Few noteworthy things:
- Anafenza, the Foremost: Kind of like Drana # 5-8. Not very synergistic with Sylvan Advocate, but goes decent with Captain's Claws, and is an all-around strong creature.
- Tajuru Warcaller: Absolute blowout with Captain's Claws and/or Gideon in play. Makes every card you play a threat. Quite costly to cast, but worth it as a curve topper.
- Abzan Charm: Deck needs some removal. All modes are relevant. Part of the reason why we're in Abzan colors.
- Captain's Claws: Rally trigger-enabler. +1/+0 can be relevant on some creatures; notably, Drana vs. Mantis Rider. Casting Drana on turn 3 and then this card isn't terrible.
- Oath of Gideon: Don't want it enough to be a 4-of, but when you get it in the right situation, it's great. Synergizes with most cards in the deck and 2 guys for 1 card is usually good.
- Gideon, Ally of Zendikar: Generally good card in most situations. Doubling up on certain Rally triggers or just having an extra guy is good. Emblem is good.
- Manabase: No Ally Encampment because it screws with our spells and is generally not good enough. A typical Abzan manabase can be good, but figuring out mana for this deck is hard because it wants double white, double black, and double green at certain points, although double black is probably the most important. Only thing I'm trying out at the moment is 2/2 split on Shambling Vent and Hissing Quagmire; it might be better with 4 Vents / 4 Llanowar Wastes, but maybe the deathtouch is relevant at some points.
- Sideboard: Always dependent on meta / bad matchups. Infinite Obliteration to guy World Breaker / Ulamog. Transgress for Chandra / Ugin. Hallowed Moonlight for Rally / Collected Company decks. Dromoka's Command if their deck plays Silkwrap / Stasis Snare. Silkwrap against other decks where you need cheap removal.
This is an updated iteration that I haven't had a chance to test yet, but I've tried cards such as Kor Bladewhirl, Lantern ScoutDrana's Emissary and they either don't fit the deck as well as I liked or are too slow.
Main deck and sideboard are works in progress. The Greenwarden is definitely and "I'm not sure" card. May just want to -2 Greenwarden of Murasa, +1 Kolaghan's Command, +1 Siege Rhino. Abzan Charm can be replaced with Mardu Charm potentially; they're both really good. Could potentially play 2 Brood Butcher, either in the main or the side. The Dragonlord Kolaghan is a bit of a cheese, but can be good with the cards in the deck. Not sure if I should keep Void Winnower or maybe replace with something else. It's in a bit of a weird spot.
I played a RUGw variant of the deck today at FNM and went 3-1. It used Herald of Kozilek (pretty much replaced Sifter) and it didn't seem as good as it would be on paper; just felt too slow, although playing Ugin, the Spirit Dragon for 7 was nice. I think Catacomb Sifter will be better overall. The list was a bit different, but largely similar to what it is now, give or take a few creatures. I don't think Oblivion Sower is that good (at least in my meta) and I would rather be casting Conduit of Ruin but that is me.
Splashing Green for extra options; I don't think it needs a full commitment to Green. I have not playtested this; this is all theory-crafting since I haven't been playing the game for a long time.
Updated for M13 stuff. Basically splashing Red. Dunno if Sign in Blood is really worth it; it's good sometimes and garbage others. I'll leave it in for now.
Blood Artist is really good. Bloodcrazed Neonate is very bad; Child of Night is looking mediocre at best, but it can be used to block and is nice with Stromkirk Captain. Maybe Blood Seeker could be an option to make the deck into a suicide rush sort of deck with Blood Artist, Hellriders, etc.
Since spot removal isn't always effective, I've thought about trying Nightbird's Clutches, as bad as that sounds. It seems like it could be somewhat effective, though. Only problem is the abundance of Sword of War and Peace being present, but there's enough black removal to where it shouldn't matter, I think.
Coming into play tapped is a big deal for this deck. Being able to have the Red mana untapped on turn 1 for the Noble is the best thing this deck can do.
Maindeck:
-1 Spellskite (He just feels better in the sideboard)
-1 Jace, Memory Adept (Just for testing...I like him maindeck, but FA may help more)
-2 Island
+2 Forbidden Alchemy
+1 Evolving Wilds
+1 Vault of the Archangel (Pretty handy against RDW, not sold on it but it's saved me from the brink a few times)
A note on sideboarding: with the prevalence of grafdigger's cage, it is often correct to sideboard out your Lich entirely after game 1 if your opponent has seen it hit the table.
Buried Ruin is still a very good card to include into the deck. I don't think Vault of the Archangel is that necessary. Wurmcoil out of the board is good enough. Then again, I haven't tested the Vault itself. Buried Ruin is too good, though, since it allows us to reuse Phyrexian Metamorph more, whether to legend-rule creatures or just copy something.
In my build, I've opted out of including Evolving Wilds, but I could do -2 Isolated Chapel for +2 Evolving Wild just for the fetch-land shuffle ability.
The card isn't terrible, but I would rather have access to flashback for Ancient Grudge. I guess it could still be feasible to put 2 in place of 2 Mountains, though.
If anything else, it could be placed into the sideboard for Control match-ups, I suppose.
Get rid of Rakish Heir and Adaptive Automaton. Stromkirk Captain is better than both.
NO OLIVIA? Are you out of your mind? She is the BEST vampire in standard. Bloodline Keeper is right behind her. You are insane to not run either.
Olvivia completely shuts down Kessig 100% And is a huge problem for all of the millions of aggro decks that are filling the meta.
Bloodline Keeper is the best win condition. I don't know how you could argue against him.
Why are you running slagstorm?
Why are you running Liliana?
(I now see that Olivia is in the side, but I still stand by my points because she isn't in the main.)
Obviously, Stromkirk Captain is better than both, but having an extra 2 "Lords" is nice to curve out. Olivia is good, but she doesn't do much against the entire field. Wolf Run can kill it and by the time we have her out, they have a Titan and Inkmoths ready to attack us. I like the card, but I think it belongs in the sideboard more.
I am also not saying Bloodline Keeper is terrible; rather, he is just poorly positioned right now. He is a little slow in this format for what he does, and many times he doesn't get to do much. Don't get me wrong; I still like the card.
Slagstorm in the board is for when I can't get the early start and/or I need it against better Aggro decks such as Steel, etc. Liliana was just kind of there since I didn't know what else to put in. She isn't terrible, anyway, since she is like 2 removal spells or a bit of discard/counter bait against Control match-ups.
Olivia Voldaren doesn't belong in the main-deck anymore, I don't think. She is too much of a mana sink and doesn't benefit us hugely in all of our match-ups. I still think she is a good card, though, so she will fit nicely in the sideboard.
This is my most recent iteration. Rakish Heir comes back as a 2-of over the Adaptive Automatons because he can be better than Automaton at times, allowing our creatures to be super-buffed themselves. I'm still messing around with some cards since I really only play in FNMs and don't get to playtest too much, but I think the list is pretty solid. Only thing I have been slightly underwhelmed by is Bloodline Keeper since he is quite slow for this format. I might move 2 into the sideboard in a later date after messing around with the deck more.
I like Stromkirk Captain because in a tribal deck, giving your team first strike essentially provides a roadblock for your opponent. It can potentially wreck decks like Wolf Run that rely on just letting one creature through, and also synergizes well with giving pseudo-evasion to its creatures that can potentially get more threatening.
Unfortunately, the creature quality of Vampires themselves is a little lackluster.
Sorin is understandable, but not Rally the Peasants. I could see Sorin easy to splash with some Evolving Wilds and/or Clifftop Retreat or Isolated Chapel.
If you're going to splash, better just use Evolving Wilds and/or Solemn Simulacrum. Way better than the land disadvantage that is Shimmering Grotto IMO.
I would not go less than 2 Rune-Scarred Demon. He is simply too good for the deck. Sheoldred doesn't seem that good in this meta. Elesh Norn, though...
I updated the primer to include cards from Dark Ascension with my thoughts on each card; I haven't really been testing yet, however, since I prefer using physical cards and not proxies (it's a bad habit of mine).
Anyway, I personally don't like Shrine of Burning Rage in this deck that much since it really isn't as powerful with the full suite of Red spells like RDW. I like playing this deck as a sort of Aggro-Midrange kind of deck. similar to the Shards/M10-M11/Zendikar Standard, although our creature quality is worse than then.
4 Kalastria Healer
4 Sylvan Advocate
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
4 Tajuru Warcaller
Noncreatures: 15
4 Abzan Charm
2 Oath of Gideon
4 Captain's Claws
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Lands: 25
4 Flooded Strand
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Shambling Vent
2 Hissing Quagmire
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Canopy Vista
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Smoldering Marsh
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Forest
4 Transgress the Mind
3 Infinite Obliteration
1 March from the Tomb
3 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Dromoka's Command
2 Silkwrap
Few noteworthy things:
- Anafenza, the Foremost: Kind of like Drana # 5-8. Not very synergistic with Sylvan Advocate, but goes decent with Captain's Claws, and is an all-around strong creature.
- Tajuru Warcaller: Absolute blowout with Captain's Claws and/or Gideon in play. Makes every card you play a threat. Quite costly to cast, but worth it as a curve topper.
- Abzan Charm: Deck needs some removal. All modes are relevant. Part of the reason why we're in Abzan colors.
- Captain's Claws: Rally trigger-enabler. +1/+0 can be relevant on some creatures; notably, Drana vs. Mantis Rider. Casting Drana on turn 3 and then this card isn't terrible.
- Oath of Gideon: Don't want it enough to be a 4-of, but when you get it in the right situation, it's great. Synergizes with most cards in the deck and 2 guys for 1 card is usually good.
- Gideon, Ally of Zendikar: Generally good card in most situations. Doubling up on certain Rally triggers or just having an extra guy is good. Emblem is good.
- Manabase: No Ally Encampment because it screws with our spells and is generally not good enough. A typical Abzan manabase can be good, but figuring out mana for this deck is hard because it wants double white, double black, and double green at certain points, although double black is probably the most important. Only thing I'm trying out at the moment is 2/2 split on Shambling Vent and Hissing Quagmire; it might be better with 4 Vents / 4 Llanowar Wastes, but maybe the deathtouch is relevant at some points.
- Sideboard: Always dependent on meta / bad matchups. Infinite Obliteration to guy World Breaker / Ulamog. Transgress for Chandra / Ugin. Hallowed Moonlight for Rally / Collected Company decks. Dromoka's Command if their deck plays Silkwrap / Stasis Snare. Silkwrap against other decks where you need cheap removal.
This is an updated iteration that I haven't had a chance to test yet, but I've tried cards such as Kor Bladewhirl, Lantern Scout Drana's Emissary and they either don't fit the deck as well as I liked or are too slow.
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Catacomb Sifter
3 Woodland Wanderer
2 Dragonlord Atarka
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
1 Dragonlord Kolaghan
2 Conduit of Ruin
1 Void Winnower
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Noncreatures: 18
4 Radiant Flames
2 Nissa's Pilgrimage
4 Explosive Vegetation
2 From Beyond
4 Hedron Archive
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
3 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Shambling Vents
2 Cinder Glade
1 Canopy Vista
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
6 Forest
2 Greenwarden of Murasa
2 Dragonlord Dromoka
3 Siege Rhino
1 Desolation Twin
2 Utter End
2 Kolaghan's Command
3 Abzan Charm
Main deck and sideboard are works in progress. The Greenwarden is definitely and "I'm not sure" card. May just want to -2 Greenwarden of Murasa, +1 Kolaghan's Command, +1 Siege Rhino. Abzan Charm can be replaced with Mardu Charm potentially; they're both really good. Could potentially play 2 Brood Butcher, either in the main or the side. The Dragonlord Kolaghan is a bit of a cheese, but can be good with the cards in the deck. Not sure if I should keep Void Winnower or maybe replace with something else. It's in a bit of a weird spot.
I played a RUGw variant of the deck today at FNM and went 3-1. It used Herald of Kozilek (pretty much replaced Sifter) and it didn't seem as good as it would be on paper; just felt too slow, although playing Ugin, the Spirit Dragon for 7 was nice. I think Catacomb Sifter will be better overall. The list was a bit different, but largely similar to what it is now, give or take a few creatures. I don't think Oblivion Sower is that good (at least in my meta) and I would rather be casting Conduit of Ruin but that is me.
4 Axebane Guardian
2 Bloodgift Demon
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Thragtusk
1 Harvester of Souls
2 Chaos Imps
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Griselbrand
2 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
2 Olivia Voldaren
Noncreatures: 16
4 Farseek
1 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Searing Spear
1 Rakdos's Return
2 Dreadbore
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Heartless Summoning
1 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Blood Crpt
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Woodland Cemetery
4 Swamp
4 Mountain
2 Forest
2 Zealous Conscripts
1 Griselbrand
3 Duress
2 Pillar of Flame
3 Ultimate Price
2 Golgari Charm
2 Slaughter Games
Splashing Green for extra options; I don't think it needs a full commitment to Green. I have not playtested this; this is all theory-crafting since I haven't been playing the game for a long time.
4 Child of Night
4 Blood Artist
2 Vampire Interloper
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Stromkirk Captain
4 Vampire Nocturnus
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
Noncreatures: 12
2 Sign in Blood
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Tragic Slip
3 Dismember
3 Go for the Throat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
10 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Bloodline Keeper
2 Olivia Voldaren
4 Duress
2 Black Sun's Zenith
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Geth's Verdict
Updated for M13 stuff. Basically splashing Red. Dunno if Sign in Blood is really worth it; it's good sometimes and garbage others. I'll leave it in for now.
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Bloodcrazed Neonate
2 Rakish Heir
4 Markov Blademaster
4 Stromkirk Captain
2 Bloodline Keeper
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
Noncreatures: 12
3 Nightbird's Clutches
3 Doom Blade
2 Dismember
2 Go for the Throat
2 Brimstone Volley
1 Stensia Bloodhall
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
7 Swamp
6 Mountain
2 Bloodline Keeper
2 Olivia Voldaren
3 Arc Trail
2 Slagstorm
2 Tragic Slip
1 Go for the Throat
3 Ancient Grudge
Buried Ruin is still a very good card to include into the deck. I don't think Vault of the Archangel is that necessary. Wurmcoil out of the board is good enough. Then again, I haven't tested the Vault itself. Buried Ruin is too good, though, since it allows us to reuse Phyrexian Metamorph more, whether to legend-rule creatures or just copy something.
In my build, I've opted out of including Evolving Wilds, but I could do -2 Isolated Chapel for +2 Evolving Wild just for the fetch-land shuffle ability.
If anything else, it could be placed into the sideboard for Control match-ups, I suppose.
Obviously, Stromkirk Captain is better than both, but having an extra 2 "Lords" is nice to curve out. Olivia is good, but she doesn't do much against the entire field. Wolf Run can kill it and by the time we have her out, they have a Titan and Inkmoths ready to attack us. I like the card, but I think it belongs in the sideboard more.
I am also not saying Bloodline Keeper is terrible; rather, he is just poorly positioned right now. He is a little slow in this format for what he does, and many times he doesn't get to do much. Don't get me wrong; I still like the card.
Slagstorm in the board is for when I can't get the early start and/or I need it against better Aggro decks such as Steel, etc. Liliana was just kind of there since I didn't know what else to put in. She isn't terrible, anyway, since she is like 2 removal spells or a bit of discard/counter bait against Control match-ups.
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Vampire Interloper
4 Bloodcrazed Neonate
2 Rakish Heir
2 Markov Blademaster
4 Stromkirk Captain
4 Bloodline Keeper
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Arc Trail
3 Doom Blade
3 Go for the Throat
3 Gut Shot
Lands: 24
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
8 Swamp
6 Mountain
2 Olivia Voldaren
1 Sever the Bloodline
2 Slagstorm
2 Undying Evil
3 Dismember
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Liliana of the Veil
This is my most recent iteration. Rakish Heir comes back as a 2-of over the Adaptive Automatons because he can be better than Automaton at times, allowing our creatures to be super-buffed themselves. I'm still messing around with some cards since I really only play in FNMs and don't get to playtest too much, but I think the list is pretty solid. Only thing I have been slightly underwhelmed by is Bloodline Keeper since he is quite slow for this format. I might move 2 into the sideboard in a later date after messing around with the deck more.
Unfortunately, the creature quality of Vampires themselves is a little lackluster.
Sorin is understandable, but not Rally the Peasants. I could see Sorin easy to splash with some Evolving Wilds and/or Clifftop Retreat or Isolated Chapel.
I would not go less than 2 Rune-Scarred Demon. He is simply too good for the deck. Sheoldred doesn't seem that good in this meta. Elesh Norn, though...
Anyway, I personally don't like Shrine of Burning Rage in this deck that much since it really isn't as powerful with the full suite of Red spells like RDW. I like playing this deck as a sort of Aggro-Midrange kind of deck. similar to the Shards/M10-M11/Zendikar Standard, although our creature quality is worse than then.