T3 drop Mindslicer, T4 Sidisi exploits Mindslicer. Everyone discards except you tutor Necropotence HAHAHA :)) Will find room in the deck for this Zombie Naga :))
I continue to look at her, and I see she has wonderful potential, and I have even considered this combo myself since I recently got a mind slicer (Though i originally misread it and thought it was everyone but me discards their hands, oh well ). My only problem is that I would want her to be easily accessible. I've built my deck to be a balance of control and offense, with the ability to transfigure or transmute in CMC 3 and 4. Most of the 1,2,5,6,and 7 drops are cards either I happily draw in to, sort with Lim-dul's vault, or keep from my opening hand. So while I see the potential for the combo above, I also don't see myself doing it by maybe once every 10-15 games or so. I don't have a reliable way to tutor anything that isn't a CMC3 or 4. Rune Scarred helps, but he also needs a lot to get put out. I'm considering finding the money and room to put in a few actual tutor cards, like demonic tutor and more like it.
I honestly find more use out of Dragonlord Silumgar, since he flies, has death touch, decent stats, and lets me steal something my opponent may be quite fond of.
I've built my deck close to Rune's build, but I also have it so I can keep a bit of my own individuality in it...I also don't have the funds to get some of the more expensive cards Rune uses. Keep in mind that my Marchesa is exclusively for 3+ player games (I use Rafiq for my 1v1 games). Here are a few of my personal All-Stars that have changed games for me...
Tauren Mauler: GREAT card once Marchesa is on the field. He not only builds up power, but he also saves himself if he dies while Marchesa is on the field.
Dimir Doppelganger: For those times when you can't get the graveyard hate, need/want to steal something your opponent lost to the grave, OR if you want to reincarnate your own creature. I had one game where I made it into a copy of GrimGrin, Corpse-Born and went to town with sacing effects and swinging. Sometimes, I feel this is a better card over Puppeteer Clique, only because it's easier to cast and I never want to cast Clique when it shows up.
Chromatic Lantern: Fixes my mana issues, and produces mana itself. Not always readily available, but when it does show up it puts in work.
Lim-Dul's Vault: Not only does it lower my life to help with dethrone, but it also allows me to do an in-depth scry. Every time it's shown up, it's been used to change the entire flow of my deck, and its always been for the better.
Soul Manipulation: It's the only counter I use, and mostly because not only does it disrupt my opponents flow, but it allows me to grab a creature from my grave and give it a second chance to impress the Black Rose.
Desecration Demon: It's not something my opponents expect, but it does it's job. Either they pay the price to tap and give it a counter, thus lowering their board presence and giving him a chance to revive by Marchesa, OR I get a 6/6 flying blocker (or attacker) to ave myself from flying threats.
Abyssal Persecutor: holds mostly the same idea as Desecration Demon, but also adds trample. I've also had a few opponents (2), who have let themselves get low in life because he is on the field, only for me to sac him and let myself or another end that player. However, he is mostly in there for a cheap 6/6 flying defense.
Oona, Queen of the Fae: A bit pricey mana wise, but if she lives, she causes hell for mono-colored decks, a few of which run at my locals. Duel colors also get hit nicely. 3 or more colors and she becomes iffy, but overall she is a nice addition for her role. Her milling in combo with graveyard exile or Dimir Doppelganger can sometimes be fantastic, especially if she mills something awesome.
Those are my unique All-Stars. Each has a special place to me, and if I had to, I think only Soul Manipulation and Abyssal Persecutor would get removed. Otherwise, each of them has helped me on multiple occasions, and have earned their place among Marchesa's army.
I figured since I have been following this thread since I started my Marchesa deck, I would post my version here and see what you thought of it. I have a similar build with a few personal touches to it. I used the same format Solrune used for their original deck list, and removed the cards I don't have and added the ones I use for my personal touch.
In gatherings and play testings, Marchesa does decently (I don't play to win so much as I play to have fun and cause shenanigans). There is another Marchesa deck where I play, and so which ever one of us gains power first tends to be the target. I haven't played everyone at my locals (having just moved to a new area), but for the most part there are GrimGrins, Marchesa, Maelstrom Wanderer, and Thassa.
So let me know your opinions! I'm eager to hear them and I love questions and criticism!
I thought I would get some opinions on my deck. Normally I play mono-white knights, and I wanted to change it up and play something with more of a tool box aspect. Keep in mind my deck is not taken to tournaments, and it's just played casually.
To explain a bit, I play casually like I said before, so I try to give my pod deck a bit of a fun spin. I’ve also been building this on a budget over the past 5 months. To explain a bit of my ideas…
Glissa the Traitor- I wanted to give my deck both a small amount of offense against decks that buff up their creatures, mostly hydras, and kill them off quickly when they swing. She also lets me get back any of my Pods or Metamorphs who happen to get killed.
Varolz the Scar Striped- I like him as both a 3 drop Pod target and a sac outlet. He also lets me regenerate himself with the sacs to keep him alive.
Acidic Slime- Not a go to card in my deck, but it does help to remove one threats. It's pretty useful against the new Theros cards also.
Sanguine Praetor- It's by no means a major part of the deck. I saw this card and decided I should add it simply to have a big ole baddie in the deck. Most people have told me I should have added Sheoldred or Elesh-Norn, but I like this guy as a late game clean up crew for his mass wipe effect. That, and he looks cool.
Tolsimir Wolfblood- Another Card which isn't a major part but just added by me for flavor. I like both the boost ability, and the token generate since I can sac the token for pod. I can also pod out my Acidic Slime into this guy, and boost a few of my other critters.
Karametra, God of Harvests- Just added her after pre-release. I think she may be a random tech only because she allows me to tutor out lands. She would serve the same purpose as Purphoros, just being an enchantment.
Purphoros, God of the Forge- I LOVE this guy in the deck. Not only can I basically forget about Redcap, but I can combo it with Finks and gain life while killing my opponents. While he never becomes a creature in my build, he does his job by slowly, but reliably, killing my opponents.
Vraska the Unseen- Vraska is a touch I added not because of her final ability, but because of her first negative, destroying any nonland permanent. So using the first two abilities make her a nice flavor in the deck.
Treasured Find- A small handy spell that lets me grab things back for a 2 drop. This gives me 3 retrievals.
Warleader's Helix- Not going to be in here long. I have yet to find something that I own or can get that flows nicely with the deck. This and Karametra have replaced Deathrite Shaman since it's been banned. Hopefully, this will be replaced with Ranger of Eos.
I currently refuse to buy Chords of Calling and Nobel Hierarch due to it's price, and am currently attempting to find a Ranger of Eos. Any ideas or concepts to make this deck more fun (not super competitive as I don't do tourneys with it) would be awesome. I love hearing what people think of my decks.
I haven't posted in a long time and in that time I have been modifying my Mono-White Knights i order to get them to be the best with my limited budget. Here is what I have...
I still do not like having Student of Warfare in the deck, but I have nothing better to replace him with. Heliod, God of the Sun was added so that my knights can have vigilance, as well as have a chump blocker if needed. I hope to add 1-2 more Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to the deck so that my mana ramp can be better and not rely solely on Knight of the White Orchid. I don't think I will be gathering more Mutavaults since I barely use them. I am hoping to get a playlet of Aether Vial and replace my Honor of the Pure with them.
So, any thoughts? I remember Nabby helping out a lot when I first joined and I haven't seen who else has joined or contributed a lot since then, so all help is welcome. =D
For now this is my build for my meta, which is green, red, and black heavy. The most challenging decks I face with this are usually Elves, Devour Dragons, and Gruul decks. For these reasons, I've teched in a Grand Abolisher in order to prevent things like fog,beast within,and other cards that would slow down my assault.
I also have to say that in the debate for silverblade paladin over kinsbaile cavalier, I favor just 1 kinsbaile. While both give double strike, relying on a soulbond to do a massive move is not always in your favor, and the extra 1 drop to give them all double strike can be much scarier. However, I do not rely on double strike, and only see the need for 1 kinsbaile. I would rather build up my army fast, then let him drop for the final blow or at least clear the field for my following turn.
I would like to eventually tech in aether vial, but I would need to get a play set of them to work, and they are rather expensive ($17-22 a piece) to get. I have 3 other decks (myrs, splicers, and dimir mill) that I maintain, so for now I will go without the vial.
On the up side of things, I have only lost thus far with this build to vampires. Only one person where I am at plays them, and having little to no flying defense against his low drop vampires is my downfall.
But tell me what you think, or if you see any room for improvements
Some valid points, thanks! I'll have to tweak it a bit. I do believe there will be a creature heavy meta, but I think that running as many as I am is definitely overkill. I'll be moving the Wraths to SB. Tirel was really just for some fun testing and I think that although good in Multiplayer that she is lacking in the 1v1 scene.
So what are some good alternatives to swap into a mono white knight deck?
I would say to add a bit of Brave the Elements to your deck. Not only does it help protect from burn spells, but if you fight a deck that has a large selection of colored creatures, you can play this, call protection from the more troublesome creatures Mana color, and then swing. against decks who share a color, like guilds, and mono color decks, this typically lets you go with a free full on swing for game. That being said, the one thing to worry about in that is fog. This is why I run Grand Abolisher in my knights at 2, simply because I can make sure my opponent cannot respond to anything I do during my turn besides blocking...unless I use Brave the Elements, which seals the game.
Elspeth Knight-Errant is also a good card to run in place of your current Elspeth. She has only one minus ability, and she also becomes a target for your opponent.
Cavern of Souls works wonders in this deck, especially at 2. Calling Knight basically makes your knights hit the field no matter what, and if you splash in the Abolisher, you can call Human and do the same thing.
Sorry, i didnt know that the first post is being updated constantly(right now i havent tried the last changes to the deck incockatrice, it has been imposible til now ), reading the first post again, i dont know what variation of deck is more agressive, in my case is easily for me adapt my deck to the mono White vial Knights decklist( beacuse of the fetchlands and no basic land cost basically) but i see the interacction between fetchlands and KoTR a really powerful one. The other thing that is weird to me its the exclution of more removal cards to kill big creatures, or creature with evation abilities like flying. To finish, I find a really nice choice of 4cc Elspeth Knight Errant and i kind of miss her in G/W vial knights, why isnt there?.
Thanks for your time and your comments.
Sorry if there a couple of obvious questions here,right now like i mentioned some post before im not a pro player, just a casual player that try to enter in a modern environment to get some fun.
Thanks again.
Nautiluz
I typically find elspeth knight-errant to be an awesome planeswalker, but I also see her as being killed fairly quickly in my games, though most of them mind you are multiplayer matches. That being said, in the conditions where you can protect her, and eventually get her final move off, she is one of the best ways to seal the game in your favor. She is more of a personal flavor card for the user of the deck in my opinion, because her viability depends on the kind of games you play in.
Ok, so my deck is doing decently so in 1v1 as well as thumping in the multiplayer, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Let me know if there are any changes that could work out well. I've looked into Death Knights and there's no way I would want to run that, I can see the pro of playing G/W and may drift in that direction if I feel I need something a little different, but I'm liking what I have so far:
Notes:
1. I know that my sideboard is weak, it hasn't been necessary since all my games with this deck have thus far been casual
2. I know that Elspeth is expensive, but she's a fantastic board wipe that they can't counter and something they have to answer within a turn... so it's also treated me almost like a timewalk as well once I get it down on the board.
3. Depending on what I'm playing against, I have included 2 Cavern of Souls for 2 Plains.
Anyone have thoughts? I'd love constructive criticism in order to make this deck either more competitive in a multiplayer sense or to make it something a little bit stronger that wouldn't do half bad at FNM for a modern tourney.
Heya! So I'm basically doing the same exact thing you are, which is from my understanding, using the knight deck for both 1v1 and multiplayer matches. My deck is also mono-white, but with a bit of variances for the people I tend to play with.
I have never used Mutavault so I have no clue how effective it is, and I and trying to get my own hands on a pair of cavern of souls, but if your games in multiplayer tend to go on sometimes, you may want to run 1-2 Emeria the sky ruin. It's a tech card that I have brought down to one in my deck, but later games, it becomes a good tech for reviving things like Knight Exemplar.
FOr creatures I still want to get a knight of meadowgrain for testing, but right now I use Knight of the white orchid for a mana ramp, or a good first strike 2/2. I've also gotten used to running only 1 kinsbaile cavalier as a tech, since my knights swarm fast. I'm considering removing Hero of Bladehold from my own deck due to it being such a high cost, and taking a whole turn to live and pay off her summon. Because a LOT of people where I play like to use path to exile and beast within and fog, as well as other cards that make swinging with my knights hazardous, I have been teching in 2 Grand abolisher so that I can play my turns un interrupted. He does not share the same blanket of protection that the knights get, but he does his job well, and I most cast him just as I am about to aim for my final swing.
In terms of other cards, I have found that brave the elements and holy day can be great tech depending on the balance of your deck. with mine, I tend to have one of each in hand most times and either use them to prevent damage instead of blocking, or use brave the elements, call the color they are playing that poses the most threat, and since their creatures and other spells of the selected color cannot touch my protected knights, I swing out typically for a kill. holy day is not as versatile, but it allows for you to swing and cover your butt, or not defend and cover your butt. I'm personally on the fence about it. In anything less than 4 people free for all, its rather useless. if its 5+ people, it's a godsend (get it?).
dunno if this helped any, but I hope it did. Good to see even more people are doing a multiplayer and 1v1 deck like I am.
I redid my deck once more, after seeing how 2 sun titans tend to clog my hand, even in multiplayer, and have adjusted somewhat. I do however, have a ton of options which I want to add, but do not have room for or cannot decide upon
I took out the 3 Oblivion Ring due to them mostly just staying in my hand and not being cast due to mana needs to protect my knights. I replaced the with 4 of Scout's Warning so that I could increase my draw power. I typically end my turn with a minimum of 1 plains untapped so I can use Brave the Elements or Holy Day, but now I can use it at my opponents end step to change my hand up a bit. I have also been toying around with the idea of adding Disenchant to the deck so I can take care of artifacts and enchantments permanently, instead of temperarily with Oblivion Ring.
Another addition I made was adding in 1 Kinsbale Cavalier. it's a good 4cmc drop that gives all my knights double strike. in 1v1 games I barely see it, which is fine, but in multiman he shines. And if he does appear in 1v1, he typically seals the game for me since all my knights get to hit first when attacking or defending.
I still prefer having at least 1 Sun Titan in the deck, just in case I get him off, and even more so if he dies and Emeria the Sky Ruin can be activated the following turn to revive him.
I am working on getting 2 Cavern of Souls for the deck, so my knights cannot be countered when they enter the field. There was also a consideration to add 1 copy of Riders of Gavony since everyone around here typically runs a themed deck or a guild deck.
I was also considering Swords to Plowshares to either remove my opponents opposition, or block with my creature and respond to the block by exiling it and gaining life. I had considered Wrath of God but it hurts me as much as them, and if I cannot recover fast enough, I'm screwed.
Here's an update on my current build. What do y'all think? The deck is pretty consistent. It holds well in both multiplayer and solo, but it does however lack power against exile decks. I've considered doing something with special lands, but I've never used anything besides duel/shock lands and have no clue how the other special lands would impact my consistency.
Honestly I would rather run more creatures than an enchantment unless it is Honor of the Pure, then again if you are finding yourselves vulnerable to creature attacks whenever you attack yourself, then this make sense. I forgot to ask if you are mostly playing multi-player or 1v1? I'm assuming you are playing 1v1 since I don't think multi-player games is common in the Modern format :rolleyes:.
Actually, I am playing multi-player mostly. I play casually, but I also try to make my deck the best I can, since everyone else I play with hates to play my Dimir deck. My Knights are for both 1v1 and multi-player, and thus I try to make it viable in both ways of playing.
What changed:
Mirran Crusader - Red burn is nemesis of this knight and since almost everyone did run lightning bolts, I was not playing him. Now my meta is more balanced and Mirran Crusader can bring some serious damage to table. This guy absolutly wrecks BUG avoiding everything but Liliana.
What did not changed:
Knight of the Reliquary - Deathrite Shaman is everywhere weakening Tarmogoyfs and KotR, still I get only best out of this knight, altho he wont be attacking as often. His role is to sit back and find all those Horizon Canopies, or to save himself or others with Sejiri Stepe (you can counter Abrubt Decay with game rules, cards say it cant be countered only by spells or abilities)
Silverblade Paladin - Usualy pairs with KotR to make huge monster or with Knight of Meadowgrain to get alot of life. Works best when Elspeth or +1+1 knight is on battlefield. I didnt throw him away when adding Mirran Crusader because I just find him awesome. You have to be able to pass by Wall of Omens, to kill Restoration Angel and Loxodon Smiters and he makes it possible increasing damage output of small knights to 4.
Strenghts:
First Strike - Almost all knights have First Strike and some decks just cannot match it. First Strike make Snapcasters, Lingering Souls, Kitchen Finks Vendillion Cliques and other popular blockers way weaker. Also stacked First Strike blockers can stop large portion of monsters from attacking.
Aether Vial + Cavern of souls - 7 ways to protect your knights from counterspells. There are no mono blue counter control decks for years, not even on legacy, but it is still very nice to make some of opponents cards redundant. But modern decks today dont run counters to stop monsters and they have otehr ways to deal with our knights.
Weakneses:
Combo decks - No way to interact with opponent leave us vulnerable to Twins and Pods. All you have is path to exile and even dummest combo player can paly around it. After sideboard it can be better.
Lack of spot removal - Pathing Dark Confidant turn 2 is something you will have to live with. Lightning Helix can solve this problem a bit, but I dont run red and naya knights didnt perform well enough.
Discard - Inquisitions and Thoughtseizes can badly ruin your gameplan and there is nothing you can do about it. Liliana discard can be punished by Wilt-Leaf Liege.
Tips and Tricks:
Knight of the White Orchid + Path to Exile + KotR + Aether Vial + fetchlands + horizon canopy - Ok using this engine is pretty obivous in theory, but getting practical advantage needs some experience.
Basicaly you have many ways how to get rid of your lands and then you can find new ones with KotWO.
You can sacrifice your fetchlands and put their ability on stack, then react with Aether Vial and instacast KotWO to get extra land even if you went first in match. You can do the same with KoTR - scaing land and puting ability on stack. You can also sac Horizon Canopy to make yourself have less lands, or you can just use Path to Exile to give opponent more lands. Possibilities are endless and you have to be creative.
With correct using of KotWO you can get:
1) Mid game mana advantage (turn 3 you can be on 4 lands)
2) Lategame card advantage (with KoTR and Canopy with no downside)
You can also catch up with ramp.
KotR + Sejiri Steppe + Horizon Canopy - With no Brave the elements it is up to KotR to protect other knights with protections, which can also help with alfa strike. If opponent doesnt play removal, you will want to get Canopy for advantage.
Issues:
Cavern of Souls doesnt level up Student of Warfare and wont cast Elspeth.
Sejiri Steppe is sometimes wasted in order to prevent manascrew
KotR cant scarifice any of those two lands.
Killing:
Swarming opponent with 2/2 doesnt work since Tempest edition, so I made this deck full of double strikes. Simple +1+1 on 2/2 double striker will turn him into 6 damage dealing monster and Elspeth is basicaly giving +6/+3 flying. Beefy KoTR with double strike can oneshot opponent if you give him protection from color his blockers have using Sejiri Steppe of flying from Elspeth. There are 8 ways how to pump my knights (4 Exempalrs, 2 Lieges 2 Elspeths)
Thoughts:
Adding Dryad Arbor - sometime it is nice to be able to call for 1/1, especialy when you have to sacrifice a creature. Since there are no G/W fetchlands in modern, tutoring for Dryad will be only in KotR hands and I am not sure if its worth.
Removing 1 KotR for 1 more Elspeth or Liege - since KoTR is more utility creature then reliable monster, I was thinking if three of them are enough..
Swords - Hitting twice with any sword makes him double good. Sword of Fire and Ice on Mirran Crusaders sounds fair!
Mutavault - Only Knight manland, but I doubt it will get any synergies in my deck at all and it doesnt level up Student of Warfare.
What I need most:
Vigilance. If there was a Knight Lord giving vigilance to other knights, that would be golden! KoTR could attack and find Steppe to avoid blockers and first strike wall would make opponents attacks impossible.
have you considered using Serra's Blessing for vigilance? I'm considering running 2 for my deck.
So I put it into deck tags for you, as it will be easier to see and we could click on the link to see the cards as well.
First of all I think you need more lands. 20 is not enough when you need to hit the 3 drop consistently. Knight of the White Orchid cannot always be relied on to provide the land drop.
I'm guessing the Path to Exile will replace Holy Day? I'm not sure why Holy day is there in the first place though.
Scouts Warning and To Arms are very interesting combat tricks card, to be honest I never heard of them before until now. However although they are useful combat tricks, and also have cantrip, generally I felt the 4x Brave the Elements in the main deck should more than suffice. Combat tricks are always welcome and useful but as a rule of thumb, I think anything more than 6 in total works against the deck playing creatures consistently, which is first and foremost the most important aspect here, as no combat trick can work when we don't even have creatures to begin with. Also, take note that we may be required to tap out at times so we can't always keep mana free for these type of spells. Luckily they are cantrip spells, otherwise I wouldn't include them in the deck, I think at most maybe 2-3 can be played.
Fiend hunter is probably not required, when there are 4 Path to Exile and 3 Oblivion Ring in the main deck.
I'm sorry I didn't put the deck in format before. I was unsure how to do it. I've actually tried having 23 lands, and I was getting mana clogged constantly. I've found for my current build that 20 seems to balance out.
Path to Exile will be replacing holy day for sure. It's only been a place holder for the games I play with people locally, as I typically get killed after I attempt to swing. to arms and scout's warning I got as extra cards to option in simply for draw power, as mentor of the meek was not reliable to let me draw.
I'm thinking of removing accorder paladin for student of warfare, but I'm also hesitant about removing them because battlecry has helped me win games before.
I recently started playing a mono white knight deck in modern and would like some opinions from people outside of my usual circle of players...
Creatures:
Accorder Paladin x4
Knight of the White Orchid x4
Mirran Crusader x4
Knight Exemplar x4
Hero of Bladehold x2
Leonin Skyhunter x3
Kinsbaile Cavalier x1
Sun Titan x1
Planeswalkers:
Gideon, Champion of Justice x2
Instants:
Brave the Elements x4
Holy Day x4
Enchantments:
Oblivion Ring x3
Honor of the Pure x4
Land:
Plains x20
I am also waiting on money to get 2x Elspeth, Knight Errant to replace the Gideons, 4x Path to Exile, and also 4x Student of Warfare
My other options I have with me include...
silverblade paladin x2
frontline medic x2
to arms x4
emerge unscathed x4
war report x3
odric, master tactician x1
fiend hunter x2
disenchant x1
I also have 4x scouts warning coming in the mail to improve draw power, as To Arms is not working as well as I originally expected.
pick apart my deck, as I always welcome criticism on what I have so I can make it better.
I continue to look at her, and I see she has wonderful potential, and I have even considered this combo myself since I recently got a mind slicer (Though i originally misread it and thought it was everyone but me discards their hands, oh well ). My only problem is that I would want her to be easily accessible. I've built my deck to be a balance of control and offense, with the ability to transfigure or transmute in CMC 3 and 4. Most of the 1,2,5,6,and 7 drops are cards either I happily draw in to, sort with Lim-dul's vault, or keep from my opening hand. So while I see the potential for the combo above, I also don't see myself doing it by maybe once every 10-15 games or so. I don't have a reliable way to tutor anything that isn't a CMC3 or 4. Rune Scarred helps, but he also needs a lot to get put out. I'm considering finding the money and room to put in a few actual tutor cards, like demonic tutor and more like it.
I honestly find more use out of Dragonlord Silumgar, since he flies, has death touch, decent stats, and lets me steal something my opponent may be quite fond of.
Tauren Mauler: GREAT card once Marchesa is on the field. He not only builds up power, but he also saves himself if he dies while Marchesa is on the field.
Dimir Doppelganger: For those times when you can't get the graveyard hate, need/want to steal something your opponent lost to the grave, OR if you want to reincarnate your own creature. I had one game where I made it into a copy of GrimGrin, Corpse-Born and went to town with sacing effects and swinging. Sometimes, I feel this is a better card over Puppeteer Clique, only because it's easier to cast and I never want to cast Clique when it shows up.
Chromatic Lantern: Fixes my mana issues, and produces mana itself. Not always readily available, but when it does show up it puts in work.
Lim-Dul's Vault: Not only does it lower my life to help with dethrone, but it also allows me to do an in-depth scry. Every time it's shown up, it's been used to change the entire flow of my deck, and its always been for the better.
Soul Manipulation: It's the only counter I use, and mostly because not only does it disrupt my opponents flow, but it allows me to grab a creature from my grave and give it a second chance to impress the Black Rose.
Desecration Demon: It's not something my opponents expect, but it does it's job. Either they pay the price to tap and give it a counter, thus lowering their board presence and giving him a chance to revive by Marchesa, OR I get a 6/6 flying blocker (or attacker) to ave myself from flying threats.
Abyssal Persecutor: holds mostly the same idea as Desecration Demon, but also adds trample. I've also had a few opponents (2), who have let themselves get low in life because he is on the field, only for me to sac him and let myself or another end that player. However, he is mostly in there for a cheap 6/6 flying defense.
Oona, Queen of the Fae: A bit pricey mana wise, but if she lives, she causes hell for mono-colored decks, a few of which run at my locals. Duel colors also get hit nicely. 3 or more colors and she becomes iffy, but overall she is a nice addition for her role. Her milling in combo with graveyard exile or Dimir Doppelganger can sometimes be fantastic, especially if she mills something awesome.
Those are my unique All-Stars. Each has a special place to me, and if I had to, I think only Soul Manipulation and Abyssal Persecutor would get removed. Otherwise, each of them has helped me on multiple occasions, and have earned their place among Marchesa's army.
Creatures (Sorted by CMC)
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Viscera Seer
2 Baleful Strix
2 Pain Seer
2 Sage of Hours
3 Hellhole Flailer
3 Chasm Skulker
3 Taurean Mauler
3 Feldon of the Third Path
3 Grim Haruspex
3 Sage of Fables
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Olivia Voldaren
4 Desecration Demon
4 Evil Twin
4 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
4 Cytoplast Manipulator
4 Anger
4 Agent of Erebos
4 Aura Thief
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Dack's Duplicate
4 Dimir House Guard
4 Disciple of Bolas
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Fleshwrither
4 Graveborn Muse
4 Necrotic Ooze
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
5 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
5 Puppeteer Clique
5 River Kelpie
6 Flayer of the Hatebound
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
6 Harvester Of Souls
6 Scourge of the Throne
6 Duplicant
2 Lim-Dul's Vault
2 Rakdos Charm
3 Dismember
3 Perplex
3 Chaos Warp
Sorceries
3 Buried Alive
5 Living Death
Support permanents (Sorted by CMC)
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Attrition
3 Unspeakable Symbol
3 Fervor
3 Necropotence
4 Grave pact
5 Eldrazi Monument
7 Grave Betrayal
Ramp (Sorted by CMC)
1 Sol Ring
2 Mind Stone
2 Dimir Signet
2 Izzet Signet
2 Rakdos Signet
2 Talisman of Dominance
2 Talisman of Indulgence
3 Obelisk of Grixis
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Commander's Sphere
Lands
0 Temple of the False God
0 Akoum Refuge
0 City of Brass
0 Rakdos Carnarium
0 Crumbling Necropolis
0 Grixis Panorama
0 Ghost Quarter
0 Barren Moor
0 Izzet Boilerworks
0 Bloodstained Mire
0 Wooded Foothills
0 Polluted Delta
0 Blood Crypt
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Command Tower
0 Dragonskull Summit
0 Drowned Catacomb
0 Island (x5)
0 Mountain (x4)
0 Opal Palace
0 Steam Vents
0 Sulfur Falls
0 Swamp (x6)
0 Tainted Isle
0 Tolaria West
0 Watery Grave
I am saving up to get a few other cards for this deck. Spellskite, Filth, Sakashima the Imposter, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Preyseizer Dragon, and Clutch of the Undercity are the key ones I want to get and find room for. I'm not sold on the Necrotic Ooze combos, but I do like using Buried Alive, even at sorcery speed, to put 3 cards in my grave opposed to 1. I'm thinking of adding Wonder to the deck once I get Filth. Some cards, Like Sneak Attack and Imperial Recruiter are FAR out of my price range.
In gatherings and play testings, Marchesa does decently (I don't play to win so much as I play to have fun and cause shenanigans). There is another Marchesa deck where I play, and so which ever one of us gains power first tends to be the target. I haven't played everyone at my locals (having just moved to a new area), but for the most part there are GrimGrins, Marchesa, Maelstrom Wanderer, and Thassa.
So let me know your opinions! I'm eager to hear them and I love questions and criticism!
2 viscera seer
2 kitchen finks
3 melira, sylvok outcast
2 murderous redcap
1 voice of resurgence
1 cartel aristocrat
1 reveillark
1 eternal witness
2 Wall of Roots
1 Spellskite
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Glissa, the Traitor
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sanguine Praetor
1 Tolsimir Wolfblood
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Treasured Find
1 Warleader's Helix
2 Vraska the unseen
4 Temple Garden
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Dragonskull summit
1 sigarda, host of herons
2 Putrefy
1 Scarland Thrinax
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Disciple of Bolas
3 dismember
1 Sin Collector
To explain a bit, I play casually like I said before, so I try to give my pod deck a bit of a fun spin. I’ve also been building this on a budget over the past 5 months. To explain a bit of my ideas…
Glissa the Traitor- I wanted to give my deck both a small amount of offense against decks that buff up their creatures, mostly hydras, and kill them off quickly when they swing. She also lets me get back any of my Pods or Metamorphs who happen to get killed.
Varolz the Scar Striped- I like him as both a 3 drop Pod target and a sac outlet. He also lets me regenerate himself with the sacs to keep him alive.
Acidic Slime- Not a go to card in my deck, but it does help to remove one threats. It's pretty useful against the new Theros cards also.
Sanguine Praetor- It's by no means a major part of the deck. I saw this card and decided I should add it simply to have a big ole baddie in the deck. Most people have told me I should have added Sheoldred or Elesh-Norn, but I like this guy as a late game clean up crew for his mass wipe effect. That, and he looks cool.
Tolsimir Wolfblood- Another Card which isn't a major part but just added by me for flavor. I like both the boost ability, and the token generate since I can sac the token for pod. I can also pod out my Acidic Slime into this guy, and boost a few of my other critters.
Karametra, God of Harvests- Just added her after pre-release. I think she may be a random tech only because she allows me to tutor out lands. She would serve the same purpose as Purphoros, just being an enchantment.
Purphoros, God of the Forge- I LOVE this guy in the deck. Not only can I basically forget about Redcap, but I can combo it with Finks and gain life while killing my opponents. While he never becomes a creature in my build, he does his job by slowly, but reliably, killing my opponents.
Vraska the Unseen- Vraska is a touch I added not because of her final ability, but because of her first negative, destroying any nonland permanent. So using the first two abilities make her a nice flavor in the deck.
Treasured Find- A small handy spell that lets me grab things back for a 2 drop. This gives me 3 retrievals.
Warleader's Helix- Not going to be in here long. I have yet to find something that I own or can get that flows nicely with the deck. This and Karametra have replaced Deathrite Shaman since it's been banned. Hopefully, this will be replaced with Ranger of Eos.
I currently refuse to buy Chords of Calling and Nobel Hierarch due to it's price, and am currently attempting to find a Ranger of Eos. Any ideas or concepts to make this deck more fun (not super competitive as I don't do tourneys with it) would be awesome. I love hearing what people think of my decks.
4 Student of Warfare
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Knight Exemplar
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
3 Leonin Skyhunter
1 Kinsbaile Cavalier
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Instants:
4 Brave the Elements
4 Holy Day
Enchantments:
4 Honor of the Pure
Sorcery:
2 Wrath of God
Land:
16 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Mutavault
2 Accorder Paladin
1 Riders of Gavony
2 Fiendslayer Paladin
1 Sun Titan
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Wrath of God
I still do not like having Student of Warfare in the deck, but I have nothing better to replace him with. Heliod, God of the Sun was added so that my knights can have vigilance, as well as have a chump blocker if needed. I hope to add 1-2 more Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to the deck so that my mana ramp can be better and not rely solely on Knight of the White Orchid. I don't think I will be gathering more Mutavaults since I barely use them. I am hoping to get a playlet of Aether Vial and replace my Honor of the Pure with them.
So, any thoughts? I remember Nabby helping out a lot when I first joined and I haven't seen who else has joined or contributed a lot since then, so all help is welcome. =D
3x Leonin Skyhunter
4x Knight Exemplar
4x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Student of Warfare
4x Knight of Meadowgrain
1x Kinsbale Cavalier
1x Grand Abolisher
4x Honor of the pure
Instants:
4x Brave the Elements
4x Path to Exile
2x Wrath of God
Planeswalkers:
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
18x Plains
2x Cavern of Souls
For now this is my build for my meta, which is green, red, and black heavy. The most challenging decks I face with this are usually Elves, Devour Dragons, and Gruul decks. For these reasons, I've teched in a Grand Abolisher in order to prevent things like fog,beast within,and other cards that would slow down my assault.
I also have to say that in the debate for silverblade paladin over kinsbaile cavalier, I favor just 1 kinsbaile. While both give double strike, relying on a soulbond to do a massive move is not always in your favor, and the extra 1 drop to give them all double strike can be much scarier. However, I do not rely on double strike, and only see the need for 1 kinsbaile. I would rather build up my army fast, then let him drop for the final blow or at least clear the field for my following turn.
I would like to eventually tech in aether vial, but I would need to get a play set of them to work, and they are rather expensive ($17-22 a piece) to get. I have 3 other decks (myrs, splicers, and dimir mill) that I maintain, so for now I will go without the vial.
On the up side of things, I have only lost thus far with this build to vampires. Only one person where I am at plays them, and having little to no flying defense against his low drop vampires is my downfall.
But tell me what you think, or if you see any room for improvements
I would say to add a bit of Brave the Elements to your deck. Not only does it help protect from burn spells, but if you fight a deck that has a large selection of colored creatures, you can play this, call protection from the more troublesome creatures Mana color, and then swing. against decks who share a color, like guilds, and mono color decks, this typically lets you go with a free full on swing for game. That being said, the one thing to worry about in that is fog. This is why I run Grand Abolisher in my knights at 2, simply because I can make sure my opponent cannot respond to anything I do during my turn besides blocking...unless I use Brave the Elements, which seals the game.
Elspeth Knight-Errant is also a good card to run in place of your current Elspeth. She has only one minus ability, and she also becomes a target for your opponent.
Cavern of Souls works wonders in this deck, especially at 2. Calling Knight basically makes your knights hit the field no matter what, and if you splash in the Abolisher, you can call Human and do the same thing.
I typically find elspeth knight-errant to be an awesome planeswalker, but I also see her as being killed fairly quickly in my games, though most of them mind you are multiplayer matches. That being said, in the conditions where you can protect her, and eventually get her final move off, she is one of the best ways to seal the game in your favor. She is more of a personal flavor card for the user of the deck in my opinion, because her viability depends on the kind of games you play in.
Heya! So I'm basically doing the same exact thing you are, which is from my understanding, using the knight deck for both 1v1 and multiplayer matches. My deck is also mono-white, but with a bit of variances for the people I tend to play with.
I have never used Mutavault so I have no clue how effective it is, and I and trying to get my own hands on a pair of cavern of souls, but if your games in multiplayer tend to go on sometimes, you may want to run 1-2 Emeria the sky ruin. It's a tech card that I have brought down to one in my deck, but later games, it becomes a good tech for reviving things like Knight Exemplar.
FOr creatures I still want to get a knight of meadowgrain for testing, but right now I use Knight of the white orchid for a mana ramp, or a good first strike 2/2. I've also gotten used to running only 1 kinsbaile cavalier as a tech, since my knights swarm fast. I'm considering removing Hero of Bladehold from my own deck due to it being such a high cost, and taking a whole turn to live and pay off her summon. Because a LOT of people where I play like to use path to exile and beast within and fog, as well as other cards that make swinging with my knights hazardous, I have been teching in 2 Grand abolisher so that I can play my turns un interrupted. He does not share the same blanket of protection that the knights get, but he does his job well, and I most cast him just as I am about to aim for my final swing.
In terms of other cards, I have found that brave the elements and holy day can be great tech depending on the balance of your deck. with mine, I tend to have one of each in hand most times and either use them to prevent damage instead of blocking, or use brave the elements, call the color they are playing that poses the most threat, and since their creatures and other spells of the selected color cannot touch my protected knights, I swing out typically for a kill. holy day is not as versatile, but it allows for you to swing and cover your butt, or not defend and cover your butt. I'm personally on the fence about it. In anything less than 4 people free for all, its rather useless. if its 5+ people, it's a godsend (get it?).
dunno if this helped any, but I hope it did. Good to see even more people are doing a multiplayer and 1v1 deck like I am.
Modern White Knights
3x Leonin Skyhunter
2x Hero of bladehold
4x Knight Exemplar
1x Sun Titan
4x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Student of Warfare
1x Kinsbale Cavalier
4x Honor of the pure
Instants
4x Brave the Elements
4x Path to Exile
1x Holy Day
4x Scouts warning
2x Emeria the sky ruin
I took out the 3 Oblivion Ring due to them mostly just staying in my hand and not being cast due to mana needs to protect my knights. I replaced the with 4 of Scout's Warning so that I could increase my draw power. I typically end my turn with a minimum of 1 plains untapped so I can use Brave the Elements or Holy Day, but now I can use it at my opponents end step to change my hand up a bit. I have also been toying around with the idea of adding Disenchant to the deck so I can take care of artifacts and enchantments permanently, instead of temperarily with Oblivion Ring.
Another addition I made was adding in 1 Kinsbale Cavalier. it's a good 4cmc drop that gives all my knights double strike. in 1v1 games I barely see it, which is fine, but in multiman he shines. And if he does appear in 1v1, he typically seals the game for me since all my knights get to hit first when attacking or defending.
I still prefer having at least 1 Sun Titan in the deck, just in case I get him off, and even more so if he dies and Emeria the Sky Ruin can be activated the following turn to revive him.
I am working on getting 2 Cavern of Souls for the deck, so my knights cannot be countered when they enter the field. There was also a consideration to add 1 copy of Riders of Gavony since everyone around here typically runs a themed deck or a guild deck.
I was also considering Swords to Plowshares to either remove my opponents opposition, or block with my creature and respond to the block by exiling it and gaining life. I had considered Wrath of God but it hurts me as much as them, and if I cannot recover fast enough, I'm screwed.
so tell me what you think...
Modern White Knights
3x Leonin Skyhunter
2x Hero of bladehold
4x Knight Exemplar
2x Sun Titan
4x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Student of Warfare
4x Honor of the pure
3x Oblivion Ring
Instants
4x Brave the Elements
4x Path to Exile
2x Holy Day
Actually, I am playing multi-player mostly. I play casually, but I also try to make my deck the best I can, since everyone else I play with hates to play my Dimir deck. My Knights are for both 1v1 and multi-player, and thus I try to make it viable in both ways of playing.
have you considered using Serra's Blessing for vigilance? I'm considering running 2 for my deck.
I'm sorry I didn't put the deck in format before. I was unsure how to do it. I've actually tried having 23 lands, and I was getting mana clogged constantly. I've found for my current build that 20 seems to balance out.
Path to Exile will be replacing holy day for sure. It's only been a place holder for the games I play with people locally, as I typically get killed after I attempt to swing. to arms and scout's warning I got as extra cards to option in simply for draw power, as mentor of the meek was not reliable to let me draw.
I'm thinking of removing accorder paladin for student of warfare, but I'm also hesitant about removing them because battlecry has helped me win games before.
Creatures:
Accorder Paladin x4
Knight of the White Orchid x4
Mirran Crusader x4
Knight Exemplar x4
Hero of Bladehold x2
Leonin Skyhunter x3
Kinsbaile Cavalier x1
Sun Titan x1
Planeswalkers:
Gideon, Champion of Justice x2
Instants:
Brave the Elements x4
Holy Day x4
Enchantments:
Oblivion Ring x3
Honor of the Pure x4
Land:
Plains x20
I am also waiting on money to get 2x Elspeth, Knight Errant to replace the Gideons, 4x Path to Exile, and also 4x Student of Warfare
My other options I have with me include...
silverblade paladin x2
frontline medic x2
to arms x4
emerge unscathed x4
war report x3
odric, master tactician x1
fiend hunter x2
disenchant x1
I also have 4x scouts warning coming in the mail to improve draw power, as To Arms is not working as well as I originally expected.
pick apart my deck, as I always welcome criticism on what I have so I can make it better.