Ever since playing Delve in a draft, I've been interested in seeing what I can do with the Sultai strategies. This was the first deck I played, and I'm hoping to tune it from here to accommodate more plays that I really want to see as I experience how the deck works.
In the early game, I want to get Sidisi, Brood Tyrant on the field as often as I can and get her producing zombies. With or without her, I can also start filtering my cards and dumping some into the graveyard for later.
Nyx Weaver will continue to drop a few cards in the grave (possibly creating zombies), and it can be cracked at just the right moment to get a choice card back (which is why some cards--especially high CMC ones--have less copies than I would normally think to put in). Whip of Erebos can be used for life gain and to get a few good creatures onto the field, especially those with good effects as they enter (such as Sidisi, Brood Tyrant or Hornet Queen).
After the first few turns, most of my creatures are big and powerful to put on pressure and give me some reliable walls to stand behind. Notably,
Herald of Torment
will be good as a standalone creature who can attack in the air or bestowed on anyone else. I really want to see him bestowed on Sidisi, Brood Tyrant--I'll take a 6/6 flying creature who sets up Delve and makes zombies when attacking any day.
Other than creatures, there are some good disruption cards to keep the opponent's board stand in a manageable place. For cards with Delve like Murderous Cut or
Dead Drop
, my policy is to use graveyard cards as needed (whether that's to cast the cards in the first place or to leave mana open for other plays that turn), but to use mana when it can keep graveyard cards around. Lands are a good target for exile when Delving, followed by low cost creatures meant to set up the early game, followed by instants and sorceries that have served their purpose, followed by big creatures as a last resort (as they're meant to be targets for the Whip of Erebos).
I can win by putting on pressure with big creatures, using a horde of zombies to push through damage, bestowing Nighthowler on something with trample or flying, bestowing
Herald of Torment
on a big creature, or using a massive Empty the Pits if the game goes on too long.
I run into trouble from spells like Anger of the Gods, Drown in Sorrow, or
Death Frenzy
. I hope to have Negate or Stubborn Denial on hand for these situations (and either have something to activate Ferocious for Stubborn Denial or use it right after the opponent taps out).
For side board tech, the creatures and lands go untouched. The instants, sorceries, and planeswalkers can be switched out with side board cards according to the match. The initial setup focuses more on kill spells than other removal, but it can be changed around to focus on heavy kill spells, counter spells, discard spells, or enchantment hate with one or two other options for appropriate matchups.
This iteration should be fine, but here are some cards I didn't put in that I'm considering for the future:
Taigam's Scheming -- I've had good luck with it, and it never feels dead.
Archetype of Imagination -- Win by giving all my zombies evasion and removing most of my opponent's options to block.
Arbor Colossus
-- Great sideboard card. Another big beater who can stop some of the major flying threats of the format.
Stormtide Leviathan
-- Really hard to get out, but stops the opponent cold while I set up or chip away at them. Combos oh so beautifully with Archetype of Imagination.
Commune with the Gods -- An alternate to Satyr Wayfinder with slightly more flexibility and no body.
Reaper of the Wilds
-- Resilient, optional Deathtouch, and additional draw fixing when creatures die.
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled -- My zombies will most likely be dying from time to time. What's better than a creature with Flying and Trample who gets stronger every time it happens?
Chord of Calling -- My inner Johnny wants to give all those Zombies I'm making an alternative use. This would let me call creatures still in my library if I need them, potentially letting me run a lot of "one of"s in the deck. However, it is expensive compared to my other options.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave -- Good for all the reasons she normally is: help protect you, draw and/or ramp faster, and those unstoppable krakens.
Waste Not -- If I add some more discard, I could get an even larger number of zombies. However this screws up my tempo like roller skates on a ballerina.
Rakshasa's Secret
-- This would be a stupidly good amount of advantage if you could manage it with Waste Not and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant on the field. The opponent discards two cards, and you get some combination of mana, bodies, and cards plus most likely an additional body from Sidisi, all for 3 mana.
Hour of Need
-- This one has served me well in the past. It can dodge targeted removal, and it could push through a win by changing a few zombies into 4/4 Flyers with pseudo-Haste. It could also be used to turn mana creatures into threats or get extra use out of a creature returned with the Whip of Erebos before it vanishes.
Red Cards or More Cards -- This is pretty much taboo, but my curiosity is awake right now. Rattleclaw Mystic and Xenagos, the Reveler seem like they might be able to enable splashing some red and using some Temur cards in this build. When I drafted, I also had problems with milling myself out, so I wonder if a build with more than 60 cards would work. As much as I'd love to make builds like this work, let's consider these a last resort and only use them if future FNMs dictate that it should happen.
