Reveillark isn't on here because of its high mana cost, it also doesn't help me 'win'. It can't be targeted by Alesha's ability so I can't abuse it. Overall it just seems like a card that would add utility but not mesh with the entire deck as a total towards winning. I have plenty of other cards that do something similar like Sun Titan who grabs most things out of my graveyard, hell if Alesha gets hated on enough, I can let her go to the graveyard and grab her with Sun Titan. Mostly its just because I can't abuse Reillark like I would need to, to include it. If I had access to green and did Eternal Witness + Reveillark + Sac Outlet = Lots of Abuse. For these reasons, Reveillark is good, but not worth including.
You are correct, Alesha needs more cowbell. My playgroup actually doesn't run heavy ramp currently, but I'll look at some options and keep Land Tax as an option. I'll likely remove Wrath of God or Whitemane Lion. Which reminds me, I might want to have a Sensei's Divining Top, hummmm I'll think about those.
Gives its effect still because it is a conditional statement and not a trigger. Yay, first strike and deathtouch for everybody. Ankle Shanker is like Oprah.
What are you trying to say here?
The Shanker has to be declared as an attacker to give it's abilities. Reanimating him via Alesha DOES NOT cause this to happen. (For the same reasoning as Mardu Ascendancy.)
EDIT: Also, as for the Reveillark suggestion earlier. It actually DOES mesh with your deck. It's a slightly different variation of Alesha's own ability. I don't know how your group feels about infinite's but the Lark + Karmic Guide can be infinitely sacced to the Altars and Goblin Bombardment.
The Shanker has to be declared as an attacker to give it's abilities. Reanimating him via Alesha DOES NOT cause this to happen. (For the same reasoning as Mardu Ascendancy.)
I was informed by a friend that is fairly informed on magic that Ankle Shanker did have it's effect occur with Alesha. Upon further research, I have found a couple of forums that collaborate what you are saying. I will look this up some more. For now I am taking out that sub-section. Thank you for making me look this up again.
EDIT: Also, as for the Reveillark suggestion earlier. It actually DOES mesh with your deck. It's a slightly different variation of Alesha's own ability. I don't know how your group feels about infinite's but the Lark + Karmic Guide can be infinitely sacced to the Altars and Goblin Bombardment.
It infinitely combos with one set up. There are some abuse this deck allows, but overall it still farily expensive for something my commander does cheaply, likely every turn. I just think the Reveillark would feel like a win more card. I also wanna avoid expensive combos. I could make this cheaper (Buried Alive(Karmic, Lark, +1), Goblin bombardment, Alesha) but I don't like it enough to include it right now. I would likely remove Ankle Shanker (Due to fragility if your previous comment is correct, because no more death touch). But I would have to remove something else in this for Buried Alive (I was thinking about it already).
I will keep it in mind for future changes, and credit both of you for your ideas.
Perhaps notable that Márton Stromgald also needs to be declared as an attacker to get his bonus, but I think his ability is likely better than Ankle Shanker's for the additional blocking utility. Plus, it's just a sweet card in general.
Alesha + Master of Cruelties in graveyard = Dead opponent
This only works if the opponent doesn't have a blocker and Master of Cruelties is in the graveyard. Alesha brings out Master of Cruelties tapped and attacking. This gets around Master of Cruelties requirement to attack alone. Master of Cruelties will be unblocked and change the opponents health to 1. When Alesha's combat damage is dealt, the opponent will be dead.
doesnt work, same as ankle shanker.
Does work.
The trigger says "... and isn't blocked". Which means that the trigger goes on the stack after blockers have been declared (because before that you don't know if it's blocked or not).
Perhaps notable that Márton Stromgald also needs to be declared as an attacker to get his bonus, but I think his ability is likely better than Ankle Shanker's for the additional blocking utility. Plus, it's just a sweet card in general.
I know that Marton's ability doesn't resolve for the same reason as Ankle Shanker, but he is just a win condition and it is worth keeping him. Ankle Shanker was a way to add protection due to clearing the field with first strike, and death touch. But for 5 mana, and I can't abuse it, it wasn't worth keeping whereas for 4 mana and a haste outlet, Marton is totally worth.
I would rather keep basilisk Collar due to the LARGE amount of exile creature spells. I also have someone who plays shattergang in my group. Hero's blade is to start early aggression. I might take it out at some point but for now I'm just trying to find some reliable protection against repeated sacrifice, mass destruction and targeted removal. So this deck is oriented towards hitting quick an fast. Indestructibility never ussually hampers a removal in my eyes.
It actually does work. Master of cruelties ability states "Can only attack alone" is a triggered during the declare attackers step. Alesha's ability gets around this because you are not declaring him as an attacker he is tapped and attacking. His ability where he changes the opponents health to 1 occurs during the declaration of defenders, also not causing any issues. This is collaborated with at least 3 judge decisions that I've found online.
It might be worth looking at some things that give good synergy even if your commander cant abuse them.
Falkenrath Aristocrat - its robust given the indestructable option and its not that uncommon for a creature who dies to be a human which is sort of fun as you can bring her up in power. She attacks in and or defends very effectively given her evasion + built in defenses.
Attrition - the removal option of it is really good and it can set you up for a rez with your commander as well as open someone up to attack them.
Altar of Dementia - bring this in for Phyrexian Altar or in addition to your current alters. The ability to self mill yourself into new threats is fantastic and the mana gen of Phyrexian Altar is less important.
Fanatical Devotion - bring it in for the other altar. You honestly don't need big mana in this deck as you don't have much for X mana spells and most of your stuff is reasonable to cast. This will protect your commander though which is probably more important than some mana.
Nim Deathmantle - given all the self sacrificing its just kind of gravy. If you do keep in Ashnod's Altar it forms an infinite mana / token loop with any creature that enters and makes 3+ bodies such as Siege-Gang Commander
Mimic Vat - fun bit of recursion option to consider. Being that you are sort of sacrifice based you can set it up quickly which is nice.
Bojuka Bog - you seem to lack graveyard hate entirely. I suggest at least adding this.
Moonlight Bargain - it can dig you 5 deep at instant speed and dump some in bin and put whatever you want in hand. Its sort of nice as you can selectively dump whatever you don't want or want to rez instead of cast.
In general, you need more land and more draw in the deck. Some suggestions towards cutting I would have offhand seem to be:
War Priest of Thune its only just sort of ok. Leonin Relic-Warder I like the creature versions a lot more because I think its valid to hide away an ETB creature of your own to pop back post wrath or whenever you want it to. Its a lot less useful in my opinion. If you see TONS of gods I guess its ok but shy of that I am not that excited by it. Suture Priest ehhhhh not super enthused about it. Impact Tremors its sort of small. I know it could add up but you are better off just adding Vicious Shadows if you are going to bother as you are not a true token deck. Mardu Ascendancy ehhh I dont like it. Replenish you dont run enough enchantments to justify it.
If you ran more graveyard hate I would probably also suggest looking into Living Death but considering you don't really have any grave hate right now it might not be worth running.
Of the cards ISBPathfinder suggested running, I second all but Moonlight Bargain, which I tested a couple times and was never happy to draw.
I'd also suggest Animate Dead and Necromancy (and their much worse cousin Dance of the Dead). They're both good as a general reanimator pieces and combo with Animate Dead/Necromancy + Sun Titan + Karmic Guide + sac outlet or Sun Titan + Animate Dead + Necromancy + sac outlet.
I agree with War Priest of Thune, Suture Priest and Replenish
I will be replacing them with Bojuka Bog (Need Land), Fanatical Devotion (Protection for Commander), and Nim Deathmantle (more wombo for the combo)
Probably Not Altar of Dementia - I can't put this in sadly due to the lack of top deck manipulation and that one of the people in my playgroup is playing a mill deck, and I don't wanna add to the pain train for myself. Mimic Vat - I am the most creature intensive deck in my playgroup so I'd be more using my own creatures. (Nim Deathmantle is a bit more expensive, but its a win condition also)
Maybe Later Moonlight Bargain - No space for this card right now. Attrition - I have enough removal for now, and black is a common color in my group. Falkenrath Aristocrat - I'm unsure if I need a beater of this sort, I'm kinda fine with chump blocking my tiny guys (So far trample isn't part of the group, just a bunch of control jerks so I've made a peon deck to chump block well and abuse ETB)
I need Impact Tremors due to my groups insane fear of Purphoros due to my other deck, Prossh, causing them to cry violently. With the large amount of creatures that are in this deck, and the abuse of ETB I think it is worth it. I will test it and see if its worth it or not.
Mardu Ascendancy gives population to skullclamp, mana, and ETB triggers which is pretty nice for 3 mana, it also gives some defense against mass damage (which would murder all my creatures)
So, this deck is a lot of fun when it works out even without winning however, when it doesn't work it feels more like being in the corner and having others dictate how you play. This occurs a lot with the prevalence of grave-hate in my meta (Bojuka Bog, Relic of Progenitus, Scavenging Ooze, etc). As such, I am taking the deck apart and creating a non-graveyard interactive deck. I believe this deck would fit in a slower meta where grave-hate is not factored heavily.
1x Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Creatures (23)
1x Serra Ascendant
1x Viscera Seer
1x Mogg War Marshal
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Wall of Omens
1x Imperial Recruiter
1x Mirror Entity
1x Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant
1x Academy Rector
1x Anger
1x Beetleback Chief
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Karmic Guide
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Master of Cruelties
1x Raving Dead
1x Reveillark
1x Siege-Gang Commander
1x Aurelia, The Warleader
1x Homura, Human Ascendant
1x Sun Titan
Artifact (9)
1x O-Naginata
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Altar of Dementia
1x Scroll Rack
1x Sword of the Animist
1x Loxodon Warhammer
1x Batterskull
1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Land Tax
1x Reconnaissance
1x Bitterblossom
1x Goblin Bombardment
1x Attrition
1x Fanatical Devotion
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Gratuitous Violence
1x In the Web of War
Instants (7)
1x Entomb
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Unexpectedly Absent
1x Corpse Dance
1x Return to Dust
1x Utter End
1x Hatred
Sorcery (12)
1x Faithless Looting
1x Steelshaper's Gift
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Night's Whisper
1x Sign in Blood
1x Buried Alive
1x Read the Bones
1x Vindicate
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Tragic Arrogance
1x Austere Command
Planeswalker (1)
1x Chandra, Flamecaller
1x Arid Mesa
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Command Tower
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Godless Shrine
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Marsh Flats
1x Mryiad Landscape
1x Phyrexian Tower
1x Plateau
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Scrubland
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Strip Mine
1x Tainted Field
1x Tainted Peak
1x Temple of the False God
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
6x Mountain
6x Plains
3x Swamp
Simplifying forum. Starting out with basics. Feed back is welcome.
Under construction
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
| Omnath | Zada | Alesha | Scion |
| Mazirek | Animar |
Modern
UR Storm RU
UBRG Dredge GRBU
Standard
UR Thermo-Thing RU
Reveillark isn't on here because of its high mana cost, it also doesn't help me 'win'. It can't be targeted by Alesha's ability so I can't abuse it. Overall it just seems like a card that would add utility but not mesh with the entire deck as a total towards winning. I have plenty of other cards that do something similar like Sun Titan who grabs most things out of my graveyard, hell if Alesha gets hated on enough, I can let her go to the graveyard and grab her with Sun Titan. Mostly its just because I can't abuse Reillark like I would need to, to include it. If I had access to green and did Eternal Witness + Reveillark + Sac Outlet = Lots of Abuse. For these reasons, Reveillark is good, but not worth including.
You are correct, Alesha needs more cowbell. My playgroup actually doesn't run heavy ramp currently, but I'll look at some options and keep Land Tax as an option. I'll likely remove Wrath of God or Whitemane Lion. Which reminds me, I might want to have a Sensei's Divining Top, hummmm I'll think about those.
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
What are you trying to say here?
The Shanker has to be declared as an attacker to give it's abilities. Reanimating him via Alesha DOES NOT cause this to happen. (For the same reasoning as Mardu Ascendancy.)
EDIT: Also, as for the Reveillark suggestion earlier. It actually DOES mesh with your deck. It's a slightly different variation of Alesha's own ability. I don't know how your group feels about infinite's but the Lark + Karmic Guide can be infinitely sacced to the Altars and Goblin Bombardment.
MuzzioU XenagosGR NahiriW GitrogGB MarathGRW MarchesaUBR JenaraGUW KarlovBW TazriWUBRG
Retired: RakdosBR
It appears you figured out what I meant by your following comments. (Just trying to answer all questions.)
I was informed by a friend that is fairly informed on magic that Ankle Shanker did have it's effect occur with Alesha. Upon further research, I have found a couple of forums that collaborate what you are saying. I will look this up some more. For now I am taking out that sub-section. Thank you for making me look this up again.
It infinitely combos with one set up. There are some abuse this deck allows, but overall it still farily expensive for something my commander does cheaply, likely every turn. I just think the Reveillark would feel like a win more card. I also wanna avoid expensive combos. I could make this cheaper (Buried Alive(Karmic, Lark, +1), Goblin bombardment, Alesha) but I don't like it enough to include it right now. I would likely remove Ankle Shanker (Due to fragility if your previous comment is correct, because no more death touch). But I would have to remove something else in this for Buried Alive (I was thinking about it already).
I will keep it in mind for future changes, and credit both of you for your ideas.
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
Darksteel Plate provides more and better protection than Basilisk Collar, I think a one-for-one swap from Hero's Blade to Plate would be pretty good.
| Omnath | Zada | Alesha | Scion |
| Mazirek | Animar |
Modern
UR Storm RU
UBRG Dredge GRBU
Standard
UR Thermo-Thing RU
Does work.
The trigger says "... and isn't blocked". Which means that the trigger goes on the stack after blockers have been declared (because before that you don't know if it's blocked or not).
I know that Marton's ability doesn't resolve for the same reason as Ankle Shanker, but he is just a win condition and it is worth keeping him. Ankle Shanker was a way to add protection due to clearing the field with first strike, and death touch. But for 5 mana, and I can't abuse it, it wasn't worth keeping whereas for 4 mana and a haste outlet, Marton is totally worth.
I would rather keep basilisk Collar due to the LARGE amount of exile creature spells. I also have someone who plays shattergang in my group. Hero's blade is to start early aggression. I might take it out at some point but for now I'm just trying to find some reliable protection against repeated sacrifice, mass destruction and targeted removal. So this deck is oriented towards hitting quick an fast. Indestructibility never ussually hampers a removal in my eyes.
It actually does work. Master of cruelties ability states "Can only attack alone" is a triggered during the declare attackers step. Alesha's ability gets around this because you are not declaring him as an attacker he is tapped and attacking. His ability where he changes the opponents health to 1 occurs during the declaration of defenders, also not causing any issues. This is collaborated with at least 3 judge decisions that I've found online.
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
In general, you need more land and more draw in the deck. Some suggestions towards cutting I would have offhand seem to be:
War Priest of Thune its only just sort of ok.
Leonin Relic-Warder I like the creature versions a lot more because I think its valid to hide away an ETB creature of your own to pop back post wrath or whenever you want it to. Its a lot less useful in my opinion. If you see TONS of gods I guess its ok but shy of that I am not that excited by it.
Suture Priest ehhhhh not super enthused about it.
Impact Tremors its sort of small. I know it could add up but you are better off just adding Vicious Shadows if you are going to bother as you are not a true token deck.
Mardu Ascendancy ehhh I dont like it.
Replenish you dont run enough enchantments to justify it.
If you ran more graveyard hate I would probably also suggest looking into Living Death but considering you don't really have any grave hate right now it might not be worth running.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
I'd also suggest Animate Dead and Necromancy (and their much worse cousin Dance of the Dead). They're both good as a general reanimator pieces and combo with Animate Dead/Necromancy + Sun Titan + Karmic Guide + sac outlet or Sun Titan + Animate Dead + Necromancy + sac outlet.
| Omnath | Zada | Alesha | Scion |
| Mazirek | Animar |
Modern
UR Storm RU
UBRG Dredge GRBU
Standard
UR Thermo-Thing RU
I will be replacing them with Bojuka Bog (Need Land), Fanatical Devotion (Protection for Commander), and Nim Deathmantle (more wombo for the combo)
Probably Not
Altar of Dementia - I can't put this in sadly due to the lack of top deck manipulation and that one of the people in my playgroup is playing a mill deck, and I don't wanna add to the pain train for myself.
Mimic Vat - I am the most creature intensive deck in my playgroup so I'd be more using my own creatures. (Nim Deathmantle is a bit more expensive, but its a win condition also)
Maybe Later
Moonlight Bargain - No space for this card right now.
Attrition - I have enough removal for now, and black is a common color in my group.
Falkenrath Aristocrat - I'm unsure if I need a beater of this sort, I'm kinda fine with chump blocking my tiny guys (So far trample isn't part of the group, just a bunch of control jerks so I've made a peon deck to chump block well and abuse ETB)
I need Impact Tremors due to my groups insane fear of Purphoros due to my other deck, Prossh, causing them to cry violently. With the large amount of creatures that are in this deck, and the abuse of ETB I think it is worth it. I will test it and see if its worth it or not.
Mardu Ascendancy gives population to skullclamp, mana, and ETB triggers which is pretty nice for 3 mana, it also gives some defense against mass damage (which would murder all my creatures)
Leonin Relic-Warder SO MANY GODS!
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW