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BMoor's Magic The
Gathering
Deck Garage
Type 2 Soldier deck help
November 4, 2009
Hey
there, readers! Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween this
past weekend!
But of course, I can't let a little bump in the night defer
me from fixing decks, now can I?
Hello,
I was wondering if you could take a look at this deck. I
have rebuilt it a few times but no matter what i do to it I
seem to keep losing. I dont know what I could change to make
it better. I know that soldiers are a great way to go, I
just cant figure out what mechanic is not working well here.
Thank you!
Main Deck:
4x Elite Vanguard
2x Valiant Guard
4x Kazandu Blademaster
3x Kor Skyfisher
3x Veteran Armorsmith
3x Ranger of Eos
3x Captain of the Watch
3x Conqueror's Pledge
2x Coat of Arms
4x Honor of the Pure
4x Path to Exile
3x Harm's Way
22x Plain
Sideboard:
1x Harm's Way
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Mark of Asylum
4x Celestial Purge
3x Martial Coup
--
- Alex
Ah, the Soldier deck. I knew it was only a matter of time
before somebody sent me one. Let's face it, when M10 was
released, pretty much every Magic player and their cat had a
Soldier list for Standard. The bad news is, there's very
little room for creative flair here. Drop Soldiers, swing.
That's all you need to do. The good news is, because of the
Soldiers straightforward design, this is a very simple fix.
First of all, replace Valiant Guard with Akrasan
Squire.
The Soldier deck wants to be aggro, not dropping 0/3
blockers. You may say to yourself that Exalted isn't really
a good mechanic for a deck that wants to swing with a lot of
Soldiers. Well, that's true, you don't rely on Exalted with
this deck. That said, you do find yourself swinging with
only one creature sometimes, especially if it's the first
creature you played. A Squire played on turn one can swing
as a 2/2 on the second turn, without an Honor of the Pure.
So it effectively acts like Elite Vanguard copies #5-8.
Next to go is Kor Skyfisher. She's good in a landfall deck,
or maybe with Oblivion Ring (which I'll mention later) if a
scarier target comes along. But for typical flying Soldier
needs, there's better to be had. Before Zendikar, I saw a
few Soldier builds using Aven Squire, good for all the
reasons I recommended Akrasan Squire above. But personally,
I prefer Kor Aeronaut. It's a 2/2 even on your opponent's
turn, and while it can't give +1/+1 to a lone attacker, it
can give somebody flying later in the game, thus potentially
pushing through more damage.
Next, both Coat of Arms and Harm's Way can come out. Harm's
Way, as removal, is just too restricted-- it can only be
used when there's a source of damage to redirect, and it
can't kill anything with power 2 or greater unless you're
also blocking. In place of Harm's Way, bring the Oblivion
Rings in from the sideboard. There's just no feeling like
the security you get from knowing you have maindeck answers
to any card type your opponent might play. (Well, except
lands.) (And instants and sorceries.)
In fact, just in case of instants and sorceries
getting you down-- did somebody say Cruel Ultimatum?-- you
might want to replace those sideboard slots with Lapse of
Certainty. Sure, it's a temporary fix, but you're the
aggressive beatdown deck, remember? You need to come blazing
out of the gates to knock down opposing life totals in as
few turns as possible. You probably only needed one more
turn anyway.
As for Coat of Arms, there's just too much risk that you'll
end up pumping your opponent's creature more than your own.
Remember, Goblins and Vampires are viable in Standard
(though Vampires see more play than Goblins). A single
Siege-Gang Commander could severely turn the tables on you
unexpectedly. If you want more than four pump spells, either
find some room for Veteran Swordsmith, or try Glorious
Charge or Gleam of Resistance. Glorious Charge is a nice,
cheap combat trick when dealing with weenie hordes. Gleam is
more expensive, but gives +2 toughness instead of +1 and
also untaps your team, so you can alpha strike with impunity
and have surprise blockers. It also cycles for a basic land,
to smooth your draws and your mana curve.
Finally, even though this is supposed to be a fast deck,
replace one Plains with an Emeria, the Sky Ruin, so if your
opponent manages to stall you out, you can regain
inevitability once you hit enough lands.
Good luck!
~BMoor
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