Intro
My attempt to build a functioning Sisay deck that I will eventually build in real life. Suggestions, +1, comments or even just gibberish are greatly appreciated.
Currently looking for anyway to make this more competitive.
So any cards that are cool and would be fun to have but won't contribute the actual game plan are not good suggestions. I am in the process of making a more friendly version of this deck(both price-wise and friendly-wise ) that will need those types of cards though so just hold onto those :)
Combos and Interactions
There are quite a lot of strong interactions here so I'll just name the most important/easiest to assemble ones.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite + Living Plane
=I get a huge army, everyone else says goodbye to their lands.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite + Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
=Same as above, but for . Also lets me turn my lands into a huge board presence. Kamahl on his own also deters boardwipes while I have green mana open because people generally don't like killing their own lands.
Captain Sisay + Mindslaver + Mistveil Plains
=With 10 mana available, you can lock down one player forever and tutor Mindslaver back up every turn.
Mangara of Corondor
+
Thousand-Year Elixir
=Gets to exile two permanents.
Mangara of Corondor+Sac outlet. Works with Greater Good and Miren, the Moaning Well. Allows me to keep her in the graveyard instead of Exiling her. Use with the above combo for lots of fun exiling.
Greater Good
+
Woodfall Primus
=Some really nice draw power and removal. This combo can be extended by using Living Wish to get Melira, Sylvok Outcast out of the sideboard to go infinite. She is not mainboarded unless I know someone is running infect because otherwise she's a dead card without Woodfall.
Gaea's Cradle
+
Hokori, Dust Drinker
=Great for when I need to slow down the game without slowing down my own gameplan.
Crucible of Worlds
+
Dust Bowl
+
Strip Mine
=Fun times for me and no lands for anyone else. Getting this online early can end games fast. Also works well with the several fetchlands, Horizon Canpoy and Sylvan Safekeeper
Linvala, Keeper of Silence + Living Plane
=No many for anyone but me. Less final than the Elesh Norn combo, but easier to pull off mana wise. Usually means the game is over once I draw a finisher.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope + Mageta the Lion
=Repeatable Wrath of God that doesn't affect me? Yes please!
Captain Sisay
+
Quicksilver Amulet
=Uncounterable threats is already strong, but being able to flash in any legendary creature at instant speed for is crazy good in some cases. Might want to keep this to a minimum though unless you can close the game with it because it paints a huge target on you.
Game Plan
A definitive game-plan is hard because this is a toolbox deck, but there are some general plays that you will consistently want to do early game.
Early game there really isn't much variation provided everything goes off without a hitch. You want to get Sisay out as fast as possible so that you can begin tutoring. In a total vacuum, you'll want to tutor up protection, enablers, threat protection, and then threats. Obviously we aren't playing solitaire so sometimes you need to skip a few steps or even repeat them once or twice. Unless you drew it in the first few turns, Yavimaya Hollow is usually a great first tutor in order to keep Sisay alive but Saffi Eriksdotter will do in a pinch. Other cards that you could consider are Hokori, Dust Drinker if your opponents tapped out or Gaddock Teeg if you're anticipating a board wipe.
After this point though, there's really no definitive "best" play as that will depend almost entirely on who is playing what and what's already on the field. As a rule of thumb, don't tutor up an important combo piece if you aren't prepared to use it. If you are at a loss for what to search for though, there are some cards that you can get that are just good in any situation and are relatively safe. Gaea's Cradle is just nice to have out in general. Selvala, Explorer Returned is a pseudo-grouphug card that can actually ramp you into some powerful stuff, but this is usually overshadowed by everyone seeing what everyone else just drew. Legendary lands usually aren't too bad of a search either, especially Miren, the Moaning Well,
Kor Haven
, and
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
. None of them are threatening on their own and can be decent mana sinks should you have nothing to play.
Umezawa's Jitte
is always nice(except when you have no creatures) but does usually trip some alarms and get people to focus you, so be aware of that.
Important Note Involving
Living Plane
Once people realize what this card is for, they will be unlikely to let it resolve or let you resolve the accompanying combo piece like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Linvala, Keeper of Silence. Therefore you need to determine the best way to play these cards. You need to decide which card of the combo is more valuable at the moment. Whichever card you think is more valuable to you at that moment, consider playing that one second. If the first one doesn't get stopped, go for the combo. If it is stopped, you still have the card you really wanted to keep in your hand. In most cases, this will usually mean playing
Living Plane
first, but there are a few cases where you might want Living Plane over the other combo piece. If you have Gaea's Cradle and/or Kamahl, Fist of Krosa out, you can ramp and overrun your opponents without the land destruction combo. Basically, just play smart and expect your wincon to be countered/removed so that if it does you still have a backup plan.
I only make this point because Living Plane is probably one of the easiest ways to end a game and insure no one boardwipes, so you really don't want to waste it and get stuck in a position where all your lands are creatures and you don't want them to be.
