Shield and sword (Modern) [Revision 36]

The big booty deck: the best offense is a good defense

This deck utilizes mana fixing to play cheap, large toughness creatures. Then it utilizes effects that deal damage equal to toughness to waylay the opponent.

The win condition for this deck comes from toughness abilities. High alert allows your creatures to deal combat damage equal to toughness and negates defender. Doran, the siege tower allows all creatures to deal combat damage equal to toughness and Arcades, the strategist combines both effects (toughness damage and negating defender) for creatures with defender. Behind the scenes gives all your creature skulk and since many of the creatures in this deck have 0 power, they become virtually unlockable.

Since enchantments are very important to the win condition, it's important to find them as quickly as possible. Wall of blossoms and wall of omens, allow for card draw once they enter the battlefield for 2 mana. Drift of phantasms and perplex can both be transmuted to tutor for High alert or behind the scenes. Plus, it's really fun to make the control player have to chose between having a spell countered or discarding their entire hand.

Fetch lands help to fix the mana for what ever spells you have in hand. Note that windswept hearth can be used to fetch murmuring bosk which can tap for 3 different colors. Filter lands (twilight mire, flooded grove, and wooded bastion) help to deal with double color costs of Charix, the raging isle and indominable ancients.

Kin-tree invocation can be used to create 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 13/13, or 17/17 creatures for 2 mana. Indomitable ancients has 10 toughness that can attack after summoning sickness and skinshifter can change into a 0/8 plant creature at instant speed which is great for a surprise block. Tree of redemption can be tapped to exchange life total with it's toughness which allows you to regain life in a pinch.

The sideboard contains fun combo tricks. Grim contest provides removal. Severed strands can be used to regain life based on a sacrificed creature's toughness and remove threats. This can combo with foul renewal for more removal or it can combo with scour the desert to create x 1/1 birds. Finally, Phenax, God of deception gives a mill based win condition.