MTG Salvation

I've only played a few matches with this so far, feedback is appreciated. Aristocrat decks get some new tools in WAR like Cruel Celebrant.



It does pretty well against RDW. I could see dropping a few of the Pitiless Pontiffs for more lands ,different creatures, or another History. Sideboard is a work in progress, it's too superfriends heavy, and I'd like to play Basilica Bell-Haunt.

Pretty solid starting point, the one thing that jumps out at me is that your curve stops at 3 and 4 and you are running 23 lands but then you have 3 of the 6-drop Lili's. I would just cut her for 3 gideons or dreadhorde invasions. From my testing, both gideon and dreadhorde invasion are really good, I would cut hunted witness to fit both of them in personally.

Quote from jackkbro »

Pretty solid starting point, the one thing that jumps out at me is that your curve stops at 3 and 4 and you are running 23 lands but then you have 3 of the 6-drop Lili's. I would just cut her for 3 gideons or dreadhorde invasions. From my testing, both gideon and dreadhorde invasion are really good, I would cut hunted witness to fit both of them in personally.

Yeah I agree that Liliana is too slow after playing some more. Good suggestions with the Dreadhorde invasion and Gideon, I'll try them out. Do you think that Legion's Landing has a place here?

Legion's landing is pretty good too. I think the choice there would between whether you want a more midrange list with gideon or a 1 drop tokens version with landing. I personally would leave hunted witness in if you are running landing and take it out if not.

Updated list, the sideboard should be a bit better, but will change as the meta develops. I'm really torn on leaving out Hunted Witness, it's decidedly average but it also feels bad not having a resilient turn one blocker. Still haven't tested out different amounts of Gideon, or including Legion's Landing; don't have the wildcards on MTGA yet. Also considering Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord and Teysa Karlov as one-ofs. Orzhov Enforcer is better than Tithe Taker in some matchups.

Gideon is very good, giving Pitiless Pontiff vigilance applies a lot of pressure, and dodges board wipes. Golgari/Sultai Midrange lists are probably the toughest matchup, if Priest of Forgotten Gods isn't set up early enough, they just go wider than we can, and heal a bunch with Wildgrowth Walker. Find//Finality and Cry of the Carnarium also are tough to deal with, can't dodge them with Pitiless Pontiff.

I've been considering W/B aristocrat style deck as well. Just brewing on Arena, haven't spent the wildcards on it yet. Your deck is definitely missing Midnight Reaper also Venerated Loxodon and Conclave Tribunal should be great. I don't like Priest of forgotten gods that much, too slow to set up. I think Knight of Grace and Knight of Malice are worth considering. 2/2 first strike on turn 2 blocks well against aggro. We have a lot of multi-colored permanents to turn them both on and buff them up. Note the after-life tokens are both w/b so just 1 of those will turn on either knight.

I haven't made a true list yet, but this is what's in the brew pile on Arena for me:

I think pitiless pontiff doesn't do much in this deck. You have enough enablers that it isn't needed.

Okay, a friend just reminded me of the perfect card for this deck:
Plaguecrafter
This card alongside Midnight Reaper and the new Gideon is where we want to be. This with all of our afterlife creatures/gutter bones looks really good. Midnight Reaper and plaguecrafter will net us so many cards.

Reassembling skeleton is one worth looking at. Don't think it makes the cut, but we need to consider it.

Something like this list:

I'm actually starting to think Knights tribal is a thing. I'm doing really well with this list. Gideon is great. Note that he can convoke the turn he comes out. I'm also eyeing Oath of Kaya a bit more heavily if I'm running this many knights and also a walker. Conclave Tribunal Venerated Loxodon are great in the deck. NOTE THAT MIDNIGHT REAPER IS A KNIGHT!!!!

Spaces for Radiant Blessing and Valiant Knight Dauntless Bodyguard Benalish Marshal being considered.

Quote from JaishivaJai »

I'm actually starting to think Knights tribal is a thing. I'm doing really well with this list. Gideon is great. Note that he can convoke the turn he comes out. I'm also eyeing Oath of Kaya a bit more heavily if I'm running this many knights and also a walker. Conclave Tribunal Venerated Loxodon are great in the deck. NOTE THAT MIDNIGHT REAPER IS A KNIGHT!!!!

Spaces for Radiant Blessing and Valiant Knight Dauntless Bodyguard Benalish Marshal being considered.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I agree that Priest of Forgotten Gods is slow, it doesn't have an immediate impact on the battlefield. I'll try substituting Midnight Reaper and Plaguecrafter. I'll consider Conclave Tribunal as well, it is a lot more flexible than Mortify.

A knight shell is definitely possible, I don't think it would be necessarily better or worse, just a different style. Triple White mana for Benalish Marshal is tough though.

Quote from A_E_I_Own_U »

I think pitiless pontiff doesn't do much in this deck. You have enough enablers that it isn't needed.

I can see that perspective, but it's also such an effective blocker, being able to sacrifice a chump before damage is dealt is really nice. It's saved me from many a Goblin Chainwhirler, large Wildgrowth Walker, etc. I'll try substituting in other cards though.

Anyway, I haven't made too many modifications, I just upped the Gideon count to 3 and took out a History of Benalia. Still working on it.

I went 7-2 in the BO1 constructed event on Arena. I lost to, W/B Aristocrats! LOL. They were running Cruel Celebrant which impressed me much more than I though it would. I'm going to test out some celebrants in my list now. I've also been winning lots of games on the ranked ladder.

I was running this:

Whipped up a knights list:

I have used Unclaimed territory to good effect in a R/G Warriors deck in order to run Goblin Chainwhirler. It worked quite fine.

I know, multiple posts and all. It just seems necessary to keep getting out all those cards we may possibly brew with. They just come to me in spurts.

Here it goes:

• Costly Plunder
  
• Final Payment
  
• Orzhov Enforcer
  
• Unbreakable formation

I'm not sure the knights list is all that great. I do like the idea of Benalish Marshal if we drop the number of black cards so we can run fewer swamps and throw in a guildgate or 2. I'll investigate it at some point.

Quote from JaishivaJai »

I know, multiple posts and all. It just seems necessary to keep getting out all those cards we may possibly brew with. They just come to me in spurts.

Here it goes:

• Costly Plunder
  
• Final Payment
  
• Orzhov Enforcer
  
• Unbreakable formation

I'm not sure the knights list is all that great. I do like the idea of Benalish Marshal if we drop the number of black cards so we can run fewer swamps and throw in a guildgate or 2. I'll investigate it at some point.

Oh it's fine with the multiple posts, if it helps with brainstorming. You're right about Unclaimed Territory helping out with Benalish Marshall. As for cards like Costly Plunder and Final Payment, I think they fit in a shell with Dreadhorde Invasion and/orLegion's Landing.The only problem I see is that they aren't good enough as standalone cards.

Are you basically running the same list still asdfpanda?

I went up to 4 Gideon's personally. He can actually be decent against control as he gets to -6 exile a permanent pretty quickly. It keeps them from playing Teferi if they can't answer Gideon. 4 copies isn't as bad as I thought. Just let your opponent attack into the first one while you're lifelinking another creature with him and you can race pretty well. They finally kill Gideon, you bust out the second, and third if needed. Again, he just becomes an alternate removal spell when you play him on turn 3 and can protect him.

Been brewing around all sorts of different stuff, but I think 4 Gideons is about right.

It seems to me that the deck isn't quite aggro enough against control. I can beat mono-red and mono-white usually (unless their Benalish Marshal comes down early.) Mono blue can be overcome too so long as they don't get that curious obsession/evasive creature combo. out too early.

Where I struggle is with midrange and control, and anything a bunch of green creatures.

That's where I'm at with the deck. I think Prison Realm is something worth considering. I think the deck needs more than the 4 Conclave Tribunal I've been running. I feel it needs at least 5 removal spells that hit walkers and creatures, maybe 6 or 7. I keep losing to control by not having an answer to Teferi or other walkers that they play.

I wanted to share what I've been using in Arena that has been working fairly well for me. My goal is to keep Cruel Celebrants in play as much as possible and have the ability to reanimate them with the Sorin and Ajani as well as the black land that will put them in your hand. Costly Plunder and Militia Bugler work as a fantastic card advantage engines to keep things moving and to make sure you always get your celebrant. I'll admit I haven't yet played the Finale of Eternity yet, but I am interested to see if it will be a good late game card or not. A crappy Rally the Ancestors, but it might work. I also really want to try Revival/Revenge as a reanimator, but not sure how many. Going to craft them next.

I run a very similar list on arena, and those matches where you have multiple cruel celebrants, but no way to sac your dudes for the win? Bontu has got you covered. It’s a 3 of in my deck, and I don’t feel like I’m losing consistency with it. Bontu May be the worst of the god cycle, but in this deck, it’s the best.

Quote from JaishivaJai »

Are you basically running the same list still asdfpanda?

I went up to 4 Gideon's personally. He can actually be decent against control as he gets to -6 exile a permanent pretty quickly. It keeps them from playing Teferi if they can't answer Gideon. 4 copies isn't as bad as I thought. Just let your opponent attack into the first one while you're lifelinking another creature with him and you can race pretty well. They finally kill Gideon, you bust out the second, and third if needed. Again, he just becomes an alternate removal spell when you play him on turn 3 and can protect him.

Been brewing around all sorts of different stuff, but I think 4 Gideons is about right.

It seems to me that the deck isn't quite aggro enough against control. I can beat mono-red and mono-white usually (unless their Benalish Marshal comes down early.) Mono blue can be overcome too so long as they don't get that curious obsession/evasive creature combo. out too early.

Where I struggle is with midrange and control, and anything a bunch of green creatures.

That's where I'm at with the deck. I think Prison Realm is something worth considering. I think the deck needs more than the 4 Conclave Tribunal I've been running. I feel it needs at least 5 removal spells that hit walkers and creatures, maybe 6 or 7. I keep losing to control by not having an answer to Teferi or other walkers that they play.

I'm still at 3 Gideon but only because I don't have the wildcard for a 4th on MTGA lol. I don't see 4 Gideon as wrong. I agree with the midrange and control issue, but there's a list by Mazuku94 that went 5-0 on MTG Goldfish that may be of interest:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/standard-wb-83245#paper


It seems that it's extremely low to the ground on the curve, forgoing stuff like Seraph of Scales, and doesn't include Gideon. It instead focuses on cheap and fast card advantage. The Revival//Revenge is an interesting choice. I'm bringing this up because it seems that you can go with more exile effects to deal with the control matchup, or just decrease the curve for more tempo to race against control. However, while being an aristocrat deck, it's a different style, yours seems more midrangey. Let us know how thePrison Realm testing goes. I personally am still running Mortify.

On another note I know you mentionedVenerated Loxodon as a good option, and I think it's worth consideration against specifically Cry of the Carnarium. That card just wrecks us.

Quote from theAFCfinalist »

I wanted to share what I've been using in Arena that has been working fairly well for me. My goal is to keep Cruel Celebrants in play as much as possible and have the ability to reanimate them with the Sorin and Ajani as well as the black land that will put them in your hand. Costly Plunder and Militia Bugler work as a fantastic card advantage engines to keep things moving and to make sure you always get your celebrant. I'll admit I haven't yet played the Finale of Eternity yet, but I am interested to see if it will be a good late game card or not. A crappy Rally the Ancestors, but it might work. I also really want to try Revival/Revenge as a reanimator, but not sure how many. Going to craft them next.

asdfpanda's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4x Godless Shrine 3x Isolated Chapel 2x Orzhov Guildgate 1x Memorial to Glory 2x Memorial to Folly 6x Plains 5x Swamp	4x Hunted Witness 4x Cruel Celebrant 2x Priest of Forgotten Gods 2x Tithe Taker 4x Martyr of Dusk 4x Militia Bugler 3x Deathbloom Thalid 2x Ravenous Chupacapra	2x Legion's Landing 2x Spark Harvest 2x Cast Down 3x Costly Plunder 1x Finale of Eternity 1x Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants 1x Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord

I hadn't considered Militia Bugler as an option, good idea. If you're going with the Sorin/Ajani plan I would include more of those. I personally don't think Finale of Eternity is worth it mainboard, getting up to say 6 mana is pretty difficult, and it's bad game 1 vs control. However, I think it is a fantastic sideboard option to deal with Sultai/Golgari Midrange style decks, hitting Wildgrowth Walkers, Hydroid Krasis and other stuff easily. I haven't tested it myself.

I'm going to try Sorin first, then Revival//Revenge as well, although it may take a while.

Quote from TheRavenManIsSquee »

I run a very similar list on arena, and those matches where you have multiple cruel celebrants, but no way to sac your dudes for the win? Bontu has got you covered. It’s a 3 of in my deck, and I don’t feel like I’m losing consistency with it. Bontu May be the worst of the god cycle, but in this deck, it’s the best.

I think Bontu can work as a 1 of. Though, I'm liking Plaguecrafter too, even if it doesn't slam onto the battlefield like Bontu.

Cry of the Carnarium gives me nightmares! Been playing against it a lot lately. Even venerated loxodon doesn't do too much to help considering the number of 1 toughness creatures we run. Even if we add a counter to them, they still get hit by Cry, and then it makes me cry. That exile clause is brutal! I'm actually beginning to look more and more at mono-white now that I have all the pieces for it. Benalish Marshal shuts down carnarium much better than Vernerated loxodon in my opinion. Being able to run both in the deck really helps.

I think u underestimate Priest of forgotten gods a lot. I Play a modern BW Aristocrats Version and he won me many games.
He does everything the Deck wants: sac Outlet, Card draw, Mana ramp, drain and disruption all in one card... he is better than a dark confidant on this spot (from modern perspective)
So I would definitely recommend a full PlaySet in any BW Standard list