A very horrible attempt to recreate a deck similar to Solar Flare. Obviously this is no where near on the level of that power, but it might be interesting to see if it works.
So by referencing this source,
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/examining-solar-flare
I built a similar themed deck to what solar flare was doing. I will explain each card and how it relates to the original cards in the original deck. I have no idea if this even works, but I had Solar Flare when it was popular and would love to see its return. I do appreciated any ideas or comments as long as they are not just flaming or bashing the ideas. By NO means is this ready for serious play, but if someone can think of a way to get it there, I am open to suggestions.
1) reanimate tactics: I choose 2 Necromantic Summons, 2 Ever Afters and a single Emeria Shepherd. These were supposed to replace the Zombify and Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni.
2)mana rocks:Corrupted Grafstone was just a horrible idea for this deck I feel as a reliable mana rock, so instead I decided to add in Knight of the White Orchid. While I understand this is not remotely the same thing, but it does actually put the land into play. I feel this would thin out the deck while also adding to your mana base, but this is not always a guarantee since your opponent needs more land than you to get this effect. But I still think it's more reliable than the Grafstone and probably better than the 3 cmc dragon mana rocks. Obviously no where near as good as the signets which these replace from the original Solar Flare.
3) Control elements:Pretty straight forward here, Planar Outburst instead of Wrath of God ((plus if you awaken, this could get mean on the Ormendahl, Profane Prince as the counters stay when/if it flips. This also is why Scatter to the Winds is in here.) Anguished Unmaking instead of Mortify. Scatter to the Winds instead of Remand (no real good counters here...but at least it has a second use if late in game. You could use Horribly Awry instead perhaps.) There was no card that really worked quite like Persecute, I thought about maybe Thought-Knot Seer as a possibility. Artificer's Epiphany instead of Compulsive Research. I had this as the draw/discard instead of Catalog because originally I had Corrupted Grafstone in, but since then took it out. But either one is good here.
Now..this is where the deck becomes completely different than the original Solar Flare. Since most of the key creatures that made that deck solid does not exist in standard, I had to get creative. I tried to put in the most useful creatures that could fit into this sort of deck. I could not really use the Eldrazi for this because you have to cast most of them to get their effect and this is supposed to be some obscure reanimator deck. So here's why I put in what I put in here.
1) Dragonlord Silumgar was supposed to sort of be the replacement for Angel of Despair, but this obviously is not at all the same. He does steal creatures which is interesting. Which is also why Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is in here among other reasons, so you can sacrifice whatever you steal in case they kill Silumgar.
2) Sidisi, Undead Vizier is more of a test to see if Ever After might be a good combo with him. You sacrifice himself to tutor for Ever After, cast Ever After next turn or whatever, Sidisi comes into play and his CIPE triggers. Sacrifice him to go get Ever After that should now be in shuffled into the deck. Of course the optimal plan here is to get back another creature that might be in the grave with this. I am not sure if this is viable, but looks good on paper.
3) Linvala, the Preserver is simply a creature that could help if you are behind in life or creatures.
4) Archangel Avacyn is just a good card in any deck running white, it is a combat trick, a great blocker, surprise attacker, or a possible board sweeper. Just good all around.
5) Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is in here mostly as a sac outlet and a life gainer. But if you can get her last ability online, she sort of serves as a less reliable Angel of Despair
6) Ormendahl, Profane Prince is just a good land for any control type deck, plus I would like to see how this interacts with awaken spells to make it bigger. Just be careful doing that, because it suddenly can become a target once it is awakened. Plus if you do add in Thought-Knot Seer then this plus the Caves of Koilos is a decent source of colorless mana.
now for the walkers
1) Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, I went with this version of Jace because it's tons cheaper than the one from Origins, but also because all of his abilities are relevant. Of course Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
is useful with all its abilities, but for those of you not wanting to spend that sort of money, they new Jace should work fine. You could also replace Artificer's Epiphany with Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
if you have them already or way too much money to burn. This deck might be the one case you might want to actually use the unsummon effect on your own creatures. The draw/scry is relevant, and if you can get your ultimate online, you just win if you havent already.
2) Narset Transcendent can help get you to your spells faster. (referring to the reanimate spells mostly)This leads to the next ability to be able to pretty much double any spell you might want. And again if you get the ultimate online, it's more shut down just like Jace.
3) Sorin, Grim Nemesis is again, another great card engine, plus it can hurt your opponent. Plus he can deal with almost any creature or planeswalker in standard with the second ability and stabilize your life, you could even do it to your own creature you steal with Dragonlord Silumgar if you were that desperate. And just so I can sound repetitive, if you do get the ult online, this is just outright death in most cases I would assume.You might ask, what about Court Hussar? What is the replacement for him..and my answer is...there really is nothing good to replace that sort of effect. But if you wanted, there are a few options here..that being Anticipate if you want something cheap, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
if money is no object or you own them already. There is a creature that sorta (but not really) works like Court Hussar, but it costs 4 cmc and you have to sacrifice something to it, Gurmag Drowner.
So there you have it...Wannabe Solar Flare.dec
please comment if useful, plus it if you like...playtest it to your heart's desire. I'll be back soon with some weird Jund Aristocrats later on.
