I've always been a fan of Golgari and graveyard antics, so Sultai was a good fit. This deck is built around Sidisi and the use of the graveyard. The goal here isn't reanimation or delve, it's the use of the full graveyard to power Nighthowler et al.
Additions/changes:
Oct. 25th: -1
Jace, the Living Guildpact
, -3 Bile Blight, +2 Doomwake Giant, +2 Drown in Sorrow in the sideboard - put the Doomwakes in in place of Prophet of Kruphix along with the Drown in Sorrow for the swarms of Rabble Red or Mono Black aggro.
Oct. 17th: -2 Windstorm, +2
Rakshasa Vizier
in the sideboard - put it in against Tormod's Crypt or other graveyard hate in place of Prophet of Kruphix along with
Oct. 12th: Still juggling the numbers. I've decided to slot Prophet of Kruphix in for
Sultai Soothsayer
... being able to bestow Nighthowler with flash is just too good a thing.
Oct. 10th: I've removed Undergrowth Scavenger in favor of Nylea, God of the Hunt which I consider to be a major upgrade despite not testing it yet. The discussion surrounding other decks of this type has been very instructive. I've always considered evasion to be an issue with this deck and giving the fatties trample is almost as good. I know other folks have been using
Herald of Torment
to do this job but I think, for my version of the deck at least, Nylea is the better fit and trample should be enough, but of course, playtesting will determine that in the end!
I've also lowered the count on the Sultai Ascendancy to 1, and bumped up Commune with the Gods to 3. This reflects their relative utility in my testing so far.
MAINBOARD:
There are lots of creatures. The goal is to get a bunch of them in the graveyard and use the rest to roll over the opponent with gigantic graveyard-fueled creatures, all the while producing zombies!
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant on turn 3 is the goal. If you can't get her out or she's removed, though, the self-mill and production of big creatures can still push the deck over the top.
Elvish Mystic. What does one say? Having the mana a little earlier is nice in this deck.
Sylvan Caryatid does what it does, and does it well.
Courser of Kruphix is a bit of a green staple in this standard, and helps this deck in a number of ways, not the least of which is the pseudo-scry.
Nyx Weaver
fuels the engine, provides reach, and occasionally returns a creature.
Prophet of Kruphix provides a decent body, but more importantly, lets us pull shenanigans like bestowing Nighthowler on a blocker with flash.
Satyr Wayfinder fuels the engine and provides a little body.
Nemesis of Mortals and Nighthowler take advantage of the engine and provide your finishers. Nighthowler is the main weapon, taking advantage of the cheap bestow and the bodies provided by other parts of the engine.
Nylea, God of the Hunt gives the fatties trample and becomes a creature on a regular basis in this deck.
Commune with the Gods fuels the engine and puts a threat in our hand.
Jace, the Living Guildpact
is both removal and fuel for the engine. you won't be using his ult so remove at will.
Murderous Cut is the one Delve card, and you'll have plenty of non-creatures to delve out when you've only got one spell delving.
Sultai Charm provides further removal with other choices.
Sultai Ascendancy for engine fuel and pseudo-scry.
SIDEBOARD:
Dark Betrayal
for the mirror or the all too common Abzan midrange creatures.
Drown in Sorrow and Doomwake Giant for swarms of similar things, ie. Rabble Red or Mono Red/Black aggro.
Thoughtseize for decks which have Anafenza, the Foremost or other must-removes.
Naturalize for Tormod's Crypt and other artifacts that might cause us pain, and
Rakshasa Vizier
for another solution to graveyard hate.
Treasure Cruise for draw.
Empty the Pits
for matches leading to stalls.
When making sideboard substitutions, consider removing Sultai Ascendancy and Elvish Mystic first, but remember that the 5CMC creatures are best subbing in for Prophet of Kruphix.
