Dear Sorin,

Thank you for being you. You are good enough, you are smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you!

Ok, that’s enough of the daily affirmation stuff about Sorin. I’ve read a ton on this new guy, and it’s safe to say that people are definitely “on-BOARD” with him. See what I did there?
…because he goes on your BOARD when you play him…
…it’s funny cause it mentions board…
…anyone? Is this thing on?

Ok. HERE’S A DECKLIST! (EDIT: Mr. Patrick Chapin posted an article on this exact archetype, and I was pretty proud of the fact that I had some of the same ideas)

[deck title=B/W Tokens]
[Creatures]
4 Blade Splicer
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Doomed Traveler
2 Hero of Bladehold
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Elspeth Tirel
2 Doom Blade
3 Go For The Throat
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Gather the Townsfolk
2 Lingering Souls
3 Oblivion Ring
[/Spells]
[Lands]
12 plains
6 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
1 Vault of the Archangel
[/Lands]
[/deck]

This is where I’m going to start with B/W, and it looks pretty similar to a lot of other lists out there right now, even untested. There are a few glaring differences though.

1. No [card]Honor of the Pure[/card]? – No. The token generation in here is high enough that [card]Intangible Virtue[/card] can more than make up half the difference, and Sorin’s -2 ability put a PERMANENT +1 effect in play, for the rest of the match, and cannot be removed, which makes up for the other half in my view.

2. Removal. I have no idea why I see lists with virtually no spot removal, so I added some. [card]Geist of Saint Traft[/card] and [card]Thrun, the last Troll[/card] aside, we’ll still have to deal with Titans (blech), and other nasty fliers like [card]Consecrated Sphinx[/card] and [card]Delver of Secrets[/card], not to mention crazy Lady Gaga [card]Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite[/card] which stop us cold. Don’t kid yourself here. Esper Control/Solar Flare is poised for something soon, simply because [card]Evolving Wilds[/card] is now back.

3. [card]Elspeth Tirel[/card]. This makes a late game Champion a bit better, and helps against the [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card]s that we will inevitably see that take out our precious tokens. Also, the lifegain aspect she offers with this type of deck saves games that were out of reach a turn ago. I’m kind of looking at [card]Gideon Jura[/card] here as well.

Now, remember people, this is JSP, so this list might be a little loose, but it also may be utterly ridiculous. Go easy on me if you chose to leave comments, I have a bad back. Some cards which I looked at on advice from others, or might be good if you are on a budget:

[card]Mortarpod[/card] – The thought of mortarpodding Sorin’s lifelinked vampires up with a Virtue in play and essentially getting a 4 life swing out of the deal appeals to me. Also, see the following.

[card]Falkenrath Noble[/card] – This might go into a list of a player that really just likes flavor or played it in limited and loved it, but it’s still worth at least taking a look at.

[card]Bloodline Keeper[/card] – Sorin makes Vampires, and so does this guy. You might be able to flip him faster than you think in a late game scenario. I REALLY REALLY want this card to be spectacular in standard. He will be good when the Titans leave for sure, so long as WOTC doesn’t boner it up with another round of those monstrosities.

[card]Geist-Honored Monk[/card] – This is a good replacement for Elspeth if you don’t have her, or are on a budget.

[card]Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite[/card] – She’s going to be murder if I have to face off against her, but is there any way we can bring her along for the ride?

One thing I was wondering, after making some first striking Vampires at the pre-release with the good Captain of the Stromkirks, was can we build Black and Red around Sorin? Would it be a shaky manabase like Solar Flare? Not with [card]Evolving Wilds[/card] back! Let’s consider:

[deck title=Pick your Poison]
[Creatures]
4 Stromkirk Captain
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Doomed Traveler
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Olivia Voldaren
2 Doom Blade
3 Go For The Throat
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Gather the Townsfolk
2 Lingering Souls
2 Arc Trail
[/Spells]
[Lands]
5 Plains
4 Swamp
5 Mountain
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Clifftop Retreat
[/Lands]
[/deck]

I’d LOVE to include [card]Bloodline Keeper[/card] in here, but the synergies with the Aristocrat and the tokens make it hard to cut her. Maybe the Virtue in here is a bit greedy seeing as how I want to sac the tokens to the Aristocrat anyways. On the other hand, maybe your opponents won’t be able to adapt if you switch game to game from focusing on death by tokens to death by pumped vampires. Also, anyone who doesn’t respect [card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] as a real weapon needs to re-evaluate their standards for what a good card is. She’s practically a planeswalker herself with her abilities! Again, probably a little loose, but I know for sure that a few brewers out there have thought along these lines in the last few days.

Now, what about Modern? Can Sorin impact that format at all? This list is just a carbon copy of my Standard list with some updates from the format shift, but you get the idea where I’m looking.

[Deck title=Sorin’s Modern Family]
[Creatures]
4 Dark Confidant
4 Elite Vanguard
4 Doomed Traveler
2 Hero of Bladehold
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Liliana of the Veil
3 Smother
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Gather the Townsfolk
2 Lingering Souls
2 Spectral Procession
[/Spells]
[Lands]
8 Plains
7 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
[/Lands]
[/deck]
Some cards worth mentioning:

[card]Zealous Persecution[/card] – This is not a bad mini Virtue trick, with an added [card]Curse of Death’s Hold[/card] effect as well, but [card]Spell Snare[/card] and [card]Spell Pierce[/card] are cards, so be careful.

[card]Unmake[/card] – I think it might be wrong to not have this in the list, but I’m not sure where to fit it. The casting cost gives me pause. Your thoughts?

[card]Tidehollow Sculler[/card]/[card]Castigate[/card] – These effects are the same essentially, except one is permanent, and the other has a 2/2 body attached to it. You make a trade-off for either, and that’s if you think you want to squeeze either of these in at all.

[card]Windbrisk Heights[/card] – I know, I know. The last token deck had it. I wasn’t around then, but maybe someone could suggest something for this deck to help it.

Now, with all that being said, I may just turn around and go back to Solar Flare for Standard, who knows, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how Mr. Markov will play with all the other children before heading back there.

SHAMELESS PLUG! SHAMELESS PLUG! SHAMELESS PLUG!

The Canadian Magic Tour is on a roll this year with some very successful stops under its belt. Judge Kyle Ryc has worked hard to try and deliver a truly Canadian experience, and who can say that he hasn’t when already the tour has visited Halifax, Vancouver, and Montreal with stops in Toronto, Quebec City, and Calgary on deck! My sandbox, however, is Ottawa, which just happens to have a stop planned for March 24th and 25th this year. Since I had a small part in organizing last years CMT Ottawa stop at Scotiabank place where I punted my FIRST EVER LEGACY EVENT(!), Kyle asked if I would be down to help again. Wait, plan a huge magic tournament and try and get more than 300 (that’s right, I said 300) people to attend it? HELL YES!

Again, March 24th and 25th people. Standard, Legacy, Commander, Local Artists…MODERN(?).

Potential celebrity appearances include:

Kar “Where is your latest article, JSP?” Yung Tom
Dan “Shaloman” Lanthier
Jake “Zack Spence looks like me!” Meszaros

and maybe Phil Samms. It depends if he’s up or not.

See you at the tables!