Stromkirk Captain

Creature — Vampire Soldier

First strike

Other Vampire creatures you control get +1/+1 and have first strike.

Discussion (51)

Last_Laugh on Mid Range Bloodlines

4 days ago

Copied/pasted from my own decks description...

Abuse Reconnaissance to break all the rules of normal combat. Intrigued yet? Well in that case read on below.

How to break combat:

The intended use of Reconnaissance is pretty straightforward, allowing you to dodge most combat tricks, unfavorable blocks, etc. In itself a nice ability, but this card has a few tricks hidden up it's sleeves.

1) After damage is dealt players recieve priority (the chance to use spells and abilities such as Reconnaissance) while creatures are still considered 'attacking'. This means that you can use Reconnaissance to untap your creatures even after damage has been dealt, effectively granting them pseudo-vigilance. No, the "neither deals, nor recieves damage" part is not applied retroactively and technically doesn't even exist on the oracle text anymore since the rule it's referring to no longer exists. Not bad for a 1-drop enchantment.

2) Since you can attack with all your creatures every turn with no fear of losing any, you'll have more attackers than your opponent has blockers, resulting in more unblocked creatures and therefore more damage.

3) Here's where it really gets fun. Players recieve priority after EVERY combat damage step. This means that you have a chance to use Reconnaissance AFTER first strike damage, but BEFORE regular damage. This is especially broken with Stromkirk Captain as it makes combat entirely one-sided.

Feel free to check out my list for ideas. Upvotes on any of my decks are appreciated. Edgar's Dega Vampires

snishi on Blue Moon

3 months ago

1/31/2020 FNM

First time playing Modern since War of the Spark. Wasn't too sure of the meta at my LGS so I packed a little too much gy hate.

Round 1 vs. Dredge

Opponent was playing Dredge with Ox of Agonas.

Game 1:

Blood Moon on t3 limited his options which I Remand-ed back to his hand. No green meant no Life from the Loam to get his 5th land to hard cast the ox. Bounced 4 Prized Amalgam via Thing in the Ice  ^Flip Flip and attacked for lethal after some burn to the face.

Sideboard for Game 2:

Out: 4 Opt, 1 Force of Negation, 1 Serum Visions

In: 2 Grafdigger's Cage, 2 Anger of the Gods, 2 Ashiok, Dream Render

Game 2:

Started with an Anger of the Gods, Remand, Thing in the Ice, 3 lands, and a Lightning Bolt. T3 opponent casts Cathartic Reunion discarding 2 Stinkweed Imp and a Golgari Thug to dredge for 14. My T3 I remove Narcomoeba, 3 Prized Amalgams and a Bloodghast with Anger of the Gods. Drew the second Anger to keep his board clear. Tried to block Awoken Horror but when I showed Cryptic Command + Mystic Sanctuary he scooped with ~7 card left in library.

Round 2 vs. Eldrazi Tron

Game 1:

Opponent couldn't get t3 tron but managed a Chalice of the Void on 1, no can-trips or bolts for me. Played a Karn, Scion of Urza and decided to take an Expedition Map to try to get tron instead of a Mind Stone (He forgot that he couldn't cast it with Chalice). Remand-ed a Thought-Knot Seer twice and Cryptic-ed his Reality Smasher which flipped a Thing. Tried to stabilize with a Walking Ballista but before attacks I Archmage's Charm-ed to gain control of his only blocker. Game 2.

Sideboard:

Out: 3 Opt

In: Damping Sphere, Summary Dismissal, Ceremonious Rejection

Game 2:

I had my only Snow-Covered Mountain in my opening hand which threw off my t3 Archmage's Charm and t4 Cryptic. I got lucky when my opponent still couldn't get tron until t5. Couldn't counter a Thought-Knot Seer and he took a titi but I also had a Magmatic Sinkhole to remove it. Kept countering his threats until I managed to get Ral, Izzet Viceroy out, -3 his Ballista on 1, he pings Ral and I keep using his +1 and countering his spells until I managed to ult Ral. He scoops.

Round 3 vs. Rakdos Vampires

Game 1:

Opponent was playing a vampire-themed midrange deck with Vampire Nocturnus, Gifted Aetherborn, Stromkirk Captain, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord along with the standard black cards like Liliana of the Veil, Fatal Push, Dark Confidant, and Thoughtseize. T1 Cavern of Souls was a pain but I could still draw a card with remand to dig for removal which I found in a bolt + snapcaster. I won with another snapcaster + bolt.

Sideboard:

Out: 2 Opt

In: 2 Anger of the Gods

Game 2:

Removed Kalitas with sinkhole and Force of Negation-ed his lotv when he tried to remove a titi which he did push later. Stabilized at 7 life by slamming a blood moon to get rid of Stensia Bloodhall and Lavaclaw Reaches but next turn he played Chandra, Awakened Inferno which I removed via bolt + sinkhole. Had to race him and beat him to death with a snapcaster and a Brazen Borrower. Won at 2 life.

Round 4 vs. Boros Burn

Game 1:

Had to remand a Boros Charm twice until t4 blood moon. Stabilized at 2 life but almost died to Searing Blood on my titi. Beat him to death with an awoken horror.

Sideboard:

Out: 2 Opt

In: 2 Anger of the Gods. At this point I didn't have any Dragon's Claw in my sideboard so I knew this was my worst match.

Game 2:

Had to mull to 6 which opponent was happy about. Fought through two Eidolon of the Great Revel and stabilized at 6 life. Slammed Ral, -3 on Monastery Swiftspear, and +1 until he ulted, countering every burn spell without using a snapcaster. Opponent scooped after I used bolt + mystic sanctuary + ral emblem. Showed me a hand of 3 Searing Blood + 1 Path to Exile (from sb to get rid of titi).

Overall:

I did not lose a single game this FNM but I knew I got very lucky vs Eldrazi Tron Game 2 and burn both games.

Changes to mainboard:

Out: 1 Snow-Covered Mountain In: 1 Steam Vents

Note: Even though most lists run 1 Mountain it still felt really bad having it in my opening hand. This time I wasn't punished but I can't rely on that every time. An additional steam vents keeps me at 5 red sources without blood moon and it acts as an additional Island for Mystic Sanctuary

Changes to sideboard:

Out: Relic of Progenitus In: Shenanigans

Note: Tonight I wasn't against a Stoneforge Mystic deck that my friend uses so I was pretty vulnerable to any artifact deck. Since I already have 6 cards in the sideboard that hate on graveyard decks and only ceremonious rejection for artifacts, I decided to put a recurrable hate card that can help deal with a variety of decks.

snishi on

3 months ago

Keeping a running record of how my Blue Moon deck works and how it evolves over time.

1/31/2020 FNM

First time playing Modern since War of the Spark. Wasn't too sure of the meta at my LGS so I packed a little too much gy hate.

Round 1 vs. Dredge

Opponent was playing Dredge with Ox of Agonas.

Game 1:

Blood Moon on t3 limited his options which I Remand-ed back to his hand. No green meant no Life from the Loam to get his 5th land to hard cast the ox. Bounced 4 Prized Amalgam via Thing in the Ice  ^Flip and attacked for lethal after some burn to the face.

Sideboard for Game 2:

Out: 4 Opt, 1 Force of Negation, 1 Serum Visions

In: 2 Grafdigger's Cage, 2 Anger of the Gods, 2 Ashiok, Dream Render

Game 2:

Started with an Anger of the Gods, Remand, Thing in the Ice, 3 lands, and a Lightning Bolt. T3 opponent casts Cathartic Reunion discarding 2 Stinkweed Imp and a Golgari Thug to dredge for 14. My T3 I remove Narcomoeba, 3 Prized Amalgams and a Bloodghast with Anger of the Gods. Drew the second Anger to keep his board clear. Tried to block Awoken Horror but when I showed Cryptic Command + Mystic Sanctuary he scooped with ~7 card left in library.

Round 2 vs. Eldrazi Tron

Game 1:

Opponent couldn't get t3 tron but managed a Chalice of the Void on 1, no can-trips or bolts for me. Also played a Karn, Scion of Urza and decided to take an Expedition Map to try to get tron instead of a Mind Stone (He forgot that he couldn't cast it with Chalice). Remand-ed a Thought-Knot Seer twice and Cryptic-ed his Reality Smasher which flipped a Thing. Tried to stabilize with a Walking Ballista but before attacks I Archmage's Charm-ed to gain control of his only blocker. Game 2.

Sideboard:

Out: 3 Opt

In: Damping Sphere, Summary Dismissal, Ceremonious Rejection

Game 2:

I had my only Snow-Covered Mountain in my opening hand which threw off my t3 Archmage's Charm and t4 Cryptic. I got lucky when my opponent still couldn't get tron until t5. Couldn't counter a Thought-Knot Seer and he took a titi but I also had a Magmatic Sinkhole to remove it. Kept countering his threats until I managed to get Ral, Izzet Viceroy out, -3 his Ballista on 1, he pings Ral and I keep using his +1 and countering his spells until I managed to ult Ral. He scoops.

Round 3 vs. Rakdos Vampires

Game 1:

Opponent was playing a vampire-themed midrange deck with Vampire Nocturnus, Gifted Aetherborn, Stromkirk Captain, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord along with the standard black cards like Liliana of the Veil and Thoughtseize. T1 Cavern of Souls was a pain but I could still draw a card with remand to dig for removal which I found in a bolt + snapcaster. I won with another snapcaster + bolt.

Sideboard:

Out: 2 Opt

In: 2 Anger of the Gods

Game 2:

Removed Kalitas with Sinkhole and Force of Negation-ed his lotv when he tried to remove a titi which he did remove later. Stabilized at 7 life by slamming a Blood Moon to get rid of Stensia Bloodhall and Lavaclaw Reaches but next turn he played Chandra, Awakened Inferno which I removed via bolt + sinkhole. Had to race him and beat him to death with a snapcaster and a borrower. Won at 2 life.

Round 4 vs. Boros Burn

Game 1:

Had to remand a Boros charm twice until t4 blood moon. Stabilized at 2 life but almost died to Searing Blood on my titi. Beat him to death with an awoken horror.

Sideboard:

Out: 2 Opt

In: 2 Anger of the Gods. At this point I didn't have any Dragonclaws in my sideboard so I knew this was my worst match.

Game 2:

Had to mull to 6 which opponent was happy about. Fought through two Eidolon of the Great Revel and stabilized at 6 life. Slammed Ral, -3 on Swiftspear, and +1 until he ulted, countering every burn spell without using a snapcaster. Opponent scooped after I used bolt + mystic sanctuary + ral emblem. Showed me a hand of 3 Searing Blood + 1 path (from sb to get rid of titi).

Overall:

I did not lose a single game this FNM but I knew I got very lucky vs Eldrazi Tron Game 2 and burn both games.

Changes to mainboard:

Out: 1 snow-covered mountain In: 1 snow-covered island

Changes to sideboard:

Out: TBD, probably relic In: dragon's claw

jdezy15 on Edgar Commander

4 months ago

Last_Laugh I appreciate the feedback. Some of those cards you mentioned are on my list to get. Like Twilight Prophet , Teferi's Protection , and Stromkirk Captain . I also plan on getting Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet , do you think that will benefit this deck?

Last_Laugh on Edgar Commander

4 months ago

I have several suggestions for you but this is a pretty good start.

Anthems-

Stromkirk Captain

Finishers- Coat of Arms helps everyone.

Shared Animosity

Reconnaissance - Allows you to attack with EVERY creature safely, deal combat damage in most situations, and have every one of those creatures untapped and ready to block by the end of combat.

Mirror Entity - Great mana sink... plus anthems and +1+1 counters are applied after.

Draw- This is probably the most important thing in this deck. I literally run all of the below cards plus what you run... it's needed.

Dark Prophecy

Necropotence

Greed

Herald's Horn

Twilight Prophet

Champion of Dusk

Anti-Wrath- 2nd most important category after draw.

Teferi's Protection

Scapegoat - helps you recover from hard to dodge wraths (exile, -X-X, sac, tuck, etc.) and get your eminence triggers again or with Purphoros you can bounce your board to finish everyone off outside of combat.

Silverdrake on Orzhov Vampire

5 months ago

Hey DarrockHawk, good start to this deck!

If you want to play this deck in modern, you'll have to cut the Swords to Plowshares since that card isn't modern legal. You're also running a much higher amount of removal than normal for an aggressive creature deck like this - hell, most control decks don't even run this much removal! Right now you're running 14 removal spells - a good spot of an aggresive creature deck is 6-8. I would go down to 4x Path to Exile, 2x Go for the Throat, and 1-2 Anguished Unmaking. The Extirpates are also an interesting choice - do you usually/always play against graveyard combo decks? If not, I'd move those to the sideboard (if you're going to play them at all).

As for what to add, Vicious Conquistador , Kalastria Highborn , Bloodghast , Gatekeeper of Malakir , Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet , Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle , and Captivating Vampire are some powerful vampire cards that you're missing. If you wanted to throw red into the deck, it opens up Stromkirk Captain , Olivia, Mobilized for War , and Olivia Voldaren as well as things like Lightning Bolt , Terminate , and Bedevil .

I can give more specific suggestions if you're interested, but in the meantime I think you should play around with it to see what you like! Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it!

Last_Laugh on Adnan

5 months ago

Dark Prophecy over Read the Bones. Your draw power needs some work... Necropotence , Herald's Horn , and Greed will help keep you out of topdeck mode.

Austere Command over Fumigate

Reconnaissance over either Coat of Arms . Coat is rather ballsy and it sucks to lose to your own card. Reconnaissance allows you to attack with EVERY creature you have safely, deal combat damage in most situations, and have every one of those creatures untapped and ready to block by the end of combat.

Untaps to avoid bad blockers (only situation you don't deal combat damage), it untaps after first strike but before normal combat damage (handy for getting counters from Drana to your whole team and busted with Stromkirk Captain / Stensia Masquerade ), and it even untaps after normal combat damage is dealt due to the creature being an attacking creature until the end of combat step ends (you untap in the middle of this step).

If you're picking up what I'm putting down I can continue. In the meantime, feel free to check out my list for inspiration. Upvotes on any of my decks are appreciated. Edgar's Dega Vampires

Last_Laugh on Edgar, Horde of the Vampyrs!

5 months ago

I have a few suggestions to help with your 'too aggressive' problem.

First, consider Reconnaissance . It allows you to attack with EVERY creature you have safely, deal combat damage in most situations, and have every one of your creatures untapped and ready to block and deter attackers.

It untaps to avoid bad blockers (only situation you don't deal combat damage), it untaps after first strike but before normal combat damage (handy for getting counters from Drana to your whole team and busted with Stromkirk Captain / Stensia Masquerade ), and it even untaps after normal combat damage is dealt due to the creature being an attacking creature until the end of combat step ends (you untap in the middle of this step).

The other two things that will help are lots of repeatable card draw and a few anti-wrath measures.

Boros Charm and Scapegoat are your best anti-wrath cards. I run both in addition to Teferi's Protection.

Necropotence , Dark Prophecy , Herald's Horn , Twilight Prophet , Champion of Dusk , and Greed . I literally run all this in addition to Skullclamp. Drop Reprocess though... sorcery speed.

Also consider Shared Animosity and upping your creature count to at least 30.

Feel free to check out my list for ideas. It's one of the top rated Edgar lists on this site and there's also over 140 comments to sift through for more ideas. Upvotes on any of my decks are appreciated. Edgar's Dega Vampires