauce you have to tick him down into Bolt range to do it. I have 2 Lords right now. I could easily trade them off on Pucatrade for the Visitor I'm just not sure. Anyone have any advice or insight on this?
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097