Ever since I opened Aryel, Knight of Windgrace, and Josu Vess, Lich Knight together at the Dominaria Prerelease, I knew I wanted to make a Knight deck. The idea sat on the backburner for the longest time though, until Eldraine came in and gave us a strong set of thematic knights. With Eldraine, it seems most people are keen to build Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale for their Knights deck, which does give a strong support of the red Kinghts - but I wanted to remain true to my original vision.
I started by pulling out cards from my collections, and doing so let me notice a number of strong potential themes. One idea was the inclusion of Soldiers, as Soldiers and Knights are closely entertwined in White, with cards like Knight-Captain of Eos and Hero if Bladehold. This could lead to a Martial/War/Combat themed deck, with Precinct Captian and Catapult Squad. Another option was a strong First Strike theme, going back to the original White Knight and Black Knight, adding in cards like Valor and things that gave vigilance to give that defensive shield wall type of feel to the deck. Another option was flanking. Ixalan also gave vampires... But then I started pulling out absolutely terrible cards that were absolutely on point for flavor: Dub. Charge. Moment of Glory. Valerous Charge. This tied in well with Knight of Valor or Knight of Glory... This coupled with how many truly terrible Knights exist in White.
This was a terrible idea, but it did give the spark of something that could be incredibly flavorful and fun. It reminded me of the Eldraine prerelease where the Adventures had us practically telling a story with our cards (On Alert was my favorite).
I ended up pulling well over 700 cards, which meant I needed to make some cuts to themes, builds, etc. I started by cutting out a lot of non-thematic cards, because with that many choices it was certainly possible to remain on theme (though some exceptions get made). In the end, the truly terrible cards ended up not making it, but I ended up striking a decent balance between flavor and function.
I started by pulling out cards from my collections, and doing so let me notice a number of strong potential themes. One idea was the inclusion of Soldiers, as Soldiers and Knights are closely entertwined in White, with cards like Knight-Captain of Eos and Hero if Bladehold. This could lead to a Martial/War/Combat themed deck, with Precinct Captian and Catapult Squad. Another option was a strong First Strike theme, going back to the original White Knight and Black Knight, adding in cards like Valor and things that gave vigilance to give that defensive shield wall type of feel to the deck. Another option was flanking. Ixalan also gave vampires... But then I started pulling out absolutely terrible cards that were absolutely on point for flavor: Dub. Charge. Moment of Glory. Valerous Charge. This tied in well with Knight of Valor or Knight of Glory... This coupled with how many truly terrible Knights exist in White.
This was a terrible idea, but it did give the spark of something that could be incredibly flavorful and fun. It reminded me of the Eldraine prerelease where the Adventures had us practically telling a story with our cards (On Alert was my favorite).
I ended up pulling well over 700 cards, which meant I needed to make some cuts to themes, builds, etc. I started by cutting out a lot of non-thematic cards, because with that many choices it was certainly possible to remain on theme (though some exceptions get made). In the end, the truly terrible cards ended up not making it, but I ended up striking a decent balance between flavor and function.
Strategy
At its heart this deck is an aggro swarm/token deck. Play lots of Knights, draw more Knights, make tokens, buff tokens with several anthem effects, and charge people. There's a decent amount of recursion, and a slight amount of drain/ping found in Knights' Charge, and Syr Konrad, the Grim, which have proved to be powerful alternate win options.
There's a small smattering of control as well, since Haakon, Stromgald Scourge allows consistent recovery and value, and combos with the changeling spells of Nameless Inversion and Crib Swap for powerful removal.
There's a small smattering of control as well, since Haakon, Stromgald Scourge allows consistent recovery and value, and combos with the changeling spells of Nameless Inversion and Crib Swap for powerful removal.
Decklist
Approximate Total Cost:
Incoming Write up
Cards that want in:
Terrible, but Thematic cards that want in
Also Cavalry Master + Flanking