Intro:
This is my third iteration of the
Tallowisp
+ Geist of Saint Traft combo. Shadows Over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon have given this deck a lot of shiny new stuff to play with. Before, the deck struggled with its lack of solid 1-drops and 2-drops. Not only have these sets filled these slots, they're also tempo-oriented cards that make the deck a LOT stronger.
The Game Plan:
Use
Tallowisp
and Spirit/Arcane spells to tutor for Auras and pump a creature (ideally Geist of Saint Traft) to infinity, hopefully closing out the game in a few turns. This is a tempo deck. Most of it is geared towards slowing the opponent's gameplan while you assemble the combo, or protecting your creatures from removal. Also, almost everything in this deck flies, and the Spirits can easily play beatdown if the main plan fails.
The Spirits:
-
Tallowisp
: The deck's engine. Yields card advantage. Not integral for victory, but keep him alive if you can. Often, flashing in another spirit like Rattlechains or Spell Queller to save him, will yield you an aura. The 1/3 stats are also nothing to scoff at. The wisp can wall Goblin Guide and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, among others.
-Geist of Saint Traft: The deck's quarterback. Auras usually go on this guy. More on auras below. An ideal curve is Tallowisp into Saint Traft.
-Topplegeist: People usually raise an eyebrow at this card choice, but locking down an opposing creature each turn is actually pretty powerful. Delirium isn't that hard to achieve. You can also flash it in with Rattlechains and stop Emrakul for a turn. Not bad for one mana.
-Rattlechains is an amazing addition to the deck, allowing for plenty of combat and stack tricks. Among other things, you can now tutor for auras at instant speed, save another Spirit from Abrupt Decay, tapping down opposing attackers with Topplegeist or countering a spell with Mausoleum Wanderer. All of this while also fetching additional auras if
Tallowisp
is in play.
The Auras:
-Temporal Isolation: The flash on this card is invaluable. Another trick that can neutralize an opposing Emrakul, and one that you can fetch as well! This can also go on Saint Traft, allowing him to attack through opposing fatties.
-
Steel of the Godhead
: Saint Traft's weapon of choice. The 12-point lifeswings (counting the angel token) make it almost impossible for aggro decks to recover.
-
Unstable Mutation
: Since we are a tempo deck and we want to close the game soon-ish, the drawback is pretty negligible. Turns any spirit into a decent beater.
Angelic Destiny
plays a similar role, except it has removal insurance.
The Sideboard:
Customize to your taste and local meta. (For example I don't have Stony Silence in my SB since there is no affinity deck in my local metagame). UW has a ton of strong options. I'd only advice to keep in Shining Shoal (insane against burn and aggro decks) and Selfless Spirit (Sweeper protection that you can flash in).
Matchups: Aggro, burn and control are generally good matches. Tron is a bad matchup. Jund is an abysmal matchup if the opponent knows what the deck is about. If not, you stand a decent chance. (This is all based on my previous 2 versions of this deck).
More information on other matches to come as I play the deck and gather data.
Hope you like, have fun! Suggestions welcome.
