Mardu Ascendancy can serve as a good token generator as you get a free token just for attacking with a nontoken creature, so you can declare attacker with butcher of the horde, get a token and give it your lifelink. Another standard sac outlet for your creatures could be Nantuko Husk. Ride Down can be solid removal and can ensure one of your big guys goes through. You can also put Valor in Akros because it combos well with all the token generation you have.

Hello oldelpaso and thanks for the comment :-)

I don't think Mardu Ascendancy would be optimum here, as I try to keep the non-token creatures count low in order to feed Myth Realized and the Prowess monks.

Regarding Nantuko Husk, it's nice if you need a sac outlet but here the sacrifices are just bonuses.

Ride Down however could be a good removal in this deck, I could test it instead of Murderous Cut or Roast.

Valor in Akros is very interesting, I'm looking for something to swap it for !

Bloodsoaked Champion is a must have!

How about Flamewake Phoenix? It has flying, haste and you can sac him to Butcher of the Horde and bring him back just for single red mana. I think he would fit to this deck.

Hi lessthanthree24 and Walruss and thanks for the comments !

Regarding Bloodsoaked Champion, he fits the theme indeed but would move the deck more towards aggro, while I prefer to keep it more midrange so I'm not sure I'd put it in.

Flamewake Phoenix seems like a nice fit here, I hadn't thought of it ! I wonder whether the double red in mana cost is an issue. If not the question is : what to take out ? The 3-drop slot is crowded...

Well, I'm not sure about this, but I would swap out Drana, Liberator of Malakir or Hangarback Walker for Flamewake Phoenix. I don't really see the use of Drana here, except puting a counters on Hangarback. Also Hangarback Walker can be really slow and I think that Phoenix that I'm big fan of would do better. However, playtest that and tell us how did it go.

I would remove your 2 slot creature and use seeker of the way instead because it can block and provides an immediate threat and can trade you have a lot of prowess triggers and the life link is nice

The only noncreature spell you run that produces tokens is Lingering Souls; Rest in Peace cuts that production in half. Might I suggest Nihil Spellbomb instead? You can drop it Turn 1, and more often that not get some card draw out of it.

Hi AndWelcomeToTheJam and thanks for the suggestion !

Indeed, Lingering Souls and Rest in Peace is a real nonbo. I have just raised the number of souls and didn't realize the sideboard needed an adjustment.

Nihil Spellbomb is a nice replacement. I also thought of Tormod's Crypt or Relic of Progenitus, but the spellbomb is probably the best.

Have you thought about Assemble the Legion? I know it is expensive, but if your opponent can't touch it for some turns, it's quickly a win option on its own

I like the idea of Outpost Siege in this list, but have you considered Dark Confidant? As long as you have the money to pick him up, he provides the same card advantage that Siege does, but you don't lose it when the turn ends if you don't play the card. It's on a 2-drop, which you don't have very many of. Also, the life you gain from Soul's Attendant, Lightning Helix, and Sorin, Solemn Visitor offset it nicely.

Also consider a singleton Vault of the Archangel to deter the opponent from swinging with something important or for a nice chunk of lifegain.

Thanks for the comments, seshiro_of_the_orochi and AndWelcomeToTheJam !

Regarding Assemble the Legion, it's indeed a great wincon but I think this deck already has enough of them and for a cheaper cost.

Dark Confidant is indeed a must. Revealing a Butcher or Sorin hurts but otherwise, the card advantage is huge. I currently have none so I have taken the cheap replacement Outpost Siege (which is also useful on dragons, though). I might invest some day to get the real deal :-)

Regarding Vault of the Archangel, I have one and will test it in the deck soon, good idea !

@AndWelcomeToTheJam:

I've playtested with proxies and Dark Confidant fits indeed really well --> I've ordered 2 of those Bobs to replace the Outpost Sieges and updated the list :-)

Do not hesitate to +1 if you like the deck ;-)

I personally have never played with Dark Confidant, nor any deck that should run him. But I think Bob really only gets played as a 3-4 of or not at all. Only having two makes it hard to consistently get him in your opening hand, which is where you really want him. He sucks as a top deck, and it hurts to have more than one on the field at a time, but he's a fantastic Turn 2 play. Maximizing your chances to get him for Turn 2 seems optimal. If you still want him, I think you might want more than 2 (not trying to kill your wallet, I swear) in the deck. I would ask others before you make your decision though; I'm not an expert on its usage.

With that, have you considered adding more sac outlets? There will come a point where you really need to get rid of Bob when your life runs low. Butcher works well for this, but there are only 2. How about Smallpox?

I do agree with Bob being better as a 3-4 of but I'm not sure what to take out for the other copies. I'll start with 2 first and then maybe upgrade later.

Regarding sac outlets, Butcher of the Horde is the best but Path to Exile is also decent. In desperate situations, we can also burn him. I'm not fan of Smallpox as neither discard nor land sac are great for us.

How about Impact Tremors or Bitterblossom? The indirect damage would be nice and counter act the 1 life a turn cost. How much have you played this deck? I'm thinking about building one and only have theory to guide me. Here is my spitball idea Young Mardu Mentor

Hi neosapien and thanks for the comment :-)

Impact Tremors and Bitterblossom are indded good cards in the deck's theme! What would you suggest to take out for them ?

The only thing I would recommend taking out would be emerged unscathed and you only have two of those. I would say bitter blossom is the better of the two I suggested. My deck doesn't have soul's attendant so I see how it would be hard to fit those and impact tremors. So -2 unscathed, +2 bitterblossom. I haven't done any actual testing yet, I'm waiting to get some of the token generators cause im converting it from my boros burn deck

I have a modern FNM this friday so I'll test with 2 Bitterblossom in place of 2 Emerge Unscathed, I'll keep you informed on the outcome ;-)

Also, I would switch 2 soul's attendant for 2 Soul Warden for surgical extraction type cards. Kinda minor but might as well fix that problem before you run into it.

There is a huge difference between Soul's Attendant and Soul Warden: the text in the first one says "MAY"!

I tend to forget triggers from time to time and Soul's Attendant prevents me from getting judge warnings I'd get from Soul Warden. I know I should be more attentive and this should not be an argument but currently, this is more important to me than protection from Surgical Extraction ;-)

I never noticed that difference between them. I just added dark confident to my deck after realizing I had no card draw at all.

nice deck.

I would play 4 Lightning Bolt thoughtseize is a very strong discard spellInquisition of Kozilek is strong too.I would play 6 discard spells. now the eldrazi are strong in modern, thats why i would play 3/3 of each of them. If you have no eldrazi, Siege Rhino or Tasigur, the Golden Fang in your meta I would prefer 4 Inquisition of Kozilek and 2 Thoughtseize I would play 4 Dark Confidant because the card advance of him is very high, and he will win the game if no opponent removes him. If you are playing against burn you may cut is and put 4 Leyline of Sanctity into mainboard.you may try some Pia and Kiran Nalaar this card is really strong in modern.

you may cut the two butcher of the horde and one sorin. The manacosts are too high.

and i would cut all Soul's Attendant and two Emerge Unscathed .because they don t do very much.

Hi DarkConfidant and thanks for the input!

I've tweaked the deck a bit and I'm taking it to FNM tonight, I'll how it goes and keep you posted ;-)

Emerge Unscathed underperformed again --> 4 Dark Confidants definitely win the spots !

I'm still considering whether removing the 2 Butcher of the Horde or not...