Snowstorm and vishnarg, sorry I haven't replied to your comments for over a month. I've been on Tapped only periodically and somehow I completely missed that there were comments on this deck that I hadn't responded to. Welcome to the Deep End - linking a deck for Snowstorm so that he knows I replied, someone made a deck also called snowstorm and I can't reference Snow via username.

Snowstorm, when I first made this deck it ran Emeria. Things were a little different then, because I had a higher mana base and cards like Sun Titan to bring back fetchlands and creatures like Knight of the White Orchid . I ran Gift of Estates for a while too. This deck was a little more control-esque so it worked. In the competitive environment that I usually bring this current list to, however, I will never, ever reach 7 plains, especially not with only 20 lands. I ran Emeria a few times regardless and some of my opponents were intimidated by it, but it always just ended up being a land that came in tapped and slowed me down. It would make sense with a higher mana base, or in a slower / more casual environment, but in my current meta it just isn't practical. I still have yet to try Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , i'm hopefully going to get some games in with it and heliod in December.

vishnarg, you're right, burn is a problem for this kind of deck. I was thinking of switching my O-rings for a burn answer of some sort. Currently Light from Within (added after you had posted) is my MB answer to burn problems, as it puts every creature but SoW and the Cavaliers out of bolt range. I don't know if I could fit in 4 Fiendslayer Paladin in the SB, however. And if it was such a direct response to burn decks (i.e. they were that much of an issue in my meta) I would probably run a set of Kor Firewalker instead.

As for the Fiendslayer / en-Vec debate, I think that right now I am on the side of en-Vec. Fiendslayer is critically weak to Pyroclasm , Volcanic Fallout , and actived abilities, all of which are very common in modern. The full protection suite that en-Vec offers (despite not looking NEARLY as awesome art-wise as Fiendslayer) is IMO a better deal than lifelink. The extra life is great for trying to outpace burn, but if you're going up against burn, there is also a very strong chance you'll face a burn card that deals indiscriminate damage (like the ones I mentioned above). The inclusion of Light from Within , however, DOES make Fiendslayer more viable, since he would be put out of the standard 2-3 damage burn range.

Thanks for that suggestion about the tag, I will use that next time! And I am glad Mutavault has been working out for you. I would like to use it but too often the WW costs in these cards can compromise things :/ it makes running any colourless specialty lands very difficult.

As for Honor of the Pure , it is def a popular choice and I use it in my other knight variants, but right now I have so many 2cmc drops that I usually always have something to play on turn 2. That way I can curve nicely into a turn 4 Light if I need to. The strategy here is usually dumping my hand of creatures first and then playing light afterwards. If you could choose to give +2/+2 once you've gotten everything out, wouldn't you do that too? If I ran more 3cmc and 4cmc knights (i.e. Hero of Bladehold ) then I probably would, so it would curve better.

Also, Light puts almost everything out of bolt/helix range!

Frontline Medic

Unfortunately, he isn't a knight, and he clogs up the 3cmc slot. There are a lot of cards competing for that spot. I already have Exemplar to make my creatures indestructible. He also doesn't synergize well with Light from Within or any of my other 4 drops (which have instant effects on my 3 drops). Thanks for the suggestion though - I had considered him before!

I think you'd be better off with Hero of Bladehold than Heliod, God of the Sun . Hero packs tons of damage. Also a Lightning Greaves puts you a turn ahead and is the best equipment for keeping the pressure on an opponent, just consider it.

Why only one Kinsbaile Cavalier ? Seems like dropping him turn four can practically win the game then and there, if not then get you a lot closer at least

Just saw that our decks will be facing each other in the Modern tournament. I'm kind of nervous to be facing a deck like yours right off the bat, but if I lose at least it's to a worthy opponent!

Nice! And the same to you man, although to be honest I think you have the advantage. My deck kind of loses to tokens, it works better against jund, UWR, BUG and the like. It also needs its sideboard to operate effectively, and I am not sure if they will even be using sideboards. But regardless, best of luck to you, and if I lose I will also be glad it was to a worthy opponent. :)

Thought I might ask - could you send me a link to where you spotted our matchup? I can't seem to find it on the 'Calling all Modern Players' article.

Whoa whoa what is this modern tournament here???

http://tappedout.net/mtg-forum/challenges-and-articles/calling-all-modern-players/?&p=1&page=1

I think the deadline for submitting decks has already passed though. :( I wouldn't have noticed it if xzzane hadn't pointed it out to me!

I'm pretty sure we'll be using sideboards. And here's the link to the website where it shows our matchups: http://challonge.com/to_modern_fnm. And I just thought it would be a shame if your knight deck wouldn't be in it so I brought it up to your attention haha. Unfortunately the deadline passed a while back though...

You need Fiendslayer Paladin or Paladin en-Vec possibly even Accorder Paladin :)

Have you thought about using Emeria, The Sky Ruin ? It could be some good late game return, especially with how often you can search for a plains.

Sorry for the overdue reply guys!

@ 40cal, Well with Light from Within it basically gives my creatures protection from red. 4 toughness is really hard to deal with for red, and it shuts down the most played card in modern - Lightning Bolt . The return of Zoo is also yet another deck that will add bolt and Lightning Helix , as well as a plethora of creatures at 3 and 4 toughness. White Knight is functionally the same as Paladin en-Vec when Light is in play, but for one mana less.

Fiendslayer is a good card, but he is competing for the coveted 3cmc slot with Mirran Crusader , and I would rather play the crusader instead of him. Still, there is room for 1 or 2 slots, but right now those are occupied by other cards like Stillmoon Cavalier .

There is a discussion on whether Paladin en-Vec or fiendslayer is better, and right now im still leaning towards en-Vec. I will probably give fiendslayer a chance sooner or later though, as he potentially is very good with Light from Within . Accorder Paladin is a boss and i've wanted to run him for years, but at 1 toughness he kills me. He is often an easy trade for the opponent. Plus I wouldn't run him unless I also ran something like Honor of the Pure or Hyena Umbra .

@ gobs, I have, when I first made this deck I used it for a while. The thing is I often don't find this deck reaching a late game, and even when it does im still usually a few plains away from using Emeria. I think I was able to use it a total of 3-4 times in all the matches I played with it (which were a lot). If I had 23+ lands, or even if I ran something like Gift of Estates or Endless Horizons I would consider it. But with the low curve I have I can't chance running it and having a tapped land for the turn. It's bad enough with Windbrisk Heights already in there.

TBH there are a few changes/tweaks I want to try out with my build, but I can't change anything yet because it would compromise the integrity of the deck in the Modern TappedOut challenge that's been ongoing. When it finishes i'll make some changes (among the first of which to go will probably be White Knight and Kinsbaile Cavalier ).