Trying to build a competitive Spirit deck on the cheap (AKA with no Geist of Saint Traft or Drogskol Reaver), one that would make even a miser like Ebenezer Scrooge proud. Can it be done? Let's find out....
First way to save on investment is to cut down on the number of rares. We have no mythics here, and our only rares are support cards. Angel of Flight Alabaster is obvious, and Geist-Honored Monk is a fantastic potential finisher in a deck like this. (Not at all unusual for her to enter play with double digit power and toughness.) The other rares consist of the across-the-board boost Honor of the Pure and a smattering of lands that help make the deck tick.
The rest is mostly just a mix of geists (or geist-generators) from the Innistrad block. The awesome new Drogskol Captain is a no-duh four-of, and the rest fill out your toolbox with unblockable (Spectral Rider) and unkillable (thanks to Saving Grasp) ghosts, as well as some control by way of tapping (Niblis of the Urn). Doomed Traveler makes for an awesome chump blocker that gets only better when he bites the dust, generating a handy Spirit token.
Spirit tokens are very important in this deck. Not only do they get the same benefits as other Spirits from Drogskol Captain and Honor of the Pure, but they get additional boosting and vigilance from Intangible Virtue, making them a constant threat on the attack and on defense. Good thing, then, that we have ways to generate lots of them; aside from the ones we get from our Humans, we can create as many as TWENTY TWO more from Midnight Haunting and Lingering Souls. The latter is really the only reason this deck has a sprinkle of black tossed in, as its flashback potential is just too good to ignore.
The sideboard features an alternative strategy focused around Sunblast Angel, who can be a devastating surprise once your tokens have vigilance (and are therefore untapped) all the time. Thanks to tappers already in your deck, and additional tapping potential from Niblis of the Mist (nice combo with Saving Grasp) and especially Feeling of Dread, you can wipe out a goodly number of the opponent's creatures...and then Saving Grasp a Sunblast to do it again!
Anyway, I digress. Look forward to trying this out and seeing if geists really can stand on their own two...uh...spectral legs without having to lean on Traft or the Reaver.
Thoughts? Comments? Ratings? ;-)
UPDATE: Finally got to trot this out at FNM, and won two out of four rounds handily. The other two rounds I lost mainly due to mana screw...thinking of finding some room for Evolving Wilds if that continues to be a problem. Could perhaps use some more counters, too...might have to squeeze in some more Mana Leak or perhaps mainboard a Dissipate or two. But overall, long as the lands were coming when I needed them, it was cranking out geists like no tomorrow and just swarmed opponents. Even board wipers barely slowed it down. These Spirits are no joke with the new support from Dark Ascension, folks. Look out!
