=Why play this deck?=
I'll cut right to the points, as I like to do:
-It is not a budget-heavy deck, considering you can attain most of it through the Modern Starter Deck. Bare in mind that even the fetch lands (Marsh Flats etc) will become cheaper with the recent release of the friend-coloured ones.
-It is very versatile. It can make a stand against practically any deck. Having access to white and black makes for a great sideboard for bad match-ups, as well as hand-disruption which ruins strategies.
-It punishes the extremely expensive decks, namely the very played BGx, that is, Jund, Junk and Rock. Make them suffer for having burned 100$+ dollars on each Tarmogoyf of theirs!
-It is not expected. There are cards that can cripple this deck. They are Engineered Explosives, Pyroclasm and Oblivion Stone, for instance. Illness in the Ranks is also devastating. That being said, barely anyone constructs a sideboard baring tokens in mind.
-It involves tokens, which opens a window to creativity, artistically speaking! Have fun making custom tokens! Or set out in a quest to collect tokens and actually use them!
=Win conditions=
It is of utmost importance to know how to win with a deck when you use it, otherwise your victories will come by chance. If you wish to win, do not make such a wager!
-Beat opponent with Mirran Crusader, Brimaz, King of Oreskos or Hero of Bladehold;
-Overwhelm the opponent with tokens, buffed by Honor of the Pure;
-Beat the opponent with a flying token equipped with a sword, such as Sword of Feast and Famine or Sword of War and Peace.
=Mainboard=
Being this deck centred around Tokens, the purpose of Lingering Souls and Spectral Procession should be obvious. I am refraining from using Raise the Alarm in favour of more creatures as threats. It has been so far more versatile.
The three creatures are Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Hero of Bladehold and Mirran Crusader. The first two are both token producers and very solid on their own. The crusader is also rather useful against many matchups and it's always nice to have first strike. Equip him with Sword of War and Peace for a 4-colour protected creature.
This aforementioned Sword of War and Peace is great against the dominant forms of removal in current modern, that is, Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile. I also use a Sword of Feast and Famine for the sheer power of its effect. It is also very useful against any BGx deck.
Frequently having many creatures on the field, mostly flying ghosts, these swords are very effective.
Honor of the Pure is the anthem that will power-up the tokens and make them considerable threats. Since I also concentrate on creatures, I chose this over Intangible Virtue. Vigilance is very useful, but I'd rather have all my creatures benefit from the bonus.
Zealous Persecution works also like an anthem, as well as a combat trick and eventual mass-removal, sweeping any present Snapcaster Mage, Dark Confidant, Noble Hierarch, among many other very useful 1 toughness creatures present in the format.
Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are vital in this deck. They will disrupt your opponent's strategy before they play them. Slow them down and take their early drops from their hands, as the longer the game goes, the better for this deck usually. Bare in mind key cards of certain decks such as Splinter Twin and Scapeshift, you should go for them most of the time.
Path to Exile is a wonder of a card in terms of removal. Get rid of those Wurmcoil Engines with impunity! Always think twice about playing this in the first three turns though, as it can work for your opponent's advantage to have an additional land. Don't waste this lightly! It is best to kill a weak creature that is not a big threat by suicide-launching a ghost token or with Zealous Persecution.
Vault of the Archangel is great, do not underestimate the potential of this land. It can stun the game entirely against aggro decks, as all your blockers become deadly. Lifelink is also very important to turn games around.
Windbrisk Heights should give priority to hiding a power-up such as Honor the Pure or Zealous Persecution, as these will have most impact in being played by surprise. Otherwise, give priority to 3 and 4 drops, naturally.
=Sideboard=
This section is (and must be), of course, variable in accordance to metagames and local trends. So far, this list is the safest for me.
Burrenton Forge-Tender is of extreme importance! It gives you an edge against Burn, which is a terrible match-up, as other than hand disruption you have little interaction. Additionally, this card should be mainboarded against RG Tron or any deck playing the dreaded Pyroclasm, as she halts it.
Rest in Peace is the routine prevention card against Living End and Dredge decks. It's also useful against Snapcaster Mage strategies and overall BGx, due to Scavenging Ooze and Tarmogoyf. Beware that this cards halts your own Lingering Souls, but that should not be too big of a price to pay.
Runed Halo is purely multi-use. Observe your opponent's win conditions from game one and judge if this card should make an appearance. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and Deceiver Exarch are examples of two cards you should definitely be naming when going against Scapeshift and Splinter Twin decks respectively.
Stony Silence is paramount. This stops one of the most devastating aggro decks, which is Robots/"Affinity". It also slows down Tron decks to the point of ruining their momentum. Always mainboard this card against these two match-ups.
Sundering Growth is an overall useful card against the eventual presence of any pesky artifacts or enchantments. This is preferred over Disenchant for the obvious reason of having "populate" when you play a tokens deck. After all, only two lands do not produce white mana.
Torpor Orb will stop Splinter Twin decks. Without, it is unfortunately a tough match-up if you don't get the right hand disruptors early. It is additionally good against Fairies and other fringe (but good) decks.
=Match-ups=
I will only list match-ups I have so far encountered in my local tournaments. I have not yet had the opportunity to partake in a big even with this deck, unfortunately.
BGx (Jund, Junk, Rock)
This one is very easy. They base themselves in one-for-one removal, which is almost useless against us. Beware only of Maelstrom Pulse, their greatest weapon. They will also mainboard Drown in Sorrow or Pyroclasm] in the second game, most probably. Beware of that also.
Wipe out their Dark Confidant with Zealous Persecution and savour using the Path to Exile against Tarmogoyf.
Splinter Twin / Tarmo-Twin
Not an easy match-up. Grab their combo pieces with hand disruption and save the Path to Exile to kill Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch before they get cloned.
Naturally, employ Torport Orb. Just be careful when you play it, as they'll expect it and try to counter. Also, expect Ancient Grudge.
RG Tron
A very hard match-up due to Oblivion Stone and Pyroclasm. It will be tough to win game one. However, with Burrenton Forge-Tender and Stony Silence mainboarded things should become considerably easier. Stop the Pyroclasm with the first and slow them down with the second!
Blue Tron
Similar to above, but easier due to the absence of red. Remember to Path to Exile the Wurmcoil Engine and save one for their Platinum Angel.
Robots (Affinity)
Hard, naturally. Our deck is slow paced, and theirs is very fast paced. expect to wreck them in game two with the Stony Silence and Sundering Growth.
Other than that, try blocking early on as much as you can, as the first three turns are vital. Use your hand disruption wisely, hopefully to disrupt their mana if you start the game (Mox Opal).
UWx Midrange (Jeskai or Bant)
Medium difficulty. Geist of Saint Traft can be scary, but I have so far never lost a game in this match-up. Beware of Thundermaw Hellkite though. I am yet to find it, but I know many Jeskai Midrange decks run one in the sideboard.
Burn
Pray for the best on game one. You have barely anything to do and you will likely lose, as any deck against burn. However, after mainboarding the Burrenton Forge-Tender it should not be that problematic. Always play life-consuming effects with care against this.
Fairies
Do not underestimate this match-up. Their Blitterblossom will not be useful against you, but they have many ways to win nonetheless. Mainboard Torpor Orb to shut down most of the deck.
