The Life Gain
EDIT: Too lazy to edit.
As implied in the name of the deck, we want to gain as much life as possible in the shortest amount of time.
During that time, we want to put the effects of Martyr of Sands, Suture Priest, and Soul Warden to use.
First off, Martyr of Sands can beef our life up by THREE times the amount of cards we reveal from our hand. Pretty insane if you ask me.
Moreover, as this deck has a low mana curve and is creature heavy, we can easily rack up the life with the effects of Suture Priest and Soul Warden. With these creatures giving +1 life each, it can quickly boost Ajani's Pridemate's with many +1/+1 counters.
Now for the Immortal and Inifinite combo part of this deck, it lies with Phyrexian Metamorph, Leonin Relic-Warder, Suture Priest, and Soul Warden. On the battlefield we need at least a Phyrexian Metamorph and Leonin Relic-Warder, a Suture Priest or a Soul Warden. Here's an excerpt from wizards.com on this crazy combo:
...we can cast Phyrexian Metamorph and copy the Leonin Relic-Warder. The Metamorph-Warder's trigger will target itself... Phyrexian Metamorph is still an artifact... As soon as the Metamorph-Warder leaves the battlefield, its other ability will trigger, thus putting Phyrexian Metamorph back onto the battlefield. Simply have it target itself a few billion times, gaining life each time...
Since you'll have to stop eventually, pick a big number as your limit... i.e. one billion. With this infinite combo occuring we would want Ajani's Pridemate on the battlefield, who would gain as many counters as you want it to have.
The purpose of Squadron Hawk is to thin out our library, have a source of damage from the skies, and to easily activate the abilities of Suture Priest and Soul Warden.
If the opponent decides to target our creatures or even us, the player, always have Brave the Elements and Apostle's Blessing ready. They are very simple to cast since they require one mana each and have instant speed.
Finishers
As mentioned previously Ajani's Pridemate, with a gazillion counters. When attacking use Brave the Elements if they decide to block or cast a spell during the attack.
Chalice of Life
will be transformed in a very short period of time since it's very easy to achieve the 30 life mark. After the transformation, we can hit our opponent for 5 life a turn, wearing them down fast and easy.
tl;dr
This deck's aim is to gain life fast, preferably with Ajani's Pridemate on the field. Then finish them off with the weapons!
Credit to these fine sites in the deckbuilding process:
- Wizards.com Soul Sister 2011 article
https://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/boab/144
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=517123
ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOMED AND APPRECIATED
