All right, now that I've had some time to sleep and ruminate on your post:
No, I dunno what card advantage is. Mind explaining?
Anyway, I actually ended up going to the card shop last night and played a few rounds with a guy who happened to be there. It wasn't a super-fair matchup since I was facing a finely tuned Standard deck, but that's precisely what I wanted-- an unfair matchup that would make the flaws of my deck super-obvious.
My analyses:
- Auras really do blow, especially when you're facing a green/red land-generating deck that can get out 5-8 CMC cards out in less than three turns, especially when those cards have effects that can target creatures. Can't remember the card's name, but it was an 8/8 that once he got it on the field, the effect was 5 damage to creatures or a player-- and he nuked all of my 1/1s in one shot, clearing the field. He then swept me from there. No bueno.
- Rune-Tail's Essence is a fantastic card, but you're right, I don't need four, because getting it in action is difficult unless I have it and Martyr of Sands basically on turn 1. I did once though, and I won that round because it effectively turned all of my 1/1s into 1/∞ in terms of blocking power, which made the Soul Sisters that much more functional as life-generating walls.
- Token generation is kinda pointless unless I'm specifically focusing on it in my deck. Didn't really help me all that much. Spiritual Procession is nice for an early easy 3-in-the-air attack though.
- Felidar Sovereign is really hard to pull off.
- The Soul Sisters are fantastic, but not when you're taking more damage than you're recovering.
So I ended up buying some of the cards on my list last night, and I'm happy to know that the ones I ended up choosing match your analysis of what is useful. My deck is now:
67 cards:
Soul's Attendant x4
Soul Warden x4
Martyr of Sands x4
Suture Priest x4
Ajani's Pridemate x4
Nyx-Fleece Ram x2 (I kind of wanted more, but they only had 2 in stock and I'll have to hit up one of the other two nearby stores for the rest)
Vizkopa Guildmage x4 (I'm so glad these were cheap, I think they may be a central card in my deck from now on)
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant x2 (I feel comfortable at least having 2 of these dudes in here)
Victory's Herald x2 (You have a point, I'll replace them with Sun Titan most likely. But for now, if I can pull it off, it's pretty good. (I never pulled it off last night.))
Felidar Sovereign x1 (I may end up just keeping all 4 of these in my sideboard if I want to tweak the deck to be focused on getting life and life alone, banking on it for victory. He's too expensive to field naturally.)
Orzhov Charm x2 (seems like a lucky ace in the hole if I really need it)
Cradle of Vitality x2 (only had 2 in stock, I kind of want 4. Strictly better replacement for Sunbond, as it allows me to distribute counters freely rather than put all my eggs in one basket and watch it all get demolished.)
Recumbent Bliss x2 (I don't know how I feel about reducing the number of these. Disabling an enemy and gaining life at the same time is kind of core for the deck, but I figured Orzhov Charm could serve the purpose of neutralizing and Nyx-Fleece Ram could serve the purpose of being a recovery wall.)
Spirit Loop x2 (I bought 4, but I am not sure if I need 4 since they constantly return to my hand. But I think they're a fair replacement for Gift of Orzhova, as much as I love the card-- it's faster and pairs well with Vizkopa Guildmage, Since it heals me regardless of whether I attack the player or not, it'll end up dealing direct damage anyway! And double damage if I do end up attacking directly!)
Spear of Heliod x2 (I bought 4, but I wasn't sure if I should include them all or not. This card's great from how I see it, since it allows me to continue preserving my field while picking off creatures dumb enough to deal direct damage to me. And it's a buff at the same time! Very nice.)
Chalice of Life//Chalice of Death x4 (I'm kind of hoping this works out really well. If I pair it with Martyr of Sands and get it out early, it's likely going to be a deciding factor of the game overall. Especially if I manage to get multiple ones out. Instant 5/10/15/20 damage per turn!)
Elspeth, Sun's Champion x1 (If I can get her out, she's a constant token/life generator for the Sisters to play on. And I can use her to nuke away anything 4 power and up-- and unless I have Ajani's Pridemate or Cradle of Vitality buffs going on, that keeps me more or less safe.)
Orzhov Basilica x4 (I dunno how to feel about this, but once I get it going, it seems like it could be super-useful, especially if I can play it early before the opponent gets anything else on the field. Turn 2, I can use a plains to bring out a first or second 1 CMC card (of which there are many), play Basilica, bounce the plains to my hand, and replay it the next turn.)
Scoured Barrens x4 (life gain and white/dark coverage? Very nice.)
Plains x13
Sideboard:
Gift of Orzhova x1 (I can't let them ALL go. Kinda makes me sad.)
Aegis of the Gods x2 (Only if the opponent constantly plays targets me and not my creatures.)
Felidar Sovereign x2 (Lets me change up the strategy a little.)
Spiritual Procession x2 (It is pretty useful...)
Recumbent Bliss x2 (kinda wish I had all 4 in my deck but I don't want to make it too overpopulated...)
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant x2 (thinned them out, not sure if I want to keep them here or not)
Spirit Loop x2 (Maybe if I really dig the combo with Vizkopa.)
Spear of Heliod (too good to leave behind.)
What do you think of it now? I feel like the deck is too full, but I dunno what else to thin out, especially if I replace Felidar Sovereign and Victory's Herald with Sun Titan. I also really like Unmake and Phyrexian Arena, too. I dunno how heavily I want to push black though, since I only have the equivalent of 8 black mana in the deck via Basilica and Barrens. Grand Abolisher is definitely on my list as well. Sadistic Sacrament looks absolutely devious though, even though I don't think I could ever pull off the kicker-- but it would ruin the opponent if I could.
I appreciate the suggestions-- it's really getting me to step back and consider not just my own setup, but how I can prevent my opponent from ruining mine and setting theirs up.
EDIT: At the card shop last night, someone had left a stack of cards on the table-- it was a bunch of packs they had opened, took the rares out of, and left the rest behind. The manager said I could take them, and it had a card called
Touch of Moonglove in it. This looks like it could be very useful, too-- just attach it to a pawn and either deal extra direct damage or kill a blocking creature and still deal 2 direct damage.
Path to Exile is probably the most efficient white removal I can think of but each copy costs around $8 so you might want to go with something else for now
Depending on how many burn decks you're up against in your local metagame, Kor Firewalker looks like an interesting possible sideboard option.
As far as matchups for the deck go, my main concern would be Infect deck since its win condition ignores your life total.
Yeah, Path to Exile is way too expensive. I like it a lot, though. Firewalker would completely disable a couple people I know, but I'd probably sideboard it or something before putting it in for sure.
And yeah, I have no idea how to manage Infect-- the best I can do is hope for a quick kill with my Chalices/Guildmages.