I was inspired to create this after brewing an aggro zombie deck (Grixis Zombie Aggro). At first, this was intended to be a casual deck, but after goldfishing it, I think it may have some competitive qualities to it. Here we go.
Game Plan
The game plan is simple. Drop a Hardened Scales turn one, and play up from there. Once you hit turn 4, drop either Sigarda, Champion of Light or cast a Collected Company, hopefully landing a Thalia's Lieutenant and, well, anything else really. You should have enough fire power to win there or shortly thereafter. This deck is very versatile, however, with many moving parts that play well with eachother.
Opening Hand
Your opening hand should have 2-3 lands, no less. You dont want to be missing land drops, as a big part of this decks power comes from dropping multiple creatures each turn. A Noble Hierarch is always a welcome sight, as it can lead to a turn 3 Collected Company, resulting in a turn 4 win. You should have either a Thalia's Lieutenant or a Champion of the Parish, both of which should be prioritized in the casting order. From there, you want a Hardened Scales or a Mikaeus, the Lunarch. Always consider keeping a hand with a Hardened Scales, even if it looks bad. The only thing stopping that hand is 1 land or no turn 1-2 creatures.
To recap: have 2-3 lands, either a Noble Hierarch, Esper Sentinel, or Simic Initiate, a champion of parish or Thalia's Lieutenant, a Hardened Scales or Mikaeus, the Lunarch, and anything else. This or any similar combination is the ideal opening hand.
Turn One
There are multiple one cmc cards in this deck, almost all of which are excellent turn one plays. It is likely you will have multiple one drops to play in your opening hand, and there is a pecking order that should be adhered too. If you have a Hardened Scales, this always goes first. Priority number one is always to play this, as most of your turn 2 plays will involve counters of some sort, and this will super charge the power of those cards and synergies. If you dont have a Hardened Scales, Noble Hierarch is next in line. This will lead to powerful plays as early as the next turn, such as a turn 2 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar or a turn 3 Sigarda, Champion of Light. The exalted part of this card is rarely relevant, but shouldn't be forgotten. Next is a Champion of the Parish. As I play test this deck in the following weeks, the order of this and Noble Hierarch may change. Champion of the Parish is a fantastic turn one play, and a powerful threat when combined with Hardened Scales. This creature gets stronger with no effort on your part, as the only creature that isnt human in this deck is Sigarda, Champion of Light.
If you dont have any of the above cards and didnt mulligan, Simic Initiate should be played before Esper Sentinel, so that Esper Sentinel can benefit from Simic Initiate's graft ability.
Simplified, the order looks like this: Hardened Scales>Noble Hierarch>Champion of the Parish>Simic Initiate>Esper Sentinel.
Turn Two
If you have any remaining one drops, refer to the list above to decide what to play. Whoever, under certain circumstances, you should be playing specific 2 drops.
If Hardened Scales is Out
Play Mikaeus, the Lunarch hands down. Unless you have a Champion of the Parish to play, this will almost always be the best play. Playing this guy with x=1 and having it enter with 2 counters is serious business. This often doubles the amount of power you can produce on turn 3 or 4, especially if you continue to play 1 drops on turn 3. Bonus points if you have an Esper Sentinel and a Thalia's Lieutenant in your hand for turn 3.
If Hardened Scales is Not Out
If this isnt out and you dont have a Noble Hierarch to play, a Thalia's Lieutenant will do nicely. If you have an Esper Sentinel and a Simic Initiate in hand, try to play those this turn, in order to play a very powerful Thalia's Lieutenant Next turn.
If Noble Hierarch is Out
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar is the way to go. Casting this turn 2 to attack turn 3 is incredibly potent, especially with a Champion of the Parish or a Thalia's Lieutenant in hand. Attacking turn 3, right before casting Thalia's Lieutenant, or right after casting Sigarda, Champion of Light, is an excellent way to put on the pressure.
Turn Three
This is where things get a little more loose. Playing the rest of your one drops is a good idea, unless the risk of getting swept is present. However, if you have Sigarda, Champion of Light with 3 or more creatures, play her. If you dont have Sigarda, Champion of Light, or dont have 3 or more creatures, play Collected Company. If you dont have Noble Hierarch out, its time to play Adeline, Resplendent Cathar or Mikaeus, the Lunarch.
Turn Four
If you didn't have a chance to before, its an excellent time to play your four drops and attempt to go in for the win.
Sideboard
Sideboard is pretty simple. Here's the run down:
Kor Firewalker- Obviously for burn. At first, I considered Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, but the fact that Kor Firewalker has protection from red made it seem far more appealing. I feel like this will be important for burn match ups, as many of our game winning creatures often start with bolt-range toughness, so the life gained will help deter both damage to creatures and damage to the face, ensuring this deck can outpace burn long enough to get to the midgame.
Nature's Claim- Takes care of pesky artifacts and enchantments. I may replace this with a 2 cmc removal spell in order to hit Chalice of the Void, but for now I have put this here. I haven't played modern much lately, so im not sure what other problem enchantments besides Solemnity this would hit.
Pithing Needle- Surprised this card is so cheap right now. I feel like this is almost a staple for most deck sideboards. Hits lots of problem utility creatures and a few combo decks.
Rest in Peace- Takes care of dredge nice and good. I feel like the speed of dredge is probably slightly faster than this deck, so this is an important card in the sideboard.
Stony Silence- Im not sure how many artifact decks are in the format right now other than other hardened scales decks, so im not sure how viable this is right now. I may replace this with Veil of Summer for control.
Synergies
Here are some synergies I've noticed.
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar and Champion of the Parish or Thalia's Lieutenant. Every attack will get a +1 counter on either creature.
Hardened Scales In combination with Simic Initiate and Mikaeus, the Lunarch. Played like this, you can cast Mikaeus, the Lunarch for x=0 and graft a +1 counter on it, getting 2 counters, then tapping it next turn to replenish Simic Initiate's counter 2 fold. This is a lovely synergy, as it makes for a very efficient turn 2, setting up for a turn three army of 3/3's.
