Hey guys, I dont post here too often but Ive had a good amount of success with this deck and thought it would be interesting to get thoughts from the community on what I could do to improve it.First off, I'm going to go through my card choices and talk about them a little bit. If you want to skip this part I have the 5-0 FNM report at the bottom.
One Drops
Bloodsoaked Champion - A solid 2/1 for 1. Can also be a nuisance against decks that can't exile. Give me a lot of resiliency if the game goes late and not being able to block is rarely an issue.
Champion of the Parish - This guy is one of the main reasons you want to run Humans. With all of the low cost creatures in my deck he can punish decks without removal easily.
Kytheon, Hero of Akros - He doesn't flip very often but that's because he's a lightning rod for removal, only beaten out by Thalia and Dark Confidant. If he does flip it's a huge advantage, but a 2/1 for 1 is a fine rate for me. The threat of the flip is just icing on the cake.
Two Drops
Dark Confidant - This guy is the main reason I decided to add black to my GW Humans deck. He's not the most aggressive card, but a 2/1 for 2 isn't bad. Plus, the card advantage he can generate is irreplaceable. Aether Vialing him in at the end of my opponent's turn feels great.
Hamlet Captain - Not an awful card, but I think he is the worst card in my deck right now. Just a little too slow to provide a benefit.
Mayor of Avabruck - Pretty basic lord for 2 mana, but he can flip. Some players are like "Ohoho I can make him flip to remove the lord effect", but honestly his flipped side is scarier. A 3/3 that makes 2/2s (3/3s with his flip lord effect) at the end of my turn and buffs my Mutavaults to 4/4 is just as good.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - This is the lone taxes part of my deck. The tax almost never inconveniences me since Aether Vial turn 3 or later is not relevant, and Path to Exile for 1W is still a good deal.
Thalia's Lieutenant - Not much to explain about this guy. Just a slightly different lord that can get huge if unattended.
Three Drops
Silverblade Paladin - I think a lot of you are going to raise your eyebrows at this card, but it has been great. If the opponent doesn't have any instant speed removal it is going to hurt them pretty badly on turn 3, and almost assuredly close out the game on turn 4 if it still isn't answered.
Noncreature Spells
Path to Exile - Pretty self-explanatory. Removes a threat that they're likely counting on the stabilize them.
Aether Vial - Turn 1 Vial is the best start for this deck. It slows you down for the first two turns, but turn 3 it pulls ahead of just playing a creature instead. The ability to to play creatures at instant speed cannot be understated either. It turns my creatures into semi-combat tricks and enables me to play mind games.
Sideboard
Dromoka's Command - Comes in against Burn & Merfolk. It can blank a burn spell and kill a Swiftspear/Guide, or remove a Spreading Seas and lord against Merfolk. Sometimes challenging to cast when I draw too many Caverns or Mutavaults. Also good against Ad Nauseum to get them to sacrifice Phyrexian Unlife.
Eternal Witness - Comes in against midrange and control to generate some value.
Kor Firewalker - Would be Auriok Champion if I wanted to shell out $120 for 3 sideboard cards that I'm not interested in playing in any other decks. Comes in against burn mainly but also against decks where Path is a dead card.
Oxidize - My artifact hate. Mainly for Ensnaring Bridge but good against Affinity as well. I have an abundance of Ensnaring Bridges at my LSG so this is somewhat of a meta call.
Relic of Progenitus - Graveyard hate. Comes in against Dredge, Grishoalbrand, Abzan CoCo, and more.Maybeboard
Hand disruption - Probably should be a sideboard card against combo decks. Not usually what I want to be doing turn 1 though.
Warden of the First Tree - A powerful card if it gets going, but I think it's too slow. I haven't tried it out though.
Duskwatch Recruiter - I tried him a few times but he's too slow for my deck. I think he could work in a Bant list with Heirarchs though.
Grim Flayer - Might be good for fixing draws or getting Bloodsoaked Champion into the graveyard, but I don't hit Delirium often so I don't think he's worth it, and he's too expensive for me to test a card I think will be average at best.
Anafenza, the Foremost - Difficult to cast although she would be easier now that I have Caverns... Good graveyard hate and a strong bolt-proof threat. She's the highest on the list of cards I need to try out again.
Lantern Scout - Would be a sideboard card against Burn or other decks that are more aggressive than mine.
Mirran Crusader - Would be a sideboard card against Jund/Abzan.
Renegade Rallier - Not a bad card when it works, but I have trouble playing getting Revolt up on my turn. Much better with Aether Vial (although all of my cards are).
FNM Report
Round 1 | Kitchen Table Burn (2-0)
So this was a pretty easy round 1. The guy was playing an unsleeved deck of cards he got from a gift box around Theros block. Not much to comment on really, but I gave him a few suggestions to add to his deck after the game.
Round 2 | GR Tron (2-1)
I lose the dice roll and have to win on the play once to take the match which is really rough since if he drops a turn 4 Ugin on the play I pretty much just instantly lose unless I have Mutavaults or can flash guys in with Aether Vial to beat down those last few points of life.
Game 1 I get a decent board presence going but he wipes my board with a double Kozileks Return and drops an Ugin to essentially lock me out of the game.
Sideboard:
OUT: Path to Exile x 2
IN: Oxidize x 2
The idea here was to Oxidize an Oblivion Stone or Expedition Map to keep him off of Tron. I took some Paths out because he doesnt play many creatures. In hindsight Im not sure if it was worth it, but I didnt see Oxidize in the other two games anyways so I guess it didnt matter. Really I think its a toss up depending on what the Tron player draws since removing a Wurmcoil or O-Stone are both pretty great tempo swings so the 2/2 split was fine.
Game 2 On the play this game. I get a Champion down T1 and up to a 4/4 by turn 3 so he cant get wiped by Firespout. Im also able to soulbond him with a Silverblade Paladin to put a ton of pressure on the Tron player going into his third turn. He is able to get his Tron lands assembled, but it comes too late as I Path his Wurmcoil Engine and his Karn isnt able to save him after that.
Game 3 Not much to comment on here unfortunately. He keeps a sketchy hand with one land and pays for it. Pretty anticlimactic.
Round 3 | Mono G Fight (2-0)
Im not sure who this guy beat, but he was 2-0 as well at this point with a pretty janky fight deck.
Game 1 He puts some early pressure on with a Strangleroot Geist that was able to trade in a fight and then swing in for 3 with its undying trigger on turn 2, but Im able to stabilize with bigger creatures that he cant fight or has to trade into with a fight spell.
Sideboard: No changes. Maybe should have put Eternal Witness in since hes the beatdown in this matchup.
Game 2 Hes able to beat me down a bit with a pair of Strangleroot Geists, but its a similar story to game 1. I stabilize with a pair of Hamlet Captains as well as Vialing in a timely Thalias Lieutenant to blow him out in a fight.
Round 4 | Jund (2-0)
Game 1 I win the roll so I go first. He Inquisitions a Dark Confidant turn 1, plays a Tarmogoyf turn 2, and Maelstrom Pulses 1 Champion of the Parish turn 3, but Im still able to put enough power on the board with a Silverblade Paladin turn 3 giving the soon to be pulsed Champion of the Parish 4 power and double strike to make him chump with his Goyf. Afterwards Im able to take him out on turn 4 by just a point or two of life with a re-soulbond of Silverblade Paladin.
Sideboard:
OUT: Path to Exile x 1, Hamlet Captain x 1
IN: Eternal Witness x 2
Hes running a lot of removal so I put in Eternal Witnesses to mitigate that a bit.
Game 2 I honestly dont remember much about the beginning of this game, but he does a good job of keeping me down for a few turns with removal, but I get a Dark Confidant to stick for 2 turns to generate some value and build a board state. I end up winning off of a topdecked Eternal Witness bringing back and playing a Thalias Lieutenant to force him to chump block with his Kalitas, Goyf, and Kalitas token before killing him next turn.
Round 5 | Naya Burn (2-0)
Game 1 I lose the dice roll and he beats down with two Goblin Guides backed by burn to get me to 7, but I was able to stabilize by Pathing a Guide and swinging in while holding back blockers for the other Guide. On his last turn he fetches at the end of his turn, shuffling away a Lightning Bolt that would have won him the game with the Boros Charm in his hand.
Sideboard:
IN: Dromokas Command x 2, Kor Firewalker x 3
OUT: Dark Confidant x 4, Hamlet Captain x 1
So yeah, Confidant is definitely not where I want to be in this matchup. Command is good since it can blank a burn spell as well as kill a creature.
Game 2 Goes pretty similarly to game 1 except he beats down with a Swiftspear too. Im able to somewhat stabilize at 7 again and he doesnt topdeck that last bolt he needs to take me down after Charm.
Anyways, if you read through this all, congrats. I think this deck is a pretty solid tier 2 deck right now. I do think it overperformed on Friday a bit. I had decent draws for most of my gmaes and my opponents where unlucky at points, but it's definitely strong enough to take a match off of any deck at a decent clip IMO.
