Blood Artist is one of the best reasons to play Viscera Seer and Bloodghast .

Yes, you get +1/c's on your vampires every time one dies but the drain life effect from Blood Artist (and if you pay Kalastria Highborn you're looking at B: Drain 3. It can end a game quickly.

Sorin and Silversmote cost too much to Champion Lurrus of the Dream-Den . Maybe change something to add the Blood Artist and add Village Rites for some draw.

jacobpmesser thanks for the suggestions, I really like the idea of the synergy with Blood Artist , but in a Lava Dart heavy meta an 0/1 is super squishy. Silversmote Ghoul can sac itself for card draw, is an incredible combo with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord 2nd +1 that’s guaranteed to come back from the graveyard (having multiple cards able to comeback is nice). I don’t mind that it’s only a 1 toughness because it easily comes back, blood artist would need lurrus or Unearth to come back. I agree silversmote & sorin are a nonbo with lurrus, but other targets exist for lurrus.

love the concept

Thank you Whitelionq. Testing it whenever I can, worKs incredibly well, but still feels like it could be a little better.

Looks very similar to the Pioneer semi-meta build. Ok, so, since you have Sorin, I'd recommend running Nocturnus, especially since you have Viscera + Bloodghast. Or alternatively Kalitas for obvious reasons. Because of Viscera being a main component of the Aristocrats sacrifice engine, Nocturnus synergizes decently with it.

Honestly, the deck looks fine although a 4th Sorin would be a good idea. You've got decent card draw between Silversmote, Locthwain and Silent Clearing. I think you could stand to add another set of fetch lands if you can afford them.

Other vamps I'd recommend... hmmm.... Maybe Gatekeeper of Malakir for more removal. Gifted Aetherborn is a very good 2-drop but idk if he goes with this deck given the more midrange-ish structure. Perhaps Indulgent Aristocrat? He suits you well.

Only other thing I'd do here is add some Thoughtseize and/or Inquisition of Kozilek.

YamishiTheWickedOne, thank you for checking out the build and for the suggestions. Regarding said suggestions, I do have Thoughtseize in the sb, Inquisition of Kozilek is something I considered, but wasn’t sure if it should be part of the main or the side and how many. I agree Vampire Nocturnus is great, but a little slow for modern imo, even if it’s cheated out with sorin. Gatekeeper of Malakir was in an earlier build and is very solid, but only effective when kicked and if played on curve, it’s not the best turn 3 play since we’re already leaving mana open for Kalastria Highborn . Gifted Aetherborn is one of my favorite vampires, but didn’t seem to synergies as well in this particular build. Indulgent Aristocrat is another card I considered while building this, but decided against it because it’s a 1/1 and it costs 2 for the sac/buff effect, I do see a nice combo with Cordial Vampire tho. I could be completely wrong with the thought process, but will reevaluate things based on your suggestions.

I mean yeah, mana conservation is what really separates this from my style of build given your deck is very, very aristocrats-ish and Highborn is part of that engine. If you have Dark Confidant he might be worth considering given your mana curve is excellent.

YamishiTheWickedOne, no argument that Dark Confidant is solid and worth considering. The drain & gain should offset the life loss, but was never crazy about the card and it’s easily sniped by Lava Dart.

Hello SefTheReject,

With Cabal Coffers being in Modern Horizons 2, your mana ramp ability just got better.

Thanks,

Philosopher

philosopher I was happily shocked when I saw that was included, can’t wait to add it.

There are two builds for vamps as far as I am aware - go wide with Drana, Liberator of Malakir , and this type of 'sacrifice drain and grind' list.

A card worth considering as a 1-of in all those vampire brews - Blade of the Bloodchief . This equipment is a lot better than it looks in the tribe due to the way it works with lifelink to push out of burn range and lets you spread threats over smaller vampires in stalled board states.

In most of my time playing vamps, Kalistra highborn has been really clunky - keeping the mana up for it disrupts the deck a lot. Its fine when the game grinds out, but even then paying 1 whenever you sac hurts.

Aetherborn doesn't have straightforward synergies beyond vampire, but lifelink/deathtouch means it trades up with a lot of creatures and strategies. Valentin, Dean of the Vein  ^Flip deserves consideration, as does Yahenni, Undying Partisan .

lagotripha I’ve tried Drana in other versions of vamps that I’ve built and could be a possibility for include. I’ve seen blade in other builds and it no doubt seems like a solid include, specially in vamps, but 1-of's without a way to tutor for them are pretty pointless imo. You have good point with kalastria being clunky and holding up mana for it isn’t always viable, but when it is able to go off, it goes off like a bomb. Nykthos can help with that if played properly, but your swapping a 1 activation cost for 2 so I definitely see your point. Aetherborn is one of my favorite vampire cards and it’s been in every other fang build I’ve made, can see the argument for replacing kalastria with it. Never heard of the other cards before, seem very interesting. Thank you for the recommendations.

Drana is too slow for modern in my opinion. Absolute earliest she actually does something is turn 4, making her actually slower than Nocturnus off of turn 3 Sorin. Same reason I don't run Bloodline keeper. Nocturnus, Legion Lieutenant, Captivating, and Stromkirk Captain all have an immediate effect on the game assuming they don't eat a bolt, push, path, etc.

Gifted Aetherborn is just a good card in general. He's actually stronger in Rakdos though, due to Captain adding first strike, making him into a 3/4 deathtouch/first strike/lifelink turn 3. That said, without many lords he doesn't synergize as well as he does with my more aggressive flavor of midrange.

My only real advice is still consider Nocturnus, Kalitas, Indulgent Aristocrat, Thoughtseize, a fourth Sorin, and maybe Mutavault or Faceless Haven while changing your swamps to snow swamps and tossing in an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth or two. Lets you sit on your vistas (which is fantastic with Bloodghast, might I add) and tap for mana if you need, saving them for when you need to trigger revolt or landfall.

Urborg and Thoughtseize are my strongest recommendations btw.

I've been playtesting this a bit out of curiosity. It's frankly an excellent Aristocrats build, to the point Aether Vial and even Sorin almost don't feel needed. (would still keep Sorin, his +1s are really good). You run ample support for devotion, and Nykthos imo is justification for keeping Highborn. In all my tests where I've drawn Nykthos, I get to turn 4 and the whole thing just explodes in a beautiful, bloody, gory mess. Viscera + Bloodghast + Cordial + either highborn or artist is basically your core. Viscera being instant speed lets you do some really fun combat tricks as well.

And one last possible recommendation is maybe Oathsworn Vampire but that's about it. Well, him and possibly Champion of Dusk as a Sorin target for draw power as you tend to play your entire hand pretty early.

Hope all of this helps, you've certainly earned my seal of approval.

YamishiTheWickedOne thank you so much, getting approval from a tribal master means a lot. Of the things you’ve mentioned in previous posts I have the following. Thoughtseize is in the side and can easily move to the main, I have 2 nocturnus that I can add, aetherborn if that’s an include (would prefer to stay mono, but could add captain if necessary), mutavaults can easily be added, safe haven seems very solid but I’m not crazy about the snow lands (dumb reason but I prefer the unstable lands), can easily slot in 2 urborg, captivating can be added if that’s an option, and a 4th sorin is easy as is aristocrat. All your suggestions have given me a lot to think about. If I may ask, how would you build this based on what’s been discussed in this thread? I would be more than happy to build it test the heck out of it. That trick you mentioned of urborg turning vistas into swamps never occurred to me and blew my mind. You are the sire, I’m your willing student

Well honestly I'd stay monoblack. You have a really solid core (with Nykthos, I've done tests where I'm able to drain 10-12 life on turn 5 just from Highborn).

I think probably the biggest thing is cards that interact with your opponent. I feel like... just changing the vials (some people like them but tbh I never felt the need for vials) to Thoughtseize and/or Inquisition. And maybe any draw power you can squeeze in without compromising your engine. I might suggest Gatekeeper of Malakir , if you can fit him. Mind you, his edict effect triggers Cordial and Artist.

Not sure if Captivating/Nocturnus are needed but they're the lords I'd consider if you want board-wide buffs. Cordial is fantastic here by himself so I'd almost say 2-4 Indulgent Aristocrat synergizes better. And he's basically a lord himself. I actually like Knight of the Ebon Legion here. If you're playing your hand quickly he becomes something to dump excess mana into and 4 damage is easy here, Sorin + artist alone is a buff for him.

2 swamps for 2 urborgs is an easy switch to make, and you don't necessarily need manlands. If colorless mana is a no here then maybe skip them.

Liliana of the Veil if you can afford her might be an option. Though Sorin takes priority as the 3 mana walker.

I'll let you know if I think of anything else. Monoblack is the way to go for this deck.

PS: Crippling Fear is good side or main.

YamishiTheWickedOne swapping the vials for seize is easy, can put inquisition in the side to replace the seizes. Urborg for swamps is easy, mutavaults or factories can be added if you think they’re necessary. I have gate keeper & indulgent and the 4th sorin, what would you suggest swapping them with? The Liliana’s I have are in my 8 rack and would prefer sorin as the walker anyway, never heard of crippling fear before, very interesting

YamishiTheWickedOne forgot to ask if aetherborn was a possible include too. Thank you again for the suggestions and help, this has been a pet deck for years, but I want to make it one of my main builds.

I'd drop the nighthawks honestly. Questioning the need for Silversmote but he IS an ideal Sorin sacrifice. But yeah, 1 hawk for 1 Sorin, not 100% sure on the others, maybe the other hawk for an Indulgent?

YamishiTheWickedOne I was thinking nighthawk, glad I was on the right line. Definitely the 4th sorin and maybe a 3rd silversmote? Would give a better probability of pulling 1.

There's this one new vamp who's double-sided (other side is a 4 mana green creature) Who's basically a 1 mana Kalitas. Not sure if this is at all relevant to you but if only the black side counts it's going in my Edgar EDH. Also, Vermin Gorger is another new vamp you might want to look at.

YamishiTheWickedOne not sure what the flip one is, not really a fan of the flip cards. Gorger was in the maybe board, but I wasn’t sure what it would replace. Only thing I could think of was blood artist, but that didn’t feel right.

YamishiTheWickedOne gorger & BA are the same cmc, gorger is a tougher body and the drain & gain is higher, but gorger needs to tap for the sac ability where artist is a static ability. Very tough decision.

Mmm yeah I'd keep artist and just have gorger as a consideration to be experimented with.