KorApprentice says... #5
Why hello there! I apologize, your comment had somehow gotten buried away by my mass of notifications. I only just now saw it when I decided to update my deck. The reason I only have 1 Liliana of the Veil in my deck is because this is based off of cards that I actually own. And you are correct to assume that I only use 2 Unburial Rites and 3 Forbidden Alchemys because the main goal is to obtain infinite life. Reanimation is hardly even a subtheme for this deck, the big creatures are actually intended to be hard casted once I have infinite life and am at my leisure to do so. The Solar Flare reanimation is just to bring back combo pieces like Suture Priest and Leonin Relic-Warder, not actually meant to bring back the big creatures early, though that is a plus. I am going to be doing some changes to the deck, but I still only have 1 Liliana of the Veil. As for normal Solar Flare decks, no, they do not usually run Suture Priest or Leonin Relic-Warder at all. They typically run a playset of Forbidden Alchemy and Unburial Rites, with more big creatures, like Grave Titan and Consecrated Sphinx. I would recommend 3 Liliana of the Veil for any Solar Flare, and I would like to run 3 in this deck, if I can get 2 more. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you!
March 18, 2012 7:34 p.m.
Minousmancer says... #6
Curious why you chose Phyrexian Metamorph instead of Cryptoplasm is there a particular preference?
Looking at your spells v.s Land I'd add two more Islands and with only five spells needing Black Mana I'd drop or two Swamps.
So I know Liliana of the Veil works well in S/f, buy what is your opinion on a build with Sorin, Lord of Innistrad instead? This is a hypothetical question, not a suggestion.
March 31, 2012 2:16 p.m.
KorApprentice says... #7
Cryptoplasm is just a bad card. You have to wait a full turn after he enters the battlefield for him to clone anything, which completely defeats the point. The fact that he is a legal target for Sun Titan is irrelevant, if I wanted something I could bring back I would be using Phantasmal Image. I do not use the Image because this is not a normal Solar Flare where I would be trying to play as many fatties as I can and copying them. There are only three reasons Phyrexian Metamorph is in the deck at all; One, to create an infinite loop with Leonin Relic-Warder to get infinite ETB triggers with Suture Priest for infinite life. Two, to destroy legendary creatures. Three, to get extra ETB effects, like a copied Fiend Hunter to get 3 of them bouncing each other infinitely, or a copied Sun Titan to bring back a Leonin Relic-Warder for the combo, etc. Cryptoplasm is bad at all of those things. It can easily be removed by your next upkeep to save your opponents legendary creature, while Phyrexian Metamorph will kill it instantly. It does not proc any ETB effects whatsoever, which is useless for me. And lastly, it doesn't get any infinite combo's going. I would have 4 Phyrexian Metamorphs in this deck if I owned them, he is crucial to all of it's win conditions. Also, the double U in Cryptoplasm's cost would make me unable to play him by turn 3 quite often, while Phyrexian Metamorph can be cast with only W and B mana. There is always a good reason to have at least one basic for each color your deck runs, so I will switch out 1 Swamp for an Island. And as for Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, he doesn't belong in a Solar Flare deck at all, none of his abilities are relevant to the goal of any Solar Flare. A Solar Flare deck would also never run Cryptoplasm, they prefer Phantasmal Image because it can actually get you the ETB effects that you need in a Solar Flare. Thank you for your suggestion, I'd be happy to hear any other suggestions you may have!
March 31, 2012 2:43 p.m.
Minousmancer says... #8
When I asked "Curious why you chose Phyrexian Metamorph instead of Cryptoplasm is there a particular preference?" I was curious because I know why I'd have what motivates you to use Ponder over [[think twice?
March 31, 2012 5:11 p.m.
KorApprentice says... #9
The reason Solar Flare does not use Batterskull is because it cannot be brought back by Unburial Rites. Also, Wurmcoil Engine still kicks after an Ancient Grudge, even if it gets flashbacked. You would need to have mana open to save Batterskull from removal, so Wurmcoil Engine is a much bigger pain to deal with. And quite frankly, the difference between a 4/4 Vigilance and a 6/6 deathtouch is staggering for one mana. I don't see what you mean about Cryptoplasm 'playing off of' Snapcaster Mage, Cryptoplasm's ability does not make it enter the battlefield, it is already on the battlefield, so no ETB effect will trigger when it copies. I admit that Sorin, Lord of Innistrad's ultimate does suit the purposes of Solar Flare quite well, and Solar Flare already runs control, so getting him to survive three turns is not very difficult. I suppose he could show up in a Solar Flare deck, but he does cost four mana, and there are usually better things to cast turn four. Allow me to answer your final question with a question; Why would I want to run Think Twice over Ponder in a combo deck? When you build a combo deck, sifting spells are very important so that you can get the right cards in hand. When you look at sifting spells, you have to ask yourself how many cards of your library will that spell get you through to find your combo. Think Twice will only get you the top card of your library, so one card. Even when you flashback it, one more card, so two cards total for five mana. Ponder will get you through three cards for one mana, and if none of them are the card you need, you can shuffle. If you choose to shuffle, then yes, Ponder will only get you through one card. But the possibility for it to look through three cards is much better than Think Twice's two cards. I would still choose Ponder even if it didn't allow you to shuffle. I wish Preordain was still legal, I would use that too.
March 31, 2012 7:44 p.m.
Tachi:Rana says... #10
I really enjoy the versatility of this deck. I could be wrong though, I'm a magic newb. _ +1
and thank you for the advice on Eternal Transcendence.
April 15, 2012 11:51 a.m.
KorApprentice says... #12
It's an excellent card in Solar Flare, there just isn't room for it in this set-up. Also, it's quite unecessary in the long run as the reanimator flare is just a sub-theme really. The real goal is control, so two Sun Titans will do me just as much good as one.
TehPlutoKiss says... #4
Hey there. These are just random comments, since I honestly have never played Solar Flare so I don't know how it works really... Just trying to start a conversation xD
I noticed you seem to like Liliana of the Veil. Why not play two of her instead of one? Seems like her first two abilities would be key for today's standard and the reanimation, as you said...
Also, with only two Unburial Rites and three Forbidden Alchemy, is it hard to get the Reanimation going? I can see that the point of the deck is to combo off first, but would a faster version run more, or do most Solar Flare decks look like this?
Thanks for the answers!
March 11, 2012 11:26 p.m.