i didn't see an allies thread in modern. If there is then mods please move this. Anyway, an article on Modern Nexus turned me onto this tribe. http://modernnexus.com/deck-of-the-week-allies/
I put together this list for dirt cheap and it's fun as hell. The author talks about explosiveness and this deck can blow up for big damage.
How good is this archtype? I don't know, but it's inexpensive, fun to play, and has legs against a lot of tier decks. It takes very little effort to have a 6/6 freeblade swinging on turn 4, sometimes pumped more by battlesingers. Anyway, hopefully this turns into an interesting discussion and maybe someone more talented than me can do a primer.
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It's fun. I'm not sure how much the red splash is worth it. I dropped it and added Champion of the Parish and upped the Mirror Entity and Druid dork count as they can cause some huge blowouts
I think battlesinger makes for big turns at the cost of resiliency. I can see running other colors, halimar excavator for the mill altwincon for example. I like aether vial too, but right now I'm just playing it to learn the twists.
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Am I correct in understanding that Turntimber Ranger/Mirror Entity goes infinite? If it does, is it good enough to play?
Just so I'm clear...ranger makes a wolf, ME makes it an ally, that triggers ranger to make another wolf/ally etc.? If so it seems infinite to me, but not cheap. I'd want to run a full suite of druids to ramp into the combo. There's no haste so it's not like a twin win, but you could turn your blademasters and freeblades into as large a dudes as you wanted. Without trample that might be useless, but kessig wolf run and skarrg, the rage pits both give trample in naya colors. In retrospect, if you were to use collected company or aether vial at eot to trigger ranger, pay for ME, then you'd untap with an army of wolves.
Am I correct in understanding that Turntimber Ranger/Mirror Entity goes infinite? If it does, is it good enough to play?
Just so I'm clear...ranger makes a wolf, ME makes it an ally, that triggers ranger to make another wolf/ally etc.? If so it seems infinite to me, but not cheap. I'd want to run a full suite of druids to ramp into the combo. There's no haste so it's not like a twin win, but you could turn your blademasters and freeblades into as large a dudes as you wanted. Without trample that might be useless, but kessig wolf run and skarrg, the rage pits both give trample in naya colors. In retrospect, if you were to use collected company or aether vial at eot to trigger ranger, pay for ME, then you'd untap with an army of wolves.
I don't think the interaction you want here is infinite. Turntimber Rangers ability triggers from him entering the battlefield, and when another non-ally creature (the wolf) enters the battlefield it's creature type isn't changed yet. The Mirror Entity ability once used will change the creature type for all creatures currently on the battlefield and you'll have to re-use it for any future ones. This is why something like Xenograft or Conspiracy will work, but this won't.
Even if Turntimbers ability checks on resolution too, you'd have to pay at least X=1 right? If you did X=0 then everything you have (without a +1/+1 counter on it) would die and the wolf would gain the Ally creature type but die immediately due to State Based Actions.
Well that makes sense, I wasn't sure even though on its face it seemed like it worked. Thanks for clarifying. And yes, you would have had to pay at least 1 to keep from killing off stuff, but the counters picked up by freeblade, survivalist, blademaster, etc would all still hang around.
The talk did lead to discussion of trample lands, so those might still be viable options to push through for a finish. Kessig is maybe more versatile since it can pump bigger than skarrg, though that might not be worth the 4v2 activation cost.
Yeah Kessig Wolf Run is probably going to be better 90% of the time. The only time it is worse is at X=1, and at this point you might as well be using your mana for better things. If you want a manland you might as well make it a mana sink.
It might also be worthwhile to have a manland for when the board gets wiped. Something like Treetop Village could work well.
Hi,
I built an ally deck a while ago. I had fun playing it but it was during the UWR era and Supreme Verdict was everywhere.
With the new cards from dragons and the upcoming new allies in BFZ I have sleeved it up again. Currently I am trying to build around company, but find hard to balance the non-creature spell count, wanting to run company, vial and hardened scales / inspiring call / boros charm
I think vial and company are mandatory, but finding room for some interaction / protection seems difficult.
I would also drop the druids and go more aggresive, upping to 4-5 colours to be able to run the relevant allies. Cavern of souls and Mana Confluence can fix de mana, but there is always Blood Moon to be careful about I guess.
I think mutavault is fine if you are running aether vial. However I don't think mutavault exacts as many tribal benefits from allies as it does from say, merfolk. The allies main trigger is ETB effects rather than lord style boost, unless you also use automaton. With that in mind I'd rather run something like treetop village or maybe raging ravine.
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So. Veteran Warleader. I'm pretty sure that this deck just got a lot better:
Veteran Warleader 1GW
Creature - Human Soldier Ally
Veteran Warleader's power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures you control.
Tap another untapped Ally you control: Veteran Warleader gains your choice of first strike, vigilance, or trample until end of turn.
*/*
This card alone makes this deck much more competitive, and I'm willing to bet that there's a whole lot more where that came from. Thoughts?
That's certainly interesting. I'm not a huge fan of relying on having a ton of dudes. Part of the appeal of allies is how the main guys grow. It would be OP if you tap an ally and warleader grants those abilities to any ally. Needs playtesting.
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After some playtesting today I think taurean mauler is a better sideboard card or omission. I've removed it for adaptive automaton. I also found myself wanting to trigger abilities instantly, so I'm going to test with aether vial instead of hardened scales. Scales makes things bigger faster, but being able to vial in kabira evangel seemed more important more often.
It's good to remember the decks that placed well in events were vial decks with less tricks.
*edit* played some today with vial instead of scales. I liked it more. Vial is a huge mana source, and the instant speed of casting dudes makes for a lot of complicated decisions for the opponent. Combat tricks, protection, or even just flooding the field vial is potent. Mix in collected company and theres a lot of gas. I think with vial it's safe to cut a land down to 20, maybe one cavern.
I dont know how worth it would be to run the 2 Vials I do have since they're pretty much dead draws later on. I've also been thinking of trying to make room for Ghost Quarter and Horizon Canopy but I'm not sure what I'd cut for them.
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Collecting Timbermare, hit me up if you have any for trade
The store I play at is giving a From The Vault Angels to whoever goes undefeated at FNM this week. Figured I'd take Allies because even if I don't win they're fun to play. This is the list I'm going to try running.
On a quick review, I see that you are only running 24 hittable creatures with company, which might be too few. I would replace some number of hardened scales o/ talus paladin with 3-cmc creatures, which could mean going into a 4th colour. A 4th survivalist can't hurt, and Druid seems like a 4 or nothing type of card. If you are reluctant to splash a 4th colour, you can try Taurean Mauler.
Been tinkering with this - for anyone more involved I have some questions as I feel like there are a couple branches for this deck to go down (even without counting the mill combo kill):
champion of the parish - im sure it depends on the answer to the first question, but I think this guy probably belongs since every single ally is human.
talus paladin vs ondu cleric - As a 4 drop paladin doesnt help company, and the lifegain may be too late vs burn or zoo esp when we may miss our 4th land drop. Cleric usually will gain 3 life immediately and then threaten to gain tonnes more. And as far as 4 drops go, flipping it and another ally off of company is usually going to be major lifegain.
harabaz druid - I'm not sure where this fits in, it certainly helps with getting company off and something like mirror entity or gavony township can provide mana sinks but its also pretty fragile and not aggressive. I'm sure again that it depends on the list.
IMO the core for any non-mill variant is something like this:
That's 24 cards although honestly you could shave here and there - the original list on modern nexus had 3 survivalists instead of 4. But anyways say you have 16 slots left for:
Keeping in mind coco needs I think 26 creatures to be consistently effective that means 14 slots for non-creatures - 8 of which are in the core. So we have 6 slots for vial/scales, more copies of company/path/command or something else.
That means 10 slots for creatures off the list - which actually seems okay since we don't want 4 paladins or 4 clerics (not in the MD) and only 1 or 2 entity.
So is it me or this deck more or less builds itself if you stay GW?
I guess this would be the not-scales version though. I had been fiddling with 1 or 2, but really of the 26 creatures scales doesn't trigger 9 of them - (Gavony notwithstanding).
Sideboard takes testing to identify bad matchups but white gives stock options like stony silence and rest in peace to start with. You could suppression field still I think - just board out vial/entity when you bring them in. It's possible its even correct to just maindeck them.
sounds about right. Instant speed kabira evangel seems like a big deal - whether you have one in play and get the triggers off vial/coco or if you company one out. I think in this deck you keep the vial at 2 unless you have a very compelling reason to go up to 3. At 3 you only have 4 evangel 1 entity, whereas at 2 you have far more options.
The lack of interaction is a little worriesome for combo matchups. It's like 3-4x path 2x command and that's it. We just try to be faster than them I guess - not that far off of zoo in this respect although zoo will usually have qasali pridemage in the main to give it some better game.
I feel like suppression field should be amazing in a lot of matchups though - twin and affinity for sure.
As a sideboarding starting point I'm on this, although I'm not sure what rally the ancestors is for - just saw it in another list :S
I think if I were to run Champion of the Parish I'd only do it in a Hardened Scales build to make Champion more of a threat and draw removal that would otherwise go at something like Kabira Evangel or Akoum Battlesinger.
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so to be fair I haven't tested naya with battlesinger myself yet - but in those original lists it just seemed like a completely unnecessary splash. Is it really that good that we need to branch out into a 3rd colour for it? The anthem effect is cute but I'm often not interested in swinging with druids/clerics anyways and the other dudes just need enough toughness to punch through without dying and i either win or lose that way. This doesnt really play out like goblins or tokens where id be happy swinging with a bunch of x/1s most of the time.
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I feel it requires minimal branching to use them when you draw them. The only time I've not been happy to see an Akoum Battlesinger is when I have nothing on board and nothing in hand.
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If you're running 7 fetchlands you probably have to drop suppresion field - which is one of the more interesting cards this archetype allows you to use int he first place. I have no idea how good field is because I've never used it... because I always play fetches and never play monowhite ;o or if i do its white hatebears and i already have leonin arbiter and kataki.
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If you fetch right early you can just trade suppression field in for aether vial. I tend to hold field in hand until the opponent plays something to activate, except against twin.
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I put together this list for dirt cheap and it's fun as hell. The author talks about explosiveness and this deck can blow up for big damage.
1 arid mesa
1 forest
1 mountain
1 sacred foundry
1 stomping grounds
2 plains
4 temple garden
3 windswept heath
3 wooded foothills
4 cavern of souls
Dudes 27
4 akoum battlesinger
2 taurean mauler
1 mirror entity
2 ondu cleric
2 harabaz druid
4 oran-rief survivalist
4 hada freeblade
4 kazandu blademaster
4 kabira evangel
4 hardened scales
Instants 8
2 dromoka's command
3 collected company
3 path to exile
2 wear//tear
2 return to the ranks
3 scavenging ooze
1 ancient grudge
2 ondu cleric
4 suppression field
1 spellskite
How good is this archtype? I don't know, but it's inexpensive, fun to play, and has legs against a lot of tier decks. It takes very little effort to have a 6/6 freeblade swinging on turn 4, sometimes pumped more by battlesingers. Anyway, hopefully this turns into an interesting discussion and maybe someone more talented than me can do a primer.
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Just so I'm clear...ranger makes a wolf, ME makes it an ally, that triggers ranger to make another wolf/ally etc.? If so it seems infinite to me, but not cheap. I'd want to run a full suite of druids to ramp into the combo. There's no haste so it's not like a twin win, but you could turn your blademasters and freeblades into as large a dudes as you wanted. Without trample that might be useless, but kessig wolf run and skarrg, the rage pits both give trample in naya colors. In retrospect, if you were to use collected company or aether vial at eot to trigger ranger, pay for ME, then you'd untap with an army of wolves.
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Even if Turntimbers ability checks on resolution too, you'd have to pay at least X=1 right? If you did X=0 then everything you have (without a +1/+1 counter on it) would die and the wolf would gain the Ally creature type but die immediately due to State Based Actions.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
The talk did lead to discussion of trample lands, so those might still be viable options to push through for a finish. Kessig is maybe more versatile since it can pump bigger than skarrg, though that might not be worth the 4v2 activation cost.
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It might also be worthwhile to have a manland for when the board gets wiped. Something like Treetop Village could work well.
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My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
I built an ally deck a while ago. I had fun playing it but it was during the UWR era and Supreme Verdict was everywhere.
With the new cards from dragons and the upcoming new allies in BFZ I have sleeved it up again. Currently I am trying to build around company, but find hard to balance the non-creature spell count, wanting to run company, vial and hardened scales / inspiring call / boros charm
I think vial and company are mandatory, but finding room for some interaction / protection seems difficult.
I would also drop the druids and go more aggresive, upping to 4-5 colours to be able to run the relevant allies. Cavern of souls and Mana Confluence can fix de mana, but there is always Blood Moon to be careful about I guess.
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Veteran Warleader 1GW
Creature - Human Soldier Ally
Veteran Warleader's power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures you control.
Tap another untapped Ally you control: Veteran Warleader gains your choice of first strike, vigilance, or trample until end of turn.
*/*
This card alone makes this deck much more competitive, and I'm willing to bet that there's a whole lot more where that came from. Thoughts?
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It's good to remember the decks that placed well in events were vial decks with less tricks.
*edit* played some today with vial instead of scales. I liked it more. Vial is a huge mana source, and the instant speed of casting dudes makes for a lot of complicated decisions for the opponent. Combat tricks, protection, or even just flooding the field vial is potent. Mix in collected company and theres a lot of gas. I think with vial it's safe to cut a land down to 20, maybe one cavern.
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3 Cavern of Souls
2 Temple Garden
2 Stomping Ground
2 Razorverge Thicket
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Plains
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Gavony Township
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Kabira Evangel
3 Harabaz Druid
3 Oran-Rief Survivalist
2 Adaptive Automaton
2 Talus Paladin
4 Path to Exile
4 Hardened Scales
2 Dromoka's Command
I dont know how worth it would be to run the 2 Vials I do have since they're pretty much dead draws later on. I've also been thinking of trying to make room for Ghost Quarter and Horizon Canopy but I'm not sure what I'd cut for them.
4 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Stomping Ground
2 Plains
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Gavony Township
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Kabira Evangel
3 Oran-Rief Survivalist
2 Harabaz Druid
2 Adaptive Automaton
2 Talus Paladin
1 Mirror Entity
4 Hardened Scales
4 Path To Exile
4 Collected Company
2 Boros Charm
2 Choke
2 Rest In Peace
2 Dromoka's Command
2 Ondu Cleric
2 Dismember
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Creeping Corrosion
Aether vial vs Collected Company vs Hardened Scales: We can't run all of these, which are better?
champion of the parish - im sure it depends on the answer to the first question, but I think this guy probably belongs since every single ally is human.
talus paladin vs ondu cleric - As a 4 drop paladin doesnt help company, and the lifegain may be too late vs burn or zoo esp when we may miss our 4th land drop. Cleric usually will gain 3 life immediately and then threaten to gain tonnes more. And as far as 4 drops go, flipping it and another ally off of company is usually going to be major lifegain.
harabaz druid - I'm not sure where this fits in, it certainly helps with getting company off and something like mirror entity or gavony township can provide mana sinks but its also pretty fragile and not aggressive. I'm sure again that it depends on the list.
IMO the core for any non-mill variant is something like this:
4 kazandu blademaster
4 oran-rief survivalist
4 kabira evangel
3 path to exile
2 dromoka's command
That's 24 cards although honestly you could shave here and there - the original list on modern nexus had 3 survivalists instead of 4. But anyways say you have 16 slots left for:
1 Harabaz Druid
1 Aether Vial
1 Hardened Scales
1 Mirror Entity
1 Ondu Cleric
1 Talus Paladin
Keeping in mind coco needs I think 26 creatures to be consistently effective that means 14 slots for non-creatures - 8 of which are in the core. So we have 6 slots for vial/scales, more copies of company/path/command or something else.
That means 10 slots for creatures off the list - which actually seems okay since we don't want 4 paladins or 4 clerics (not in the MD) and only 1 or 2 entity.
So is it me or this deck more or less builds itself if you stay GW?
4 champion of the parish
4 hada freeblade
4 kazandu blademaster
4 oran-rief survivalist
3 harbaz druid
1 ondu cleric
4 kabira evangel
1 mirror entity
1 talus paladin
4 aether vial
4 collected company
4 path to exile
2 dromoka's command
Lands (20)
3 temple garden
4 razorverge thicket
2 cavern of souls
2 gavony township
5 plains
4 forest
I guess this would be the not-scales version though. I had been fiddling with 1 or 2, but really of the 26 creatures scales doesn't trigger 9 of them - (Gavony notwithstanding).
Sideboard takes testing to identify bad matchups but white gives stock options like stony silence and rest in peace to start with. You could suppression field still I think - just board out vial/entity when you bring them in. It's possible its even correct to just maindeck them.
* Esper Draw-Go
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* Blue Tron
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The lack of interaction is a little worriesome for combo matchups. It's like 3-4x path 2x command and that's it. We just try to be faster than them I guess - not that far off of zoo in this respect although zoo will usually have qasali pridemage in the main to give it some better game.
I feel like suppression field should be amazing in a lot of matchups though - twin and affinity for sure.
As a sideboarding starting point I'm on this, although I'm not sure what rally the ancestors is for - just saw it in another list :S
3 suppression field
2 stony silence
2 rest in peace
2 spellskite
2 return to the ranks
1 path to exile
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
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