Apparently, WW Rebel is so broken in Masques block that Lin Sivvi, the deck's degenerate search/recursion engine, had to be banned. Of course, the fact that the same deck can be played in other formats, with the undoubted improvements to be had by playing Crusade, Glorious Anthem, Gaea's Cradle, and Mother of Runes, has thus far escaped the DCI. But in Type I, with so many anti-white and anti-weenie cards available, is it really viable? And does the increase in white's card pool counteract this? We'll start by figuring out what should be in the deck, then we'll look at what could cause it problems, then we'll move on to how to play the deck.
The most obvious card in the deck is Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero. The question is how many copies to include. The Legend status means you won't want more than one around, and the recruiters in the deck make sure you can get another one out when you need it. You don't need one in your opening hand, but it wouldn't hurt. I think 3 copies is perfect. Maybe even 2.
All the good Rebels are cc 3 or less, with the possible exception of Reveille Squad. You don't need Jhovall Queen or Ramosian Sky Marshal in the deck, as the Crusades and Anthems make all your monsters into beatsticks. So we can afford to be a little light on the plains side, maybe 17. The reason for this is that we are going to be making what may seem a strange addition to the deck...Gaea's Cradle. Yes, it's a green mana producer in a mono white deck, but it's not the color, it's the amount. We are always going to have numerous creatures on the board, and recruiting uses colorless mana. Bingo. Lin Sivvi just got a whole lot nastier.
What Rebels? This is one of the harder questions. Undoubtedly, we want 4 Defiant Falcons and 4 Ramosian Lieutenants. Why? They can both find Xena, Warrior Lin Sivvi, as well as pulling out your magic bullets (see below). The Falcon is a nice beatdown machine, given it's a flier, and the Lieutenant can block annoying little spellshapers. 4 Ramosian Sergeants also make the grade, as they are a nice little one-drop that can grab your main recruiters and the next choice, Steadfast Guard.
Since the removal of White Knight from the basic set, white has been looking for its replacement. We have a choice between the Guard and Longbow Archers. Both have their fans, but in this deck, the Guard obviously wins out due to its Rebel-ness. We're going to what some more attacking creatures, so let's turn to the Fresh Volunteers. Okay, so a 2/2 vanilla for 2 may seem boring, but we have a distinct lack of better options in the Rebel arsenal. Cho Manno is in my deck, mainly to hold off against speed decks if necessary, but you may find him redundant in your area. Reveille Squad should be considered, though maybe as a sideboard option, due to his ability to let you attack for several and still stop a counterattack.
So, the non-Rebels in the deck. They pretty much pick themselves, as we can go with the best white weenies ever printed. At the very top of that list is Mother of Runes. No doubt about it, her ability to protect Lin Sivvi from a fiery/electric death is invaluable, not to mention her blocking prowess. Savannah Lion is also a must have. 2/1 on the first turn? Oh hell yeah.
Utility cards also pick themselves. Depending on your metagame, you will want to divide 6 slots between Swords to Plowshares and Disenchant. Devout Witness is a distinct possibility, as you can throw away a Rebel and have Lin Sivvi bring it back. They take Masticore right out of the water. Crusade and the Anthem make for a difficult choice. Obviously Anthem is a better idea if you expect a lot of white in the tournament, but Crusade is cheaper otherwise. Anthem main deck and Crusade in the sideboard works fine. A couple of Worships work nicely, but you might not have room.
