Today's Planeswalker Duel Deck isn't for the squeamish! Sink your teeth the intro article and last year's decks before reading on...
One of the interesting facets of modern set design is Uncommon Gold Cards. For the last 3 or 4 years, WotC has released sets that have an Uncommon card in each of the 10 different color pairs. These Uncommons are considered "signposts" for what that color pair should want to do in draft, and they've made for pretty interesting themes for these decks as well, especially if they repeat.
One such repeated mechanic is the Black/White "Whenever you gain life, do X" or "If you've gained life this turn, X triggers at EOT." We've gotten this effect from the Black / White allies in Battle for Zendikar/Oath of the Gatewatch, M19, M21, and Zendikar Rising, so clearly it's something that WotC wants to maintain in the Black/White wheelhouse.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor seems like a great vessel to express this little mechanic. Granting lifelink to the entire team allows for lots of triggers, and gives a mechanical identity to an otherwise relatively generic Planeswalker. It also helps that Sorin is a vampire, and vampires play well into this both flavorfully and mechanically.
Let's see what this drainfest looks like:
Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Sorin, Solemn Visitor by Andy Hurst
'Sorin, Solemn Visitor' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!
Created By: Andy Hurst
Event:
Rank:
Freeform (Casual)
Market Price: $44.10
Dark Nourishment
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/145781_200w.jpg
Dark Nourishment deals 3 damage to any target. You gain 3 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ixalan/dark-nourishment
Swamp
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $1.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/230466_200w.jpg
({T}: Add {B}.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/kaldheim/swamp
Orzhov Basilica
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.24
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/212445_200w.jpg
Orzhov Basilica enters the battlefield tapped.
When Orzhov Basilica enters the battlefield, return a land you control to its owner's hand.
{T}: Add {W}{B}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2020/orzhov-basilica
Scoured Barrens
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/215899_200w.jpg
Scoured Barrens enters the battlefield tapped.
When Scoured Barrens enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.
{T}: Add {W} or {B}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2021/scoured-barrens
Feast of Blood
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.49
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/33296_200w.jpg
Cast this spell only if you control two or more Vampires. Destroy target creature. You gain 4 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/zendikar/feast-of-blood
Paladin of the Bloodstained
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/145712_200w.jpg
When Paladin of the Bloodstained enters the battlefield, create a 1/1 white Vampire creature token with lifelink.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ixalan/paladin-of-the-bloodstained
Plains
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.99
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/230464_200w.jpg
({T}: Add {W}.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/kaldheim/plains
Fountain of Renewal
Market Price: $0.49
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/168493_200w.jpg
At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 1 life.
{3}, Sacrifice Fountain of Renewal: Draw a card.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2019/fountain-of-renewal
Death Grasp
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.31
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/107799_200w.jpg
Death Grasp deals X damage to any target. You gain X life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2015/death-grasp
Legion Lieutenant
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $1.15
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/155601_200w.jpg
Other Vampires you control get +1/+1.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/rivals-of-ixalan/legion-lieutenant
Cleric of Life's Bond
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.18
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/221846_200w.jpg
Whenever another Cleric enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life. Whenever you gain life for the first time each turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Cleric of Life's Bond.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/zendikar-rising/cleric-of-lifes-bond
Queen's Commission
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.05
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/145717_200w.jpg
Create two 1/1 white Vampire creature tokens with lifelink.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ixalan/queens-commission
Drana's Emissary
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.48
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/104999_200w.jpg
Flying At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battle-for-zendikar/dranas-emissary
Orzhov Guildmage
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.26
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/132109_200w.jpg
{2}{W}: Target player gains 1 life.
{2}{B}: Each player loses 1 life.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-anthology/orzhov-guildmage
Divinity of Pride
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $3.36
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/72096_200w.jpg
Flying, lifelink Divinity of Pride gets +4/+4 as long as you have 25 or more life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2013/divinity-of-pride
Agent of Masks
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.23
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/128831_200w.jpg
At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses 1 life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/modern-masters-2017/agent-of-masks
Solemn Offering
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/167857_200w.jpg
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. You gain 4 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battlebond/solemn-offering
Inspiring Cleric
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/145706_200w.jpg
When Inspiring Cleric enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ixalan/inspiring-cleric
Blighted Steppe
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.14
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/105574_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{3}{W}, {T}, Sacrifice Blighted Steppe: You gain 2 life for each creature you control.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battle-for-zendikar/blighted-steppe
Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $1.45
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/110796_200w.jpg
Deathtouch
{1}, Sacrifice another creature: You gain life equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness.
{1}{W}{B}, Sacrifice another creature: Exile target nonland permanent. Activate this ability only if you have at least 10 life more than your starting life total.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/oath-of-the-gatewatch/ayli-eternal-pilgrim
Skymarch Bloodletter
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/168465_200w.jpg
Flying When Skymarch Bloodletter enters the battlefield, target opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2019/skymarch-bloodletter
Soul Warden
Color Identity:W
Market Price: $0.69
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/128953_200w.jpg
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/modern-masters-2017/soul-warden
Campaign of Vengeance
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.08
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/120281_200w.jpg
Whenever a creature you control attacks, defending player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/eldritch-moon/campaign-of-vengeance
Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $2.75
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/92838_200w.jpg
+1: Until your next turn, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain lifelink. −2: Create a 2/2 black Vampire creature token with flying. −6: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature."
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/khans-of-tarkir/sorin-solemn-visitor
Orzhov Guildgate
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.16
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/188501_200w.jpg
Orzhov Guildgate enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {W} or {B}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/war-of-the-spark/orzhov-guildgate
Scion of the Swarm
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/222149_200w.jpg
Flying Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Scion of the Swarm.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/zendikar-rising/scion-of-the-swarm
Marauding Blight-Priest
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.12
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/222184_200w.jpg
Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/zendikar-rising/marauding-blight-priest
Malakir Familiar
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.22
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/215975_200w.jpg
Flying, deathtouch Whenever you gain life, Malakir Familiar gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/malakir-familiar
Nightmare's Thirst
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/169082_200w.jpg
You gain 1 life. Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the amount of life you gained this turn.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2019/nightmares-thirst
Shadows of the Past
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.30
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/122263_200w.jpg
Whenever a creature dies, scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom of your library.)
{4}{B}: Each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life. Activate this ability only if there are four or more creature cards in your graveyard.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-nissa-vs-ob-nixilis/shadows-of-the-past
Bloodthirsty Aerialist
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.74
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/192613_200w.jpg
Flying Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Bloodthirsty Aerialist.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2020/bloodthirsty-aerialist
Regal Bloodlord
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.18
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/169155_200w.jpg
Flying At the beginning of each end step, if you gained life this turn, create a 1/1 black Bat creature token with flying.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2019/regal-bloodlord
Cliffhaven Vampire
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.48
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/110860_200w.jpg
Flying Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses 1 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/oath-of-the-gatewatch/cliffhaven-vampire
Call to the Feast
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.21
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/144787_200w.jpg
Create three 1/1 white Vampire creature tokens with lifelink.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ixalan/call-to-the-feast
Bloodbond Vampire
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.15
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/216035_200w.jpg
Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Bloodbond Vampire.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/bloodbond-vampire
Aetherflux Reservoir
Market Price: $7.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/122709_200w.jpg
Whenever you cast a spell, you gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn. Pay 50 life: Aetherflux Reservoir deals 50 damage to any target.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/kaladesh/aetherflux-reservoir
Mortify
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.26
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/182129_200w.jpg
Destroy target creature or enchantment.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ravnica-allegiance/mortify
Indulging Patrician
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.48
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/215377_200w.jpg
Flying Lifelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.) At the beginning of your end step, if you gained 3 or more life this turn, each opponent loses 3 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2021/indulging-patrician
Unmake
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.92
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/67825_200w.jpg
Exile target creature.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-sorin-vs-tibalt/unmake
Gerrard's Verdict
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.27
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/7959_200w.jpg
Target player discards two cards. You gain 3 life for each land card discarded this way.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/apocalypse/gerrards-verdict
Forsaken Sanctuary
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.12
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/171205_200w.jpg
Forsaken Sanctuary enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {W} or {B}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2018/forsaken-sanctuary
Rotfeaster Maggot
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/167895_200w.jpg
When Rotfeaster Maggot enters the battlefield, exile target creature card from a graveyard. You gain life equal to that card's toughness.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battlebond/rotfeaster-maggot
Soul Link
Color Identity:B,W
Market Price: $0.16
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/8027_200w.jpg
Enchant creature Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life. Whenever enchanted creature is dealt damage, you gain that much life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/apocalypse/soul-link
Blighted Fen
Color Identity:B
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/105572_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{4}{B}, {T}, Sacrifice Blighted Fen: Target opponent sacrifices a creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battle-for-zendikar/blighted-fen
The goal here is to get one or more of our payoff creatures—Cleric of Life's Bond, Bloodthirsty Aerialist, Bloodbond Vampire, Scion of the Swarm, Indulging Patrician, and Regal Bloodlord—and then trigger them constantly. These creatures can all take over a game when triggered enough times, and our deck has plenty of ways to gain a couple life here and there.
As befits Sorin, those creatures are all vampires! That makes Legion Lieutenant a fine 2-drop, as well as an incredibly potent game-changer, as it boosts a majority of our creatures. Paladin of the Bloodstained, Queen's Commission, and Call to the Feast also put some dinky lifelinking tokens into play. While they don't make a huge impact on their own, they allow for lots of lifegain triggers to happen in a turn, supercharging our payoff creatures. If we have the Lieutenant hanging around, all of a sudden those tokens don't look nearly as insignificant.
It may not be plentiful, but we have some of the best removal around. Unmake and Mortify both present very solid, cost effective answers, and those Unmakes really answer something. No recursion for our opponents! Unmakes are especially welcome, since they have such a hard time finding a home in a deck that isn't very specifically Black/White without many colorless mana sources. Nightmare's Thirst is a fun card that depends on how the rest of your turns are going—at 1-mana this can be very potent at very low cost. Feast of Blood is pretty conditional, but we have enough Vampires here that it should be active most of the time.
Ayli presents a totally acceptable body on the rate—2/3 deathtouch for only 2 is great—and we get to gain some life at the cost of sacrificing some creatures. It's nice to have on-demand lifegain effects to bolster our payoff brigade, and if we end up riding the nickel-and-dime lifegain for a while, we may even be able to get Ayli's vindicate ability online. If the game gets to that point, do not expect to lose.
This card is sort of the super version of Unmake. We can only play this in a narrow type of deck, but this just so happens to be that type, and Divinity can become absolutely absurd here. This godly creature will rule the board, and all you need to do is connect once or maybe twice to put the game out of reach.
The biggest priority for this deck is piling up lifegain triggers once the payoff creatures get in play. The Reservoir here does that very well— that is, as long as we have spells to play. It's possible (though unlikely) to get to the 51 life necessary to dome the opponent with its second ability, but that's just gravy on top. The lifegain triggers earn this Rare its spot here, and it's a welcome addition.
My first ever sealed deck tournament was Invasion/Planeshift/Apocalypse Sealed at the Wizards of the Coast store at my local mall, somewhere back in the mid-Cretaceous period. I was a small child who opened a terrible pool, and got nuked by Death Grasp in back-to-back games for the first round. I didn't realize that the event was swiss rounds, so I thought I was eliminated and I went home cranky. I've had a pang of nostalgia for the Grasp ever since. I have a hunch that this will eventually get downshifted, since it already has in Vintage Masters, but it's a powerful enough effect that I don't at all mind it taking one of the Rare slots here, as a generic fireball that gains life is very strong.
I'm not sure how often this effect is played in EDH or other casual formats, but my goodness can it be utterly devastating. It makes sure all of our lifegain creatures get to trigger in combat, and if you have multiple lifegain creatures, you'll be overjoyed. Keep in mind that each of your creatures will trigger this, so you have the possibility to create a giant cascade of tokens. If your board presence is anything close to parity, consider Campaign to be the mirror breaker. An excellent late-game hammer.