Why do you need so many mass resurrection effects? 4 Return and 4 Rally ought to be enough.
If you don't have green then yes, you're stuck with Carrier Thrall.
If Doomed Traveler dies, it leaves behind a token which can tap for Return to the Ranks to bring Traveler back. If Young Wolf dies without a +1/+1 counter on it, it comes back onto the battlefield and there's nothing to bring back. Thus your Return to the Ranks loses effectiveness. Saccing Young Wolf again doesn't help because you'd have one less body on the battlefield to tap for convoke.
Been playing this deck a lot at FNMs. Having access to the Anafenza combo seems worth playing a few suboptimal cards in the main. I think the inclusion of Safehold Elite and Anafenza helps a lot in some of the problem matchups like Merfolk and Infect even though it also spits out some very weak openers and topdecks. Voice of Resurgence is definitely the all-star of the deck, and most of my wins involve some huge Elementals. I've been testing a lot of different things but I've settled on a few maindeck choices I feel very confident about. My most recent build at FNM:
This is what I feel like should be pretty close to a stock list of this deck. Just enough interaction to get you through to a quick lifedrain kill or some giant Voice tokens beating down. Return and Company are incredibly powerful and efficient and the strong opening hands feel unbeatable. So far I've had trouble with the fast decks (primarily Affinity and Infect), the tribal decks (Elves and Merfolk), and the BGx decks. The fast decks have a lot of evasion to ignore our ground-based boardstate and can prove tough to race. The tribal decks are also capable of racing us and both decks seem just as capable of powering out dominating boardstates. The Liliana decks can take our game-winning spells with hand hate and it's tough to match their creatures. Most of the problem matchups seem like they would be improved with the addition of some removal, but it's tough finding space for a sufficient amount in the maindeck without diluting the engine and making Collected Company and Satyr Wayfinder hit fewer good targets. I'll be working on a solution to this but for the moment I think a singleton Teysa, Orzhov Scion and perhaps another Path to Exile will help out in the main.
i do i played this kinda of deck a while ago and thought of it as just a little worse then twin. I think plunge might be the cantrip/tour we need to find rally or any other wincon.
7 Blood Artists and 8 mass reanimation spells. This deck is also more heavily focused on Collected Company, playing 4 copies and 6 mana dorks to support it.
I've tested sultai, and i dont like it, most of cards i use have a etb effect, and with him it doesnt work that well, i prefer a elvish visionary, because late game you will probably have mana to cast anything since all your creature cost 2 or less.
And about the darkblast, i dont like running removals spells main deck, usually the tidehollow is enought
Wall / Visionary are certainly never bad choices, but Voice of Resurgence is really, really good in this shell and I'm just now coming to appreciate it. 2+ bodies for one card – one of which is often at least a 4/4 – helps to prop up your otherwise anemic board strength and supports your sac plan or enables a beat down approach (in conjunction with Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit), while its ability also discourages opponent counterspells. Sac'ing Voice, putting out a huge token, rezzing Voice with Return to the Ranks, and then sac'ing it again to put out another huge token can be game-winning... during a recent particularly grindy match I went from having a meager board presence to four 7/7 tokens to swing for lethal. It may not be a part of an infinite combo itself but I think the support it brings is really impressive and I would go so far as to say that this is possibly the best deck in modern for Voice, and a great reason to run Abzan over BG.
Between Wall of Omens and Elvish Visionary I would probably go with Wall, since without Voice you're likely not going to be going on a beatdown plan and a 0/4 will help you block and grind a bit better than a 1/1. If you're running Chord or otherwise have a predominantly green deck you could make an argument to run Visionary, though. With that said in many ways Satyr Wayfinder already acts as our Visionary – it's a 2 drop that draws you a land an dumps cards into your grave, and in this particular deck that's potentially more advantageous than merely drawing one card.
Personally I have reduced my recursion effects to 3x Return to the Ranks and 2x Eternal Witness. These cards can be incredibly powerful and hand you the game out of nowhere.. but without the right targets in your grave they can wind up sitting in your hand a bit more often than I'd like. They also become completely dead if hated with Relic of Progenitus or Grafdigger's Cage so be sure that you have a reliable plan against these common cards.
I prefer Return to the Ranks over Rally the Ancestors atm because it synergizes with Satyr Wayfinder and Voice of Resurgence especially well to permanently advance your board state and generate card advantage. Plus, you can reuse it with Eternal Witness since it goes into your grave rather than exile. It's more suited to grindy play while still occasionally providing big blow-out rezes. Even if you don't have a huge graveyard just getting 2-3 creatures permanently onto the field is really valuable. The convoke ability means that even if I'm stuck at 3 mana I can still use the spell and retain a shot at the game, which has happened several times. The 2 cmc cap and sorcery speed are unfortunate, but acceptable.
Conversely, because Rally's creatures are sac'd at your next upkeep and Rally itself is exiled you have to use it in a more dramatic game-winning style to rez your whole team and turn a 10 damage sac into a lethal sac. If your primary win con is a large sac wave, this is a great choice. It has the benefit of hitting 3-drops and being at instant speed.
Lastly, I'm also running 3x Birds right now and I find that they help make the deck faster and less painful.
If you don't have green then yes, you're stuck with Carrier Thrall.
If Doomed Traveler dies, it leaves behind a token which can tap for Return to the Ranks to bring Traveler back. If Young Wolf dies without a +1/+1 counter on it, it comes back onto the battlefield and there's nothing to bring back. Thus your Return to the Ranks loses effectiveness. Saccing Young Wolf again doesn't help because you'd have one less body on the battlefield to tap for convoke.
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Big Johnny.
4 Viscera Seer
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Satyr Wayfinder
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Safehold Elite
3 Anafenza, Kin-Tree spirit
2 Blood Artist
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
2 Eternal Witness
Spells (10):
4 Collected Company
4 Return to the Ranks
2 Path to Exile
4 Windswept Heath
3 Flooded Strand
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Temple Garden
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
2 Forest
1 Plains
2 Sunpetal Grove
1 Isolated Chapel
2 Lingering Souls
2 Stony Silence
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Kami of False Hope
2 Day of Judgment
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Soul Warden
1 Phyrexian Revoker
This is what I feel like should be pretty close to a stock list of this deck. Just enough interaction to get you through to a quick lifedrain kill or some giant Voice tokens beating down. Return and Company are incredibly powerful and efficient and the strong opening hands feel unbeatable. So far I've had trouble with the fast decks (primarily Affinity and Infect), the tribal decks (Elves and Merfolk), and the BGx decks. The fast decks have a lot of evasion to ignore our ground-based boardstate and can prove tough to race. The tribal decks are also capable of racing us and both decks seem just as capable of powering out dominating boardstates. The Liliana decks can take our game-winning spells with hand hate and it's tough to match their creatures. Most of the problem matchups seem like they would be improved with the addition of some removal, but it's tough finding space for a sufficient amount in the maindeck without diluting the engine and making Collected Company and Satyr Wayfinder hit fewer good targets. I'll be working on a solution to this but for the moment I think a singleton Teysa, Orzhov Scion and perhaps another Path to Exile will help out in the main.
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Godless Shrine
2 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Temple Garden
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Windswept Heath
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Blood Artist
2 Elves of Deep Shadow
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Viscera Seer
4 Voice of Resurgence
3 Zulaport Cutthroat
4 Collected Company
4 Rally the Ancestors
4 Return to the Ranks
3 Spellskite
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Stain the Mind
3 Wrath of God
Also, lol @ Wrath in the SB
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Big Johnny.
I'm consider building it, just it looks like a lot of fun.
Is there a stock list?
Green @ it's best
Or Sultai Emissary?
And about the darkblast, i dont like running removals spells main deck, usually the tidehollow is enought
has someone considered Wall of Omens or Elvish Visionary in the Voice of resurgence-Slot?
They dig and can be sacced into Seer while holding priority, thus providing additional Value.
It's perfect for setting up the Combo-Turn.
What's your oppinion on a 4 Rally the Ancestors - 3 Return to the Ranks-Split?
I expect the Instant-Speed to be more important.
I'm running Birds of Paradise right now, just because it let me cut down to 20 Lands and is able to set up a Turn 3 Collected Company or Abzan Ascendancy. I'll try to replace Doomed Traveller with Blisterpod for being into BG Colors Turn 1 and additional Ramping after it dies.
Green @ it's best
Between Wall of Omens and Elvish Visionary I would probably go with Wall, since without Voice you're likely not going to be going on a beatdown plan and a 0/4 will help you block and grind a bit better than a 1/1. If you're running Chord or otherwise have a predominantly green deck you could make an argument to run Visionary, though. With that said in many ways Satyr Wayfinder already acts as our Visionary – it's a 2 drop that draws you a land an dumps cards into your grave, and in this particular deck that's potentially more advantageous than merely drawing one card.
Personally I have reduced my recursion effects to 3x Return to the Ranks and 2x Eternal Witness. These cards can be incredibly powerful and hand you the game out of nowhere.. but without the right targets in your grave they can wind up sitting in your hand a bit more often than I'd like. They also become completely dead if hated with Relic of Progenitus or Grafdigger's Cage so be sure that you have a reliable plan against these common cards.
I prefer Return to the Ranks over Rally the Ancestors atm because it synergizes with Satyr Wayfinder and Voice of Resurgence especially well to permanently advance your board state and generate card advantage. Plus, you can reuse it with Eternal Witness since it goes into your grave rather than exile. It's more suited to grindy play while still occasionally providing big blow-out rezes. Even if you don't have a huge graveyard just getting 2-3 creatures permanently onto the field is really valuable. The convoke ability means that even if I'm stuck at 3 mana I can still use the spell and retain a shot at the game, which has happened several times. The 2 cmc cap and sorcery speed are unfortunate, but acceptable.
Conversely, because Rally's creatures are sac'd at your next upkeep and Rally itself is exiled you have to use it in a more dramatic game-winning style to rez your whole team and turn a 10 damage sac into a lethal sac. If your primary win con is a large sac wave, this is a great choice. It has the benefit of hitting 3-drops and being at instant speed.
Lastly, I'm also running 3x Birds right now and I find that they help make the deck faster and less painful.