@mcsweeto

This deck doesn't care about Field of Ruin. The only target is Mutavault, and Knight Exemplar makes it a nonissue.

Using Flagstones of Trokair to bank off of Field is weak at best. Only a complete idiot would waste their Field on a land that doesn't do anything to warrant destruction and already replaces itself.

Have you considered Flagstones of Trokair tho?

It really seems neat and there's plenty of italicized text to trigger your autism!

@NensouIsAutistic

How sad and pathetic your life must be if you have nothing better to do with your time.

... says the guy asking for and then rejecting help on a site dedicated to getting feedback on your brews.

Yeah, I'm the one wasting time.

@NensouIsAutistic

Creating a gimmick account to harass other users doesn't seem like a productive use of your time.

Get a job.

@StillHereNensou

I block users that are only interested in provoking hostility, such as yourself.

If the best thing you can do with your spare time is to create gimmick accounts devoted solely for harassment towards a single user, you must be a terribly boring and lonely individual.

Given the high ammount of double mana symbols in knight creatures I've found in a similar deck to this one that Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx works quite nicely.

@Rolo1990

This deck isn't build for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. It doesn't have a use for the extra mana nor do I want to add cards for it. And if I have enough permanents for sufficient devotion, then I'm in already in a good position without Nykthos-fueled cards.

My manabase is also strained enough from the set of Mutavaults that additional colourless lands will cause major mana problems.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx isnt a colorless land as long as your devotion is at least 3. and you don't need high mana cost cards to benefit from it. you could just as easily play multiple lower cost spells in a single turn. or pump the Student of Warfare you love so much. as others have pointed out, History of Benalia is too powerful to not use. you also contradict yourself when you say that Flagstones of Trokair "does nothing", then say the effect is "miniscule". "miniscule" may not be much, but its more than nothing. decks win by giving themselves every possible advantage, no matter how small. i'm not sure how you think giving everything double strike with Kinsbaile Cavalier is "bad". it can be a game ending haymaker if the opponent isn't just relentlessly killing off all of your creatures. hence where History of Benalia comes in. multiple bodies from a single card, and then on the turn it buffs your whole army you drop a Cavalier for the win.

"being cheaper isn't enough of an edge to be considered over an objectively more powerful card".

yes it is. even a single mana can make the difference. the difference is even bigger when comparing 2 mana to 4. its literally double. in the case of gideon vs Honor of the Pure, you're forced to use gideons +1 first if you want it to live when you create the emblem. otherwise you've just spent 4 mana on an emblem you could have spent 2 on. there are 2 problems with using gideons +1 on his first turn in play. the first is he doesn't have haste. the second is that he can just be attacked, preventing you from even getting an emblem at all.

@DragonKing90

you keep using the word "objectively", but i dont think you know what it means. using Honor of the Pure is not "objectively" wrong. there are plenty of "conceivable" ways to make it work.

@DragonKing90

Why should I use Honor of the Pure? Please elaborate, because all I see it a suboptimal card:

• It's doesn't have a body like the Knight Lords.
• It's not a value champion like Gideon.
• It's less impactful than History of Benalia.
• It's can't even buff every creature.

There's no place for traditional Anthems in this deck anymore. More powerful, synergistic options have been created, and they improve this deck far better than Honor of the Pure.

NensouHiebara says... #56 Why should I use Honor of the Pure? Please elaborate, because all I see it a suboptimal card:

It's doesn't have a body like the Knight Lords.
It's not a value champion like Gideon.  
It's less impactful than History of Benalia.
It's can't even buff every creature.

But you could have two Honor of the Pure for the price of one gideon, also they are a bit harder to get rid of

Honor of the Pure are also cheaper than history of benalia, they last longer as well. now they don't give you lil tokens but your deck should not rely on tokens anyways so...

Why the hell do you even have mutavault??? your deck should not need it at all, its a total waist in this deck. and that's also a lame excuse for not wanting to use Honor of the Pure

@DragonKing90 dont worry he refuses all feedback unless its overflowing him with praises. i just wish i knew how to make it stop sending me notices when people reply in here on this deck.

p.s. flyers will still beat this deck

@Edzew

Honor of the Pure's lower cost isn't a huge upside. With how this deck curves out, Knight Lords and Gideon are active options by the time my board is prepared for an Anthem effect.

Enchantments may be difficult to remove, but Emblems are outright impossible to be rid of.

This deck doesn't rely on tokens, but it does require creatures to defeat my opponent. History of Benalia strains 1-for-1 removal, and the +2/+1 boost outputs a lot of damage that some decks can't handle properly, even for that one turn, and are set back tremendously by it.

Mutavault is not a waste, it's a worthwhile addition that synergies with the entire deck:

• It an additional creature within a land slot.
• It benefits from Tribal boons.
• It's immune to sorcery-speed sweepers, remaining on the field to keep up the pressure.

Honor of the Pure's inability to boost Mutavault isn't the most important problem I have with it, but it's not insignificant. An Anthem not boosting absolutely everything is something that will matter in a nonzero amount of games.

I still fail to see how creatures with evasion automatically defeat this deck's strategy. Care to elaborate? Or are you only interested in venting your frustration?

Didn't read all of your above discussions, but from playing it in standard you must add History of Benalia, and Benalish Marshal is probably better than Silverblade Paladin.

@Dreamweav3r

Definitely going to add History of Benalia. I initially turned down the idea of using it and unfairly compared it to Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. I've since changed my mind. It's a great addition for a Tribe that really needed the boost in quality cards.

Silverblade Paladin's days were numbered since Benalish Marshal was revealed in the Dominaria set leak. It's cost is a little awkward, but nothing major.

Hi! Since the release of History of Benalia I'd wanted to craft a good Knight deck, and you reignited my hopes! My meta has Blue Moon and Obliterator decks, so I replaced Meadowgrain with White Knight and utilized Knight of the Holy Nimbus and Mana Tithe to disrupt turns 1-3, also kicked out 3 Vaults and all tapped lands. I prefer Citadel Siege to a 4-drop lord. All said, Knights did well against many Modern strategies, even outracing burn. Keep up with the great work!

Knight of the White Orchid seems like more of a value card than Sigiled Paladin as it allows you to ramp a bit on the same 2/2 body with first strike. I only suggest it considering that I don't see you attacking alone enough aside from a turn one Student of Warfare into a turn two Sigiled Paladin to fire of an exalted trigger. I know you mentioned you settled for Sigiled in the description, and that you think White Orchid loses its purpose due to the lack of emphasis on playing 4-drops, but I believe it is rather important to ensure you play your 3-drops. White Orchid allows you to comfortably be on the draw with a two land hand knowing that you'll still hit that needed third land. Just something to consider thinking over again, but it's ultimately up to you.

Other than that, you might want to consider picking up Aether Vials. I swear by these things being an avid merfolk player for years, and also some humans as well. They are just too good and help with the tempo of every match.

@DangoDaikazoku

Due to the 'more land than you' restriction, the earliest Knight of the White Orchid can trigger on is Turn 3 on the draw. On the play, I'd have to miss my third land drop for a trigger on Turn 4. The ramp is very slow and not casting my 2cmc Knight on curve played horribly.

Finally having the opportunity to replace Orchid was a net gain. I don't miss it one bit.

I wonder why Aether Vial work so well in Merfolk and Humans. Perhaps it's because Merfolk have a plethora of Lords and ETB triggers at 2cmc? Perhaps it's because Humans is an all-creature deck with a critical mass of disruption attached to bodies? Does Knights have access to that? No. They don't. Not even close.

I absolutely don't care about Vial. Flashing in French vanilla 2/2s on Turn 3 or Lords on Turn 4 isn't something I find useful.

Love the list. More so, I love the detailed analysis and chronology of deck choices. I haven't played the deck so I don't know jack squattery about it for sure, but, the only thing that gave me pause... I find it hard to believe that the best 4-drop outside of Gideon that a knight-tribal deck has access to is Valiant Knight. I mean the card is basically a very mediocre lord stapled to an even more mediocre mana sink. This deck could probably use a mana sink late game, I can see that, but it's hard to believe it's the best 4 drop white card available to you in modern. Or is it more a flavor choice? Some food for thought that still fits flavor: Light From Within. I know, I know, maybe its a win-more type of card, but imagine dropping a Light From Within on the battlefield turn 5 and having now a 6/6 benalish marshal, a 5/5 meadowgrain, and a disgusting 8/8 gideon while holding up a path to exile...

Also, the sheer amount of white mana symbols made me think of one other four drop in white... Heliod! Yes, he seems to be more into making clerics than knights (flavor issue), but this is one of the few decks I have seen that could easily support a Heliod. He gives everything vigilance, which is great with a bunch of beefy first strikers, and he is a 5/6 indestructible threat himself with a better mana sink on him than Valiant Knight has I bet. Also, I do feel your pain on the banishing light, is that really the best removal option available? Tempo them with oust, perhaps? After all, it rhymes with joust, am I right?!

I just liked the deck enough to throw out some ideas.

@transpacjackson

Valiant Knight is in the deck mainly because there's nothing else worth using. I'm not really interested in another 4-drop and intend to replace Valiant Knight with a cheaper Knight when it's printed.

With 10 Lords, History of Benalia, and Gideon, traditional Anthems aren't necessary. I dislike traditional Anthems in this deck anyway, as they take opportunities away from putting bodies into play and aren't good draws if I face heavy removal and need to rebuild.

Light from Within only affects creatures with mana costs, so it doesn't curve well off of History and can't boost Mutavault

Maybe Kwende, Pride of Femeref might be a card to consider? I still love the deck either way lol.

@Melodystuck

Kwende has the same problem as Kinsbaile Cavalier: a 4cmc creature with low P/T.

@PurePwnage

Light from Within is unable to boost Mutavault and tokens. Curving into it from a Turn 3 History of Benalia wouldn't be very effective.

Regardless, this deck doesn't need more 4cmc cards. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar provides everything this deck needs out of a curve-topper. Trying to find room for another 4cmc card that only accomplishes a fraction of what he does isn't going to work out.