So from what I see we have two strong independent effects that generate allies (Gideon + Retreat to Emeria), both in white. We have IMHO 2 decent allies at 3-4 CMC in Drana and Munda leader, and 3 non-legendary 3 drops that are iffy in Veteran Warleader, Drana's Emissary, and Lantern Scout. This isn't enough for a deck yet, because we don't have strong enough rally effects or ANY 1-2 mana allies.
...but your playable cards only make allies and have no significant effects from them coming into play...they might as well be soldiers or any other creature.
Any ally deck will probably be an aggro deck, and in a perfect world your average aggro deck is composed of value Commons and uncommon so that we're not chasing playsets 1-2 cmc chase mythics.
Drana, if real, should be good enough to see play on her own. As an ally this land helps pay her mildly restrictive 1BB casting cost that she allegedly has. Many allies have effects that trigger when other allies enter play, and the alleged Drana will meet that requirement.
This land is good. We just need to see the other allies in the set before we can tell if there is enough to build a deck out of it. Many of the allies are probably Commons send uncommons and will likely be announced without fanfare when the full spoiler goes live.
Well I am not arguing that there wont be any playable allies, but so far there is nothing that makes me want to play an allies matter deck... I would just as easily play these two cards in any other white midrange deck
I agree that as of this precise moment, there aren't enough quality allies to make a competitive ally deck. But it is too early to dismiss them until we see the Commons and uncommons. My original plan for post rotation was to just run the aledged Drana in a black aggro deck with many of the Warriors from the previous block. If allies don't pan out, then I can always do that.
But assuming that a critical mass of playable allies is reached, this land has the potential to be amazing . It doesn't cost you tempo, it fixes your ally spells, and you can still use it to pay help pay for your non-ally spells. The final ability provides good interaction with traditional allies and can rescue critical cards from removal. There is absolutely nothing inherently bad about the card. Its only sin is being tribal support in a set where we have only seen a small percentage of its tribe.
Allies are dismissed. There isn't a SINGLE one or two drop ally that is anything other than a generic aggro creature. Not even a single one grows when other allies are played, and the only ones that get stronger at all with creatures are the generic X/X number of creatures, the angel, and the expensive green overrun allies. Short of a janky combo with Chasm Guide + 1 drop 2/1 + Tajuru Warcaller + March From the Tomb there really is zero reason to try this archetype at all in competitive. They are just strictly worse Slivers.
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Well I am not arguing that there wont be any playable allies, but so far there is nothing that makes me want to play an allies matter deck... I would just as easily play these two cards in any other white midrange deck
But assuming that a critical mass of playable allies is reached, this land has the potential to be amazing . It doesn't cost you tempo, it fixes your ally spells, and you can still use it to pay help pay for your non-ally spells. The final ability provides good interaction with traditional allies and can rescue critical cards from removal. There is absolutely nothing inherently bad about the card. Its only sin is being tribal support in a set where we have only seen a small percentage of its tribe.