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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