This is a serious list, now updated before HoD Game Day. I have been playing Bant Spirits religiously for 18 months now, winning more local FNMs than I lose. Sure, they are small and mid-level, however I have always updated to give a 50/50 game or better against any tier 1 deck. I say this so you will give it the benefit of the doubt when looking. Many will view this from a perspective of long having written off Azorius Spirits (to which I have never dropped a game), while others will consider Permeating Mass a joke. Stick with me and I will explain.
Firstly, don't treat this as a tempo deck. It is midrange control, fast enough to hold off aggro, and with enough cheaper card advantage and counter to deal with Gearhulk control. This is why I curve out at 4cmc, 5-6 drops do nothing for me here which can't already be done more efficiently.
I have just re-added Permeating Mass and
Immolating Glare
after a few months without, to deal with R/G Gods and Energy, and mono-red aggro (which is underplayed but very dangerous against any tier 1). Having Voltaic Brawlers and Rhonas smash against the mighty mass is as good as a 1-drop removal, as their own resulting Mass means nothing to my fliers, or to their Rhonas or Heart of Kiran. Let them beat for 1 all day. As the aforementioned decks have now been my primary weakness (as in 55/45 their way), these additions should swing it back.
Match-ups
The Zombies game is pretty good. Whatever gets past the counter and removal is easily wiped with Dusk / Dawn. The Blue/Black Zombies which people are experimenting with has nothing on this deck, too clunky.
Blue/Red Gearhulk Control can be an interesting game, however the Essence Scatter does a lot of work here, plus the general cheapness and card advantage offered by the deck. Aim to match the 'land, go' strategy and engage the counter wars with care - this is very winnable. The sideboard plan has a lot for this match.
Red/White Exert: For a non-tier1 deck, this one can give a solid game thanks to the work
glorybound initiate
puts in. Never let one of those on the board alongside Always Watching , obviously. Still, the matchup is favourable as long as you play and side well. Dusk / Dawn is king here, along with the removal and the Essence Scatter on the Glorybringer.
Other decks not mentioned simply haven't been a problem, including Mardu Vehicles (the mass and glare help here), Delerium, all combo decks, almost any brew, etc.
Sideboard
My mainboard
Immolating Glare
is chosen for control over what I kill, however the Blessed Alliance on the side deals with the hydras, hexproofs, indestructables, etc. The snares and cast out speak for themselves. The one
Declaration in Stone
is for anything really not welcome, and fine against Zombie tokens too.
Bring in the Aethersphere Harvester to combat aggro and Heart of Kiran, while the Wall of Resurgence is hilarious against both aggro and Torrential Gearhulk. The new threat of
Hour of Devastation
warrants the additional counterspells.
Lastly: Why Nissa, Steward of Elements? Well, this deck is as good a home as she is likely to get. She is hilarious against control where she is less pressured early, allowing constant scrying and easy card advantage with her 0 ability in this deck. I was mainboarding her with success, but found myself boarding her out too often in aggro matches. Hence the sideboard slots...bring her in when you are on the play, and when the opponent is not going past 2 power on turn 2. She will rock the place and present a real threat. Also, against any control as a threat and/or finisher on the ultimate.
Foreseen problems
I have made some sacrifices main-board to improve my game 1 against a variety of aggro decks. Not having Nissa and an additional Tracker main does reduce the amount of 'I win'-style starts, but may increase consistency in the long run against problem matches.
Fixing up the manabase as I like it while minimising the number of enters tapped lands is a real headache (currently on 16U/16W/14G for sources, which is fine).
The Permeating Mass is back on its trial run as I feel it may plug game 1 holes I was encountering, and is easy to board out where it doesn't pull its weight in the card slot. Generally though, if it is able to stall the attacks even slightly, it has done everything it is meant to.
The
Immolating Glare
may be a bad draw in game 1 in a minority of matches, and I may be sat there wishing for a second Stasis Snare or third Cast Out. I will monitor the performance in the current meta.
That's all folks. Thanks for reading, and please do try this list out yourselves. Other noteworthy mentions I have had great success with in this list include Narnam Renegade holding the floor instead of the Mass, and
Duskwatch Recruiter
as a source of endless shenanigans with the 'land, go, flash in x amount of spirits' plays, plus drawing into more creatures off him. It is the congregation to black or/and red decks which has made this guy sadly no longer what I am looking for.
