Zendikar Decks Part VI: Soldiers

Welcome, people, to the penultimate article in the Zendikar Decks series. The series is almost over, and I'm quite glad for it. 4 matches can take as many hours in MWS due to the amount of people who don't play a full match.

Anyway, let's get to the deck: Soldiers.

Lands (23)

23 Plains

Creatures (20)

4 Elite Vanguard
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Kor Aeronaut
4 Kor Skyfisher
4 Veteran Armorsmith

Spells (17)

3 Ajani Goldmane
2 Brave the Elements
4 Conqueror's Pledge
2 Harm's Way
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Path to Exile

Sideboard:

2 Brave the Elements
4 Celestial Purge
3 Devout Lightcaster
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Harm's Way
2 Path to Exile

I couldn't decide between the three awesome one-mana tricks, Brave the Elements, Harm's Way, and Path to Exile. However, having all 3 makes it impossible for my opponents to play around them all.

I hopped on to MWS. ThatDamnAussie from Twitter graciously took the first battle.

Round 1 vs. Bushwhacker Aggro

He plays Goblin Guide, which I trump with Kor Skyfisher. He plays a Geopede and a Teetering Peaks next turn. I keep playing Soldiers, but his fetchlands are going well with his Geopede and Lynx. I drop to 5, then get my fifth land and play Conqueror's Pledge. I play a SECOND Pledge and start trying to kill his dudes: not an easy proposition. Eventually he gets Ranger of Eos for 2 Goblin Guides and swarms me to death after I lose most of my Soldiers.

Game 2 I play Kazandu Blademaster, and he, Steppe Lynx. I play a second one, and he Paths the 3/3. He smashes me down at an alarming rate. I cast a Pledge at 6 life, but this time I have a trump. With 4 tokens still in play, I drop double Honor of the Pure! I crush him in short order.

Game 3 he gets out 3 Steppe Lynxes but misses his second land drop. He plays Goblin Guide and swings. When I block with my 2/3, he Paths his own Guide to landfall his Lynxes. Pretty clever. I manage to stabilise however, then play Conqueror's Pledge, then Ajani Goldmane! I win.

1-0

Round 2 vs. Bant

I get turn 2 Blademaster, he gets turn 2 War Monk. I Path it, he gets Dauntless Escort. He then plays Rafiq and Baneslayer. I concede pretty quickly.

Game 2 I have 3 3/5's in play by Turn 4, and I crush him to death.

Game 3 I get some early beats, he gets Elspeth and War Monk. He uses the combo to bring me to 7 while his life skyrockets. I get an Ajani and beat Elspeth to death. I then get a Conqueror's Pledge, he plays Day of Judgement. So what do I play? Another Pledge. With Ajani. What could possibly beat that? ANOTHER DAY OF JUDGEMENT! Talk about nut draws for both sides!

I get an Elspeth and start climbing loyalty with my two 'walkers. He plays a Baneslayer, and I topdeck another Pledge. He kills Ajani with Baneslayer. I play Honor of the Pure and attack for 24! I then play an Aeronaut to block with next turn, and then succeed in the impossible: winning a race against a Baneslayer Angel.

2-0

Round 3 vs. Grixis Megrim

I get a Vanguard, he Doom Blades it. He then plays Megrim, and Duresses my hand: of lands and Conqueror's Pledge. GAH! I play an Armorsmith with Honor of the Pure, and he Blades it, too. I play Aeronaut, he Twincasts a Blightning. Luckily I only have 2 cards to discard. I go to 7. I then teach him the finer points of the problem of discard by playing every card I draw: the first being a Pledge. Remembering I still have Honor of the Pure out. I win in 2 turns.

Game 2 he plays a Howling Mine, and I play an Armorsmith. I Devout Lightcaster his Megrim, he Terminates my Armorsmith. I use Skyfisher to bounce the Lightcaster. He concedes after his next draw. I presume he got mana flooded.

I think he conceded too quickly, but still...

3-0.

Round 4 vs. Cruel Control

Unfortunately I lost the notes, but here's what I remember:

Game 1 he gets Wall of Denial and Kathari Remnant. His powerful cascades win while I fail to break through his guys.

Game 2 he doesn't get much, and I knock him to 8 before he plays his first spell. I'm able to defeat him with massive Soldiers.

Game 3 goes pretty long, and he Cruels me after I Pledge. I'm hoping I can win with my double Honor of the Pure, but he plays a second Cruel, and manages to Pulse the Honors of the Pure. It takes a long time, but he eventually wins with 18 cards left in his library (and 36 in mine. He drew a LOT of cards).

3-1

Salivanth's Rating: 4.5/5
Match Rating: 6/8

Total Score: 10.5

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with most of the Soldier deck. If I could do it over again, I'd cut the Harm's Ways and go up to 3 Paths and 3 BtE's, and also try to find a replacement for Kor Aeronaut, which didn't quite cut it. It was the weakest card in the deck and I was consistently siding him out. Perhaps Veteran Swordsmith would do better there.

Thanks for reading!

More Zendikar Spoilers

Hi guys! It's time for more spoilers already, so I don't fall too far behind again! Let's go!

Feast of Blood
Sorcery
Cast Feast of Blood only if you control two or more Vampires. Destroy target creature. You gain 4 life.
#88/249

This card is a sideboard card, at best. "But, Salivanth, what are you talking about? It's a better Doom Blade in Vampire Aggro!"


Answer: Not really. In a hyper-aggressive aggro deck, 4 life is only a bit more important than Instant vs. Sorcery, and you can't play it Turn 2. You also, obviously, can't play it after a Judgement. I think Doom Blade is a better choice.


That being said, you can probably pick these up late in a Vampire deck in Limited for some more removal.

Kabira Crossroads
Land
Kabira Crossroads enters the battlefield tapped. When Kabira Crossroads enters the battlefield, you gain 2 life. : Add  to your mana pool.

This could be decent in Mono-White Control, which is being pushed a decent amount. ETBT doesn't matter as much to control, and control is all about incremental advantages. 2 life tacked on to a Plains is an incremental advantage. Keep an eye on this card.

Obsidian Fireheart
Creature - Elemental
: Put a blaze counter on target land without a blaze counter on it. Lands with blaze counters on them have "At the beginning of your upkeep, this land deals 1 damage to you". (The land continues to burn even after Obsidian Fireheart leaves the battlefield.)
	4/4

Hmm...the RRR cost is a bit much for decks that aren't almost all red. However, regardless of the effect, it's a 4/4 for 4 in Red. Not to be sniffed at. As for the effect, it's clearly a way to spend extra mana. I think this could see play in a Red aggro deck as a finisher. Even if it dies, if it sticks around a turn or two, your life, probably already low, is now in dire peril.

Oran-Rief Recluse
Creature - Spider
Kicker  Reach When Oran-Rief Recluse enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, destroy target creature with flying.
	1/3

This card isn't that great. Could be decent versus W/U skies in Limited, but I don't see it seeing much play.

Quest for the Gemblades
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to another creature, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Gemblades. Remove a quest counter from Quest for the Gemblades and sacrifice it: Put four +1/+1 counters on target creature.

An interesting quest. I think this'll be a good rattlesnake. It's very hard to attack into this card. Or block either. In fact, combat math becomes bloody hard. Pick these up. I wouldn't hesitate to play 2-3 of these if I could get them in a Draft. They'll be fifth-seventh pick, but they should be higher.

Mire Blight
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Creature When enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it.

This is a good piece of common removal, and you can probably pick it up pretty late. It's not hard to do damage. Basically, the card reads "If enchanted creature is nonevasive, if it attacks or blocks, destroy it at end of combat". Plus, there's probably at least one pinger in Zendikar.

Turntimber Grove
Land
Turntimber Grove enters the battlefield tapped. When Turntimber Grove enters the battlefield, target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. : Add  to your mana pool.
#227/249

Not really a playable. This card does not work, since it's only really decent application (a combat trick) is nullified. Probably second-worst of the cycle (the black one being the worst).

Relic Crush
Instant
Destroy target artifact or enchantment and up to one other target artifact or enchantment.

Enchantment removal is a lot better in Zendikar than in other sets because of quests. This card is better than it would be in another set. Pick it accordingly.

Expedition Map
Artifact
, , Sacrifice Expedition Map: Search your library for a land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

Good common mana-fixer, that can also get you a non-basic should you need it. This isn't spectacular, but it does it's job in Limited.

Unstable Footing
Instant
Kicker  Damage can't be prevented this turn. If Unstable Footing was kicked, it deals 5 damage to target player.

This is, essentially, a Lava Axe. Not too great. The R effect is incredibly, INCREDIBLY narrow, and will almost never be used. Just...no. Don't play this except if you have to.

Kor Aeronaut
Creature - Kor Soldier
Kicker  Flying When Kor Aeronaut enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, target creature gains flying until end of turn.
	2/2

Decent card. Probably not quite Constructed material (maybe with Kicker W) but it's good for Limited. Gets in there well. Still, a 2/2 flier for 2 is damn good. This might see play in Constructed yet. Wait, it's a SOLDIER? The plot thickens...

Kor Hookmaster
Creature - Kor Soldier
When Kor Hookmaster enters the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
	2/2

Strong Limited card, doesn't quite make the Constructed cut. At 1W it would. If only...

Verdant Catacombs
Land
, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Verdant Catacombs: Search your library for a Swamp or Forest card and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
Illus. Vance Kovacs #229/249

Cool. I have a name to start praying for. Verdant Catacombs. Open for me please...

Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Creature - Sphinx
Flying, shroud You may look at the top card of your library.(You may do this at any time)
#68/249	5/5

WOW. In Limited, in 19 cases out of 20, you just win when you play this. In Constructed, it's a great finisher. This card is amazingly good, since a 5/5 flier is basically proof against anything but removal. This WILL see play in Block, and in T2 if Baneslayer is not in M11.

Savage Silhouette
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has ": Regenerate enchanted creature".

If you have spare mana, this card is great. It's nearly indestructible with the new removal spells. Good to put on fragile utility creatures.

Hagra Diabolist
Creature - Ogre Shaman Ally
When Hagra Diabolist or an other Ally enters the battlefield, target player loses life equal to the the number of Allies you control. Then gain that much life.
	3/2

In an Ally deck, this can be quite mean. In a non-ally deck: not really.

Ondu Cleric
Creature - Kor Cleric Ally
When Ondu Cleric or another Ally comes into play, you may gain 1 life for each Ally you control.
	1/1

Now THIS is an ally. In a deck with half-a-dozen plus allies, it could gain 6 life or so before dying. I think Allies may be worth looking at in Draft, as a matter of fact.

Nimbus Wings
Sorcery
Two target creatures get +2/+2 and flying until end of turn.

An innovative pump spell. Well designed, and this could totally take out a stalemate if put on a couple of decent-sized creatures, like 3/3 or bigger.

Kor Outfitter
Creature - Kor Soldier
When Kor Outfitter enters the battlefield, attach target equipment you control to target creature you control.
#21/249	2/2

Now that's a good weenie in Limited. Look out for B/W Aggro as a Zendikar archetype, because it will be mean stuff.


And that's another bundle of cards.


See you tomorrow!