As amazing as Vampire Nighthawk is (by far my favourite card, EVER!) I don't think it is as essential in this particular deck. Then again it is my only creature that can stand a chance against, well, any other. All my 1CMC creatures will get owned by almost everything else if it comes to it. So I could drop 1x Vampire Nighthawk instead of 1x Chalice of Life  ^Flip since the chalice is my quick win focus. I'm not really sure because in my other deck, RB Vampires "Bleigh!", I find that 3x Lightning Greaves don't have a good enough draw chance. Bit concerned that 3x Chalice of Life  ^Flip will have the same affect.

It looks like the deck mechanic for this is sound, but you are lacking the "finishing blow" that would be required to make this deck deadly. I ran a White/Green Elf deck that had a huge life-gain strategy and I suffered the same problem.

My advice would be to throw in cheap cards that have huge effects for when you gain life. Ajani's Pridemate would be a fantastic card to include, and it looks like you have it on your Maybe Board. I would keep the Vampire Nighthawk , and reduce all of the creatures that you have four copies of down to three; that will give you room to include four Ajani's Pridemate cards.

For card draw mechanics, Mentor of the Meek could be a way to go, since most of your creatures are low-power. Due Respect is a cheap way to draw a card and screw over your opponent on their turn, but it is a one-shot. Survival Cache fits the life-gain theme AND gets you a card, as long as you have more life than your opponent (plus the Rebound is nice). For Black cards that have the draw ability, I would go with either Altar's Reap or Sign in Blood .

yeh the non-budged version of this deck has a few more win conditions. It is no where near finished but here is the link Life Steal. In this deck I include Serra Ascendant which basically does the same job as Ajani's Pridemate , to some extent.

or even just summoning a swarm of cheap 1/1 creatures...

i was wondering when Ajani's Pridemate was going to come up. its very effective when your using the soul sisters, but it also needs someway of getting through. you could add Gift of Orzhova for attacking or blocking purposes. just to get your own big guy to keep your opponent cautious. some other cards to think about are Life Burst (better than Rest for the Weary if you have 4) and Congregate . its a little different from Divine Congregation but the main point is that it includes all creatures on the battlefield

Thanks w999

Ajani's Pridemate could be a replacement for Vampire Nighthawk but i'm still not fond of it yet. Need a bit more convincing. And with Gift of Orzhova I'm not really sure I have the room. I'm already struggling to figure out how to include my draw mechanic.

Life Burst seems better in the long run but Rest for the Weary is faster. by turn 2 Rest for the Weary could have given me 8 life and have me a lot closer to flipping the chalice. Also, Life Burst isn't legal in modern. Maybe I could change to casual if needed.

Congregate is definitely better than Divine Congregation since it is instant speed and the same cost. But I have the same problem as with the Pridemate. also not sure its needed with the life gain I already have. I can't think of anything less important that it could replace.

all true reasons. maybe remove Lingering Souls ? if you're drawing that many cards, you should be able to draw into more creatures. it also prevents your mana curve from getting too wacky

Actually that might be a good idea. Lingering Souls is 3 mana for 2 creatures. if I have a decent draw mechanic 3 mana can give me 3 creatures (I have a lot of 1CMC). Only difference is the flashback. I might be able to replace 3x Lingering Souls with 3x Mentor of the Meek . I'd like to hear some more thoughts on this.

I think that would work out great. Then once you play it out a bit, you can figure out whether Ajani's Pridemate or Vampire Nighthawk works best (or both if you can swing it).

+1 :)

I agree with the above comments about Mentor of the Meek . It's an excellent card. As for other card draw ideas, here are some crappy ones - Bandage , Carom , Due Respect , Gallantry , Guided Strike (which would be hilarious with Vampire Nighthawk ), and Niveous Wisps .

I think replacing Cathedral Sanctifier with Ajani's Pridemate would be a good change. You have sixteen 1-CMC cards, and this addition would being it down some. It also triggers Mentor of the Meek . However, the one downside would be that it lacks lifelink or any evasion. I think this change would come down to your meta, and how much you find yourself needing the lifegain opposed to a heavy beater. I really like the changes though, especially the addition of Mentor of the Meek !

Thanks guys. ducttapedeckbox I'll look into that while I'm trialing.

@Xindlepete. Rest for the Weary worked brilliantly! Thanks!

After a few games I think my biggest problem is that Martyr of Sands isn't overpowered enough. Murder and Vampire Nighthawk kept getting in the way so I think I need to cut down on my mono-black cards a little. In my non budget version (Life Steal) I replace Vampire Nighthawk with Serra Ascendant and that works great. Maybe here I could either leave Nighthawk alone or replace him with something else that's white or white/black like Ajani's Pridemate ? Ajani's Pridemate does seem like a great card but it's worded so that it only gets a counter "whenever" I gain life. so if I gain 5 life in 1 go it still only gets 1 counter. And it's lack of flying, deathtouch and/or lifelink seems a little steep. Can you guys think of any alternatives for Vampire Nighthawk // Ajani's Pridemate ?

Just tried another few rounds. Mentor of the Meek is amazing! Thanks buffy for suggesting it and everyone else for discussing it.

@ducttapedeckbox I Just tried replacing Cathedral Sanctifier with Ajani's Pridemate for a game and i'm pretty impressed at how quickly it gains counters in this deck. but I'm still not sold because if the lack of flying and early game usefulness.

Just to clarify, you are treating each trigger of the "soul sisters" as ONE instance of "whenever" for the Ajani's Pridemate , correct? One of my buddies misunderstood how that worked, hoping to help you avoid the same problem. :)

If you are looking into giving Ajani's Pridemate some evasion, while also trying to keep a maximum number of white cards for the Martyr of Sands , then look no further than Gatecrashes own Gift of Orzhova ! Both white and black, grants +1/+1, flying, and lifelink! Yessirree, one card will answer all of your complaints about Ajani's Pridemate and throw in a BONUS +1/+1 at no extra charge! For a measly 3 CMC, you could play it immediately after your turn two Ajani's Pridemate , and start swinging for that bonus damage! Why have a Vampire Nighthawk , when for the same mana you can make ANYTHING YOU WANT BECOME ONE!?!?!? Don't delay- SWAP IT IN TODAY!!!!!!!!! :D

In order to fit both the Ajani's Pridemate and the Gift of Orzhova in, this is what I'm looking at:

Pull out 1x Exquisite Blood , 2x Cathedral Sanctifier , and 3x Vampire Nighthawk .

Put in 3x Ajani's Pridemate and 3x Gift of Orzhova .

That way you can keep a few Cathedral Sanctifier s in the deck as a cheap lifegain spell, and another creature that can trigger your soul sisters. I know how much you like your Exquisite Blood , but it is your high end, and one of the few remaining mono-black cards in the deck. Dropping it to two will help your mana curve, while simultaneously boosting the possible effect your Martyr of Sands will have. :) Think about it.

lol. I was using it wrong. That's heaps better. I just tried it and I think I'll go:

Looks like you have a winning combo there. ;) Well done!

Thanks :)

I think I need to include Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant .
With the kind of lifegain I have in this deck this card seems essential. I'll give Ajani's Pridemate and few more tries. if it turns out that I don't need a heavy hitter because Chalice of Death  ^Flip is good enough then I'll swap it out for the protection.

Oh you and your zealous love of Exquisite Blood . Just couldn't drop it down to 2x, could you? :P

This is looking good, but you have some weak links in your creature choices.

I would sub out a Vizkopa Guildmage and all of your Rest for the Weary for 4x Suture Priest . Take out the two Cathedral Sanctifier s and add in another Ajani's Pridemate and a singleton Sun Titan (I would recommend Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite but for budgeting purposes the titan is better).

You also need something to push this game over the edge and possible end things.. As gorgeous as they are, maybe swap the Gift of Orzhova for 2x Exsanguinate ? You can sink of all your mana into it as a brutal finisher against the opponent, and amplify it with the deck's theme with Exquisite Blood .

+1 from me!