Soul Sisters: For the night is dark and full of terrors

[Jack]

Soul Sisters is the newest modern deck that I've picked up. I have yet to gain much of a feel for the deck from tournament experience, but once I do I'll write a proper primer for it. Until then, discuss!

[deck]apodepueblopaleta [5th place in MTGO Modern Premier (#5561381)]
Land (21)
18 Plains
3 Ghost Quarter
Creatures (27)
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Ranger of Eos
I & S (8)
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
Enchantment (4)
4 Honor of the Pure
SIDEBOARD
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Suppression Field
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Rest in Peace
4 Stony Silence
[/deck]

[deck]OKWilson [1st place in MTGO Modern Daily (#5527508)]
Land (22)
17 Plains
3 Windbrisk Heights
2 Ghost Quarter
Creatures (27)
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Soul Warden
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3
Martyr of Sands
3 Ranger of Eos
3 Soul's Attendant
2 Aven Mindcensor
I & S (7)
4 Spectral Procession
3 Path to Exile
Enchantment (4)
4 Honor of the Pure
SIDEBOARD
3 Sundering Growth
2 Immortal Servitude
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Chalice of Life
4 Brave the Elements
2 Suppression Field
[/deck]

[deck]My List
Land (22)
3 Ghost Quarter
19 Plains
Creatures (26)
3 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul's Attendant
3 Soul Warden
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Squadron Hawk
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Angel of Jubilation
I & S (8)
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
Enchantment (4)
4 Honor of the Pure
SIDEBOARD
3 Brave the Elements
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Sundering Growth
2 Suppression Field
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Immortal Servitude
[/deck]
Additionally, someone wrote a primer for this on MTGS recently. However, it is very general and seems as if the card choices section could have been written simply by looking at the cards, not even plating them. Better than I have,
though, so if you're curious, look here
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=517123.

[Sasky]

It's a relatively simple deck.

Play 8 sisters, 4 spectral processions, 4 honor of the pure, 4 ajanis pride-mate, 4 PTE, 4 Martyrs, 4 Serra Ascendant, 4 Squadron Hawk.

22-24 lands with some number of windbrisk heights, the rest your choice of white weenie (Ranger of Eos is my preferred choice).

You now have a deck that owns any tempo or midrange deck, but get ready to lose to control and combo decks (Thalia helps immensely). Oh, and infect.

[Sasky]

Don't get me wrong, it's a very powerful deck and I would recommend it to anyone.

I just don't like how little play there is to it and how little you can do about your worst matchups.

[Jack]

There is a lot of combo hate in the sideboard. There are multiple cards that ensure that the opponent will not activate a Birthing Pod, reanimate a creature or sling a storm of spells at me. 3 sisters will also stop a splinter twin-type combo. Also, I have yet to face a control deck at the store that I play at, and Modern tournament season is many months away, so I doubt I'll be playing anywhere besides there. I picked the deck because my local meta is just so full of aggro decks.

[Jack]

Additionally, the general low-interactivity with opponents is why my version plays 4 PtEs. You really need to get that Melira/Redcap out of your face the turn that it hits.

[Kazekirimaru]

Here's what I'm running currently:

[deck]
Lands
1 Ghost Quarter
17 Plains
3 Windbrisk Heights

Creatures
3 Martyr of Sands
3 Ranger of Eos
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
3 Auriok Champion
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Ajani's Pridemate

Instants/Sorceries
4 Honor of the Pure
3 Spectral Procession
4 Path to Exile

Sideboard
3 Immortal Servitude
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Suppression Field
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Sundering Growth
[/deck]

Auriok Champion is a beast mainboard. So much of the format right now is black and red removal heavy, it really helps.

Considering Chalice of Life sideboard.

[Jack]

On lands: I'm not sure that running more than 2 Windbrisk Heights is correct, as I seem to often get screwed over by them. Playing creatures the first few turns seems more important than activating Windbrisk. Also, with the changes coming to the Legend Rule next month, running multiples of Flagstones of Trokair now has absolutely no drawback, save for the fact that you have to spend white mana during the phase you play the second one. We don't really need the Landfall triggers, so I guess it's really only relevant against Smallpox. I have also found that I want 2 or more Ghost Quarters to stop Tron the moment it rears its ugly head.

[Jack]

Also, Kaze, do you really need 10 sisters? I only play 6. Auriok Champion is very good, but so is Aven Mindcensor.

[Kazekirimaru]

In a deck with fourteen one-drops, running four non-plains doesn't seem too risky. I haven't had many issues, but I could just be getting lucky. You make a good point about Flagstones, though. And running another Ghost Quarter probably wouldn't hurt.

Sisters are the cornerstone of the deck. I'd not run any less than eight, myself, but I suppose that could be just preference. I just really like beating down with huge pridemates.

Aven Mindcensor does good work in a lot of places, but in all of my testing, it never really did much for me aside from sometimes making people miss their fetchland pops. I don't like running cards that only sometimes do their job. If my opponent Mystical Teachings and their Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir happens to be in their first four, I just wasted a card. I'd rather just stick in more gas.

[Sasky]

There is a lot of combo hate in the sideboard. There are multiple cards that ensure that the opponent will not activate a Birthing Pod, reanimate a creature or sling a storm of spells at me. 3 sisters will also stop a splinter twin-type combo. Also, I have yet to face a control deck at the store that I play at, and Modern tournament season is many months away, so I doubt I'll be playing anywhere besides there. I picked the deck because my local meta is just so full of aggro decks.

That is what I thought too, until I played the deck.

A combo deck that doesn't fight throught sideboard cards is not a good combo deck. Sometimes though they just don't draw their
answer to your answer, and you win.

Key combos of note that give you trouble: Twin, gifts, pod, storm, faith's reward, through the breach, goryo's vengeance, amulet of vigor. Scapeshift and tron shouldn't be too hard.

If your meta is full of aggro, go for it. Modern is a midrange/aggro fest anyway, so sisters are a good deck to pilot.

[Valdarith]

So it appears this archetype is like White Weenie only much stronger vs aggro and midrange. What about running something with a lower curve so you can run fewer lands and run more consistently?

Maybe this?

[deck]
Creatures (33)
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Boros Elite
3 Student of Warfare
3 Martyr of Sands
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Ranger of Eos

Spells (10)
4 Path to Exile
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Immortal Servitude

Lands (17)
17 Plains
[/deck]

[Jack]

Looks pretty solid. However, you'll definitely dump your hand pretty fast, and it seems like you'll lose often to midrange. Maybe not Jund as much, but traditional midrange may be a problem. I also think that any version of this deck definitely wants a full set of Squadron Hawks; especially this one. Auriok Champion could also work well here.

[Jack]

Taking this to FNM tomorrow; anyone have advice on sideboarding? What are the cards that you never side out? With a deck with a very tight plan such as this one, it is sometimes difficult to see which cards will be the least important in a match. I usually take out the Martyrs against midrange and Ranger, sisters (max 2), Path, or Procession against various forms of combo, depending on the type and how many cards I want to bring in, but none of the substitutions ever feel as "clean" as the ones I make when playing a type of red aggro.

[Valdarith]

Looks pretty solid. However, you'll definitely dump your hand pretty fast, and it seems like you'll lose often to midrange. Maybe not Jund as much, but traditional midrange may be a problem. I also think that any version of this deck definitely wants a full set of Squadron Hawks; especially this one. Auriok Champion could also work well here.

I kept thinking Squadron Hawk especially with the anthems. That's also a big reason why Spectral Procession is so good in these kinds of decks. If I want to run Immortal Servitude though I have to cut Procession.

I wish there were a good engine for card draw. Mentor of the Meek is okay but he's a three drop. Maybe Immortal Servitude is unnecessary?

[Valdarith]

Taking this to FNM tomorrow; anyone have advice on sideboarding? What are the cards that you never side out? With a deck with a very tight plan such as this one, it is sometimes difficult to see which cards will be the least important in a match. I usually take out the Martyrs against midrange and Ranger, sisters (max 2), Path, or Procession against various forms of combo, depending on the type and how many cards I want to bring in, but none of the substitutions ever feel as "clean" as the ones I make when playing a type of red aggro.

I think some number of Thalia in the side is mandatory for combo matchups.

Brave the Elements could be good too. Also, Spirit Loop seems to go well with Ajani's Pridemate. Maybe even Gift of
Orzhova if you're feeling lucky.

Chalice of Life is pretty cool as well. Don't know if it's worth the slots or not.

[Kazekirimaru]

I wish there were a good engine for card draw. Mentor of the Meek is okay but he's a three drop. Maybe Immortal Servitude is unnecessary?

Immortal Servitude/Proclamation of Rebirth is what gives the deck its resilience. It's part of what makes it competitive. I believe taking out that component would be folly.

Granted, one might argue that it's not as important here as in dedicated Martyr-Proc, and that's true, but given all the removal in the current Modern, recursion on any of your
creatures is an incredible advantage.

[Jack]

To be more direct, can someone with more experience with both Sisters and the Modern format tell me what cards can be taken out in certain MUs? I feel really lost here.

[Sasky]

[deck]
Land (22)
3 Ghost Quarter
19 Plains
Creatures (26)
3 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Soul's Attendant
2 Soul Warden
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Squadron Hawk
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Ranger of Eos
I & S (8)
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
Enchantment (4)
4 Honor of the Pure
SIDEBOARD
3 Brave the Elements
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
2 Suppression Field
2 Rule of Law
2 Immortal Servitude[/deck]

A very rough guide, using your list:

Vs. R/G Tron
-3 Ranger of Eos
-2 Soul Warden
-2 PTE

+2 Stony Silence
+2 Suppression Field
+3 Brave the Elements

Vs. U/W Tron
-3 Ranger of Eos
-2 Soul Warden

+2 Stony Silence
+2 Rest in Peace
+1 Suppression Field

Vs. UWR
-2 Aven Mindcensor
-1 PTE

+2 Immortal Servitude
+1 Brave the Elements

Don't overboard. You need less answers, more
threats in this matchup.

Vs. Storm
-4 PTE

+2 Rule of Law
+2 Rest in Peace

Vs. Zoo (Gruul, Fast Naya)
-3 Ranger of Eos

+3 Brave the Elements

Frankly, I have no idea. You'd do ok even without boarding anything.

Vs. Zoo (Kibler)

I wouldn't board anything.

You could cut the Mindcensors for Servitudes if you like.

Vs. Jund

-4 Serra Ascendant/Ajani's Pridemate (Former for Jund, latter for white Jund)

+2 BTE
+2 Immortal Servitude

Vs. Burn

-3 Ranger of Eos

+3 BTE

Vs. Affinity

-2 Aven Mindcensor
-2 Ranger of Eos

+2 Stony Silence
+2 Sundering Growth

Vs. Mirror

-2 Aven Mindcensor

+2 BTE

It's pretty blowout to name white with BTE.

[Jack]

From FNM (I know, it is FNM, correct me I'm totally wrong on this): Vs melira pod: - 4 pridemate - 2 honor +2 sundering growth +2 rest in peace +2 suppression field

[Jack]

Also, I've played against UWR quite often, and I've found that, against most versions, you'll want to bring in more BTEs for Paths. Many of the lists lower the creature count for more sweepers against you, so this sub makes a lot of sense.

[RedNihilist]

Is Path of Bravery seeing any play?

[Jack]

I've seen it in lists that top 8'd MODO dailies before, but personally I don't care for the card in this deck.

[Kazekirimaru]

I dislike.

[Blackhound]

Whats thiis decks main wincon ? swarm or a pumped up pridemate/ascendant.

[Jack]

Swarm. Pridemate is pretty much a better Goyf, and ascendant is just there because it can be very powerful in the early game.

[Blackhound]

I guess mono white is the best version ?

[Jack]

There's actually a version that splashes red for Norin the Wary and Purphoros that's put up some results.

[Blackhound]

Not worth going green for heroes reunion ? get to 30 asap then drop an ascendant.

[Jack]

Nah, you don't want that. A splqsh color means our mana base hurts, and most versions don't play 4 martyr anyway.