From the moment I read the textbox for Sorin's Vengeance and the new Chandra I knew it was only a matter of time before I found a way to build a deck with them. I started working on my list and few weeks ago and this is what I sleeved up for last week's FNM:
4x Sphere of the Suns
4x Solemn Simulacrum
2x Olivia Voldaren
2x Inferno Titan
4x Galvanic Blast
3x Doom Blade
3x Volt Charge
1x Devil's Play
2x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Sorin's Vengeance
4x Tezzeret's Gambit
4x Chandra, the Firebrand
1x Stensia Bloodhall
1x Ghost Quarter
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
4x Dragonskull Summit
7x Mountain
8x Swamp
sideboard:
1x Doom Blade
2x Go for the Throat
2x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Sorin's Vengeance
2x Wurmcoil Engine
3x Nihil Spellbomb
3x Ratchet Bomb
It's a B/R Control build focused on dealing with any early threats, then winning in a flurry of forked Vengeance or Titans.
I feel like Chandra has a lot of untapped potential in an environment where Moorland Haunt has become such a prevalent long-game tool of many Tier 1 strategies. Your opponent can Haunt at the end of your turn and get in a swing on Chandra, but she gets to crack right back on the following turn removing the threat. Also, in a format where tokens are so abundant she allows you to keep your removal in your hand instead of 'wasting' it on a Midnight Haunting token or similar.
I finished in 2nd place with this deck. Beating a U/B zombie homebrew and Tempered Steel. My loss was in the finals to a U/W Control build when I flooded games 1 & 3. Despite the mana issues, the deck does need some tweaks to shore up the control matchup which I feel is currently weak.
The deck is a lot of fun to play. I got to live the dream on more than one occasion and fork a Vengeance for an immediate 20 point spike. Even without the combo, the deck is capable of taking over with Titan or Olivia. Olivia was especially backbreaking for Tempered Steel, 'steeling' a game I would have otherwise lost.
That same weekend I also got to test it against Wolfrun. It completely dominated, not dropping the first game all night. The cheap removal makes Inkmoth a non-issue and after sideboarding in the rest of your point removal you very nearly guarantee an answer for every 6 drop that hits the board. I also boarded in the 2 additional Vengeance for the matchup with the plan of killing every threat they present until I had 11 mana to cast Chandra, then use her -2 without passing priority before dropping a copied Vengeance for the win. Getting out an Olivia and pumping her beyond Slagstorm damage is also a good way to go over top for an even faster win.
Possible changes/updates to the list:
I definitely want more Bloodhalls. At least 2, possibly 3 total. The ability to just grind out control decks will shore up the natural weaknesses this deck has to that archetype. With the suite of instant removal already in the deck, Ghost Quarter isn't needed quite so badly as there really isn't a land beyond Inkmoth that you want to kill.
Also concerning the control matchup, I feel like the deck needs a better way to put pressure on the opponent. I'm considering Chandra's Phoenix. It has such great synergy with Chandra already and the deck needs a solid 3 drop.
I'm not sure how necessary the ramp is. It was nice to have for early Titans and Olivia, but I'm not convinced that having a better midrange game to put more pressure on the opponent wouldn't just be a better gameplan
Would love to hear any ideas anyone has. I'm thinking about playing this in a mox tourney this weekend and any suggestions or advice will be warmly received!
