A budget WB Odric build inspired a little bit by the 2016 Atraxa commander deck. I had never heard of Odric and initially thought, "I might finally be able to use Soulflayer!"
This deck is designed for modern legal casual play and hasn't been tested against high level decks.
Vampire Cutthroat and Vampire Nighthawk are the reasons our land base favors black slightly. Getting lifelink on the board fast will be key to surviving with this deck. Despite this, you'll likely be leaving the Nighthawk untapped the majority of the time to make your opponents think twice about attacking you. Remember: the more cards you have time to play, the more interesting your battlefield will become.
Gurmag Swiftwing is a criminally underused card in modern. Granted, on its own it's not that intimidating. Despite its pool of abilities, 1 power isn't going to do much in a hurry. The Swiftwing is here because we can give him deathtouch, and because he brings 3 terrifying abilities to the field with Odric.
Oketra the True similarly brings her own 3 wicked abilities to the table. One weakness this deck faces is boardwipe. Oketra can help you recover from these otherwise devastating situations. On top of that, spreading her abilities will likely shut down all hopes your opponents have of winning through combat. Finally, her tokens provide vigilance, perhaps the most underrated ability in Magic. Vigilance is the key to removing your leash of passiveness. You might go entire games without attacking until you get one of these 1/1 soldiers on the field because vigilance allows you to attack with no regrets.
Our last 4-drop is Sorin, Lord of Innistrad because the deck was not Gothic enough already. Sorin most importantly provides token generation. You likely won't need to minus him at all, but that's icing on the cake.
At the top of our curve we're running one copy of Stonehewer Giant both for funsies and late game utility.
Now despite all these combat abilities the deck runs pretty passively. Your goal is to survive until you can simply overwhelm your opponent(s). When deciding who to play in what order, survival is your key. I suggest prioritizing lifelinkers.
When fighting against removal or control, try and figure out which creatures you need most. Swiftfoot Boots is okay against control, but when combined with Sigarda's Aid, you essentially have a protection/counterspell. If you end up getting boots in hand and Sigarda's Aid on board, hold onto the boots until you need to flash them in. Play patiently against control. Probe the matchup gradually, and don't play out your hand if you don't have to. Finally, if your opponent decides to Supreme Verdict you, fret not! Soulflayer will gladly put your graveyard to good use.
When fighting more aggressive strategies, bring in some removal from your sideboard. This deck is not designed to compete against turn 2 and 3 kills, so customize your sideboard with a whopping 15 removal spells if you want to. Don't be afraid to go for boardwipe, either. Playing against rush, your opponent is going to lose more than you are from everything dying. On top of that, you have Soulflayer and ideally a Darksteel Plate to ensure one-sided board wipe (here's hoping).
Any feedback is certainly appreciated but please bear in mind this is a budget build. Hope you enjoy!
