After seeing a few B/W Knight decklists running around, I got to brewing the following deck. I don't call it B/W Knights for a few key reasons:
(1) While it runs mostly knights, it's not entirely knights. It is however, entirely humans.
(2) It eschews History of Benalia which is sort of the defining piece of Knight decks.
The Deck*:
(*At the moment there are 17 SB cards, I'm hoping to refine them with the communities thoughts)
God-Pharaoh's Faithful -- I'm not huge on this card, a 0/4 blocker with a lifegain upside is okay but nothing to write home about. I'm leaning towards cutting but the only reasonable replacement I could think of was Legion's Landing, which suffers from the issue of being legendary (making multiples bad) and makes 1/1's which in a chainwhirler meta are basically useless.
Knight of Grace -- A 3/2 (usually), hexproof from black, first striker makes this card a snap include.
Knight of Malice -- Likewise, a 3/2 (usually), hexproof from white, first striker makes this card a snap include.
Benalish Marshal -- Anthem effect on a stick. And it's not legendary so multiples only get better.
Aryel, Knight of Windgrace -- Because we run so many knights Aryel makes the cut, but I don't love her in the deck. That said, she's a 4/4 vigilance creature which is pretty good, and being able to build out the board, and/or act as removal means for now she's got a spot in the deck for now.
Fatal Push -- If you're in black, you run this. Enough said.
Cast Down -- I'm back and forth on this one. Extra removal is good, but we've got a fair amount already. I'm considering moving it to SB (or cutting entirely), and moving Arguel's Blood Fast into the main.
Seal Away -- A 2CMC exile effect is great. There are few problems it can't answer in a creature deck, and we have other options for those.
Radiant Destiny -- Anthem effect that's not subject to creature removal.
Cast Out -- An instant speed exile effect is great, but at 4 CMC running 4 copies MB feels a little much.
Vraska's Contempt -- I'd consider going to 2 on this, but only have 1 to test with. Even so, only hitting creatures and planeswalkers makes it less versatile than Cast Out, so between the two I'd rather the former. The big advantage to V's Contempt is that it doesn't stay on the board so it can't be removed later.
The lands are pretty self-explanatory. We want W/B sources, untapped as much as possible. It should go without saying but, just in case, I figure I should mention that for Unclaimed Territory name Human, not Knight.
SIDEBOARD
Authority of the Consuls -- Slows aggro down, gains life. Pretty much everything we'd want against them.
Arguel's Blood Fast -- Card draw for grindy games. After it flips it's always a nice trick to turn an about to die creature into some lifegain.
Sorcerous Spyglass -- I personally love this card, though I recognize not everyone likes it. It shuts off so many problems (planeswalkers, vehicles, ballista, etc.).
Kambal, Consul of Allocation -- Another card I love, but will admit I'm not sure deserves a spot in the SB. He's human which plays well with the rest of the theme. Moreover, against control he's a must answer problem for them.
Profane Procession -- This was recently added to the SB during my brewing. I don't think I'd ever want more than 1 copy in my deck. It's really only good late game when we have a lot of mana. Early on though it's just a dead card because I'd rather be casting any number of other options on T3.
Dusk // Dawn -- Excellent against Stompy, Dinosaurs, and the like; but otherwise just okay. I do like that it can bring back all but 6 of the creatures we run.
Ixalan's Binding -- As much as I love Cast Out and V's Contempt, sometimes there are problems we don't want to see a second time (Ghalta, Scarab God, etc.). This is our answer against them.
Angel of Invention -- Another recent addition to the SB during brewing. Lyra is probably better here, but I don't have any to test with so I can't say for sure. She's a flying lifelinker, with vigilance to boot; can go big(ish) or go wide; and has an anthem effect. Definitely an inclusion worth considering.
Fumigate -- Board wipe, lifegain. Hits all creatures, unlike Settle which only hits tapped (also isn't shut off by Shalai's effect either). There's not much else to say about it.
Further Thoughts:
You'll notice a glaring lack of Settle the Wreckage. I don't have them to test with so I can't say how well they do in the deck, but if you've got them, they almost certainly worth trying. That said, most opponents that see you on White expect it, so you can often bluff having it by just leaving up the mana (when you've got the mana to leave up obviously).
This deck is overloaded on removal so facing creature decks should be reasonable but what is missing here imho is some form of card advantage grind through opposing midrange/control decks which can likewise deal with your threats.
Karn would be great for the card advantage, sadly as I don't have them I can't say for sure (anyone who does and wants to test them I welcome your thoughts on how he performs).
I debated Dauntless Bodyguard, my problem is I see him as a T3 or later play. On T1 he has nothing to target, and T2 you're casting a Knight of XYZ. I wanted a T1 play that can buy time to build the board and GPF seems the only option for that.
History has some good upsides, what I don't like is that it doesn't stick around. I might go to a 2/2 split but want to get a better feel for RD first.
I don't know why I never thought of adding Shalai! You're right, she definitely plays well with the deck. Thanks for the idea!
I had a very similar idea when I saw Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants. I think it has the potential to be better than a knight tribal deck due to the synergies with Ajani and militia bugler. This is the current list I'm working on:
I had a very similar idea when I saw Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants. I think it has the potential to be better than a knight tribal deck due to the synergies with Ajani and militia bugler. This is the current list I'm working on:
3 Duress
1 Forsake the Worldly
2 Authority of the Consuls
2 Remorseful Cleric
3 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Cast Out
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
I'm not a big fan of Ballista in this particular build, it doesn't synergize well and can't be brought back by Ajani. I'd recommend something that can combat it instead Suncleanser, or something which can help you draw more bodies/answers both early and late game Mentor of the Meek. I'd be curious on your thoughts about SBing Baird, Steward of Argive. Against R/x it seems like a huge way to hurt them, they often run short on mana and it's toughness allows it to dodge all but the big threats like Glorybringer.
Ajani, Adversary of tyrants will work wonders here. I'd easily take out the 0/4 and use dauntless bodyguard. Also, bring in the two drop death touch pirate with flash if you use Ajani.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I was looking at some online breakdowns and I'm thinking black white humans may work best with oketras monument. You can just bury the opponent in card advantage with militia bugler and mentor of the meek. You get to play the strongest small creatures in the format with knight of infamy and knight of grace. The main weakness the deck has is to board wipes and flying threats.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
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(1) While it runs mostly knights, it's not entirely knights. It is however, entirely humans.
(2) It eschews History of Benalia which is sort of the defining piece of Knight decks.
The Deck*:
(*At the moment there are 17 SB cards, I'm hoping to refine them with the communities thoughts)
4 God-Pharaoh's Faithful
4 Knight of Grace
4 Knight of Malice
4 Benalish Marshal
2 Aryel, Knight of Windgrace
SPELLS
4 Fatal Push
2 Cast Down
4 Seal Away
4 Radiant Destiny
3 Cast Out
1 Vraska's Contempt
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Isolated Chapel
8 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Unclaimed Territory
2 Authority of the Consuls
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Profane Procession
2 Dusk // Dawn
2 Ixalan's Binding
2 Angel of Invention
2 Fumigate
The Breakdown:
God-Pharaoh's Faithful -- I'm not huge on this card, a 0/4 blocker with a lifegain upside is okay but nothing to write home about. I'm leaning towards cutting but the only reasonable replacement I could think of was Legion's Landing, which suffers from the issue of being legendary (making multiples bad) and makes 1/1's which in a chainwhirler meta are basically useless.
Knight of Grace -- A 3/2 (usually), hexproof from black, first striker makes this card a snap include.
Knight of Malice -- Likewise, a 3/2 (usually), hexproof from white, first striker makes this card a snap include.
Benalish Marshal -- Anthem effect on a stick. And it's not legendary so multiples only get better.
Aryel, Knight of Windgrace -- Because we run so many knights Aryel makes the cut, but I don't love her in the deck. That said, she's a 4/4 vigilance creature which is pretty good, and being able to build out the board, and/or act as removal means for now she's got a spot in the deck for now.
Fatal Push -- If you're in black, you run this. Enough said.
Cast Down -- I'm back and forth on this one. Extra removal is good, but we've got a fair amount already. I'm considering moving it to SB (or cutting entirely), and moving Arguel's Blood Fast into the main.
Seal Away -- A 2CMC exile effect is great. There are few problems it can't answer in a creature deck, and we have other options for those.
Radiant Destiny -- Anthem effect that's not subject to creature removal.
Cast Out -- An instant speed exile effect is great, but at 4 CMC running 4 copies MB feels a little much.
Vraska's Contempt -- I'd consider going to 2 on this, but only have 1 to test with. Even so, only hitting creatures and planeswalkers makes it less versatile than Cast Out, so between the two I'd rather the former. The big advantage to V's Contempt is that it doesn't stay on the board so it can't be removed later.
The lands are pretty self-explanatory. We want W/B sources, untapped as much as possible. It should go without saying but, just in case, I figure I should mention that for Unclaimed Territory name Human, not Knight.
SIDEBOARD
Authority of the Consuls -- Slows aggro down, gains life. Pretty much everything we'd want against them.
Arguel's Blood Fast -- Card draw for grindy games. After it flips it's always a nice trick to turn an about to die creature into some lifegain.
Sorcerous Spyglass -- I personally love this card, though I recognize not everyone likes it. It shuts off so many problems (planeswalkers, vehicles, ballista, etc.).
Kambal, Consul of Allocation -- Another card I love, but will admit I'm not sure deserves a spot in the SB. He's human which plays well with the rest of the theme. Moreover, against control he's a must answer problem for them.
Profane Procession -- This was recently added to the SB during my brewing. I don't think I'd ever want more than 1 copy in my deck. It's really only good late game when we have a lot of mana. Early on though it's just a dead card because I'd rather be casting any number of other options on T3.
Dusk // Dawn -- Excellent against Stompy, Dinosaurs, and the like; but otherwise just okay. I do like that it can bring back all but 6 of the creatures we run.
Ixalan's Binding -- As much as I love Cast Out and V's Contempt, sometimes there are problems we don't want to see a second time (Ghalta, Scarab God, etc.). This is our answer against them.
Angel of Invention -- Another recent addition to the SB during brewing. Lyra is probably better here, but I don't have any to test with so I can't say for sure. She's a flying lifelinker, with vigilance to boot; can go big(ish) or go wide; and has an anthem effect. Definitely an inclusion worth considering.
Fumigate -- Board wipe, lifegain. Hits all creatures, unlike Settle which only hits tapped (also isn't shut off by Shalai's effect either). There's not much else to say about it.
Further Thoughts:
You'll notice a glaring lack of Settle the Wreckage. I don't have them to test with so I can't say how well they do in the deck, but if you've got them, they almost certainly worth trying. That said, most opponents that see you on White expect it, so you can often bluff having it by just leaving up the mana (when you've got the mana to leave up obviously).
A pretty obvious option here is usually Karn, Scion of Urza (or the more budget Treasure Map/Arguel's Blood Fast).
A hard to deal with threat like Gideon of the Trials is also a good option to have something that dodges (some0 removal.
History of Benalia is probably a much better option than Radiant Destiny as it produces threats and not only buffs them.
Dauntless Bodyguard isn't great against Goblin Chainwhirler but I'd much rather have it over God-Pharaoh's Faithful to get some early damage or protect Marshal/Aryel.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty (and Lyra Dawnbringer) is also a really solid option for a deck like this.
I debated Dauntless Bodyguard, my problem is I see him as a T3 or later play. On T1 he has nothing to target, and T2 you're casting a Knight of XYZ. I wanted a T1 play that can buy time to build the board and GPF seems the only option for that.
History has some good upsides, what I don't like is that it doesn't stick around. I might go to a 2/2 split but want to get a better feel for RD first.
I don't know why I never thought of adding Shalai! You're right, she definitely plays well with the deck. Thanks for the idea!
Dauntless Bodyguard into Seal Away/Fatal Push on the draw or Knight of Grace/Knight of Malice on the play.
T3 History of Benalia/Radiant Destiny/Benalish Marshal followed by another of either of those on T4 (or Cast Out or another piece of removal) and Valiant Knight/Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants or even an Aryel on T5.
This is where the strength of WB is going forward. Not including History of Benalia, no matter any other choices, is a mistake.
5 Plains
7 Swamp
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Aether Hub
3 Vicious Offering
2 Fatal Push
3 Walking Ballista
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Knight of Grace
4 Knight of Malice
3 Militia Bugler
3 Radiant Destiny
3 Doomfall
3 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
// Sideboard //
3 Duress
1 Forsake the Worldly
2 Authority of the Consuls
2 Remorseful Cleric
3 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Cast Out
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
I'm not a big fan of Ballista in this particular build, it doesn't synergize well and can't be brought back by Ajani. I'd recommend something that can combat it instead Suncleanser, or something which can help you draw more bodies/answers both early and late game Mentor of the Meek. I'd be curious on your thoughts about SBing Baird, Steward of Argive. Against R/x it seems like a huge way to hurt them, they often run short on mana and it's toughness allows it to dodge all but the big threats like Glorybringer.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!