On the mana-rich plane of Zendikar, two planeswalkers, one young and one immeasurably ancient, find themselves as uneasy allies with the same goal: saving the plane. One calls Zendikar home, living among several Elven tribes and keeping her planeswalker spark hidden. The other flaunts it openly and travels much further around the multiverse, but seeks Zendikar's salvation, as he and two long-lost companions saved the plane eons ago from an ancient, now-buried power....
Though they could scarcely be more different, these planeswalkers, Nissa Revane of the Joraga Elves and Sorin Markov of an ageless vampire family from across the multiverse, joined together with a mixed band of elves, vampires, and other allies to face the threat of the mighty Eldrazi. But their trust in each other was only skin deep, and eventually their distrust resulted in the Eldrazi's release from their prison, putting Zendikar--and indeed, the entire multiverse--in grave peril. Deep-seated resentment boiled over, and they parted in anger, Sorin abandoning the "foolish" Elf and her world to their fate.
Now, as Nissa seeks Sorin, will their reunion be another begrudging alliance against a common foe, or will their past broken partnership lead to another fateful duel...and if so, who will emerge victorious?
*** (The opposing deck is here: http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/decks/duel-decks-sorin-vs-nissa) ***
Just like Wizards' Duel Decks, this is centered around one mythic and features primarily Modern-legal cards with some older ones mixed in (which, if printed, would get the new, current border and in some cases updated art as well). It also sticks to just a handful of rares and tends to go with a lot of one-ofs among other cards, with a small handful of key cards that may get multiple copies (and even then, usually only two). Each deck has the same number of rares and even uncommons in an attempt to keep them balanced. Also, unlike Event Decks and other feature decks from Wizards, Duel Decks lack sideboards. I tried very hard to keep with all those restrictions here... believe me, if this were your more typical constructed deck, it would look a lot different!
The mythic here is Nissa Revane and the rares are Ezuri Renegade Leader, Tajuru Preserver, Joraga Warcaller, Oracle of Mul Daya, Turntimber Ranger, Harabaz Druid, Boundless Realms, and Oran-Rief the Vastwood. There are some decent chase cards in there, but mainly they're here to fit the theme.
And what is that theme? Unlike Sorin's deck, which really focuses on just one race (vampires), this deck is a bit more of a mixed bag; it probably helps that it features allies as a major creature type. Many of the creatures are also elves, but with wolves, spiders, elementals, and even a big beefy baloth also running around, this has much more of a "Zendikar united" feel than Sorin's deck, giving a nod to the unlikely company Nissa helped lead before her disastrous falling out with Sorin.
The goal is to simply outmuscle the opposing vampires, and several elves and allies are quite good at getting bigger and bigger over time, with a handful of boosting spells to help push them over the top. Creatures with trample can then run roughshod over the enemy, especially with a timely (and Nissa-centric!) Tanglesap.
It's a good thing this deck is loaded with creatures, because Sorin's deck is good at picking them off. Sheltering Word can save one and Evolution Charm can bring one back, but the real savior is little-used Tajuru Preserver. Many of Sorin's tricks cause you to sacrifice your own creatures, and Preserver shuts that down immediately and can really give you a big advantage.
There's also a minor landfall theme, with Oracle of Mul Daya, Frontier Guide, and your sorceries dropping them for ramp and added benefits with Groundswell and Baloth Woodcrasher.
I appreciate any feedback you can provide here, good or bad. How DID I do with the balance between the two decks? Anything I can improve? Any gaping holes that you see? Useful comments will get you +1 rep points and a virtual slap on the back. :-P
If you liked this, check out my other duel decks at "http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/duel-deck". I have many already and they're expanding quickly. If you have any specific requests (planeswalker vs. planeswalker, theme vs. theme, race vs. race, or anything else), let me know and I'll see what I can put together.
Thanks for reading!