Interesting. Bouncing an ally to blank removal and/or get another rally trigger could be pretty great. Helps the ally deck splash extra colors a lot easier, which is nice. Too bad it doesn't help converge (aside from the one ally creature with it). Still, probably one of the strongest rares we've seen so far. Too bad I hate allies too much to actually be interested in it :/
Really, the last ability is the only reason this isn't worse than Ancient Ziggurat.
The last ability is a pseudo hexproof, that allows you to re-trigger your Ally triggers. Most importantly, the didn't over-cost that utility. Solid design.
Really, the last ability is the only reason this isn't worse than Ancient Ziggurat.
The last ability is a pseudo hexproof, that allows you to re-trigger your Ally triggers. Most importantly, the didn't over-cost that utility. Solid design.
You mean the first AND last ability right? Because Zigurat doesn't help you cast non creature spells and this one at least gives you colorless mana.
The problem is that we haven't had a single Standard-playable Ally spoiled to date. Veteran Warleader is good-not-great, and other than that we've gotten potatoes.
I bet you can expect a classic 1WW double striker of this block to be an ally. Those used to be almost always played.
We've all been expecting some five-color mana fixing to appear -- but this is a version that does nothing to help out with those underwhelming Converge cards.
I bet you can expect a classic 1WW double striker of this block to be an ally. Those used to be almost always played.
What we really need is Hada Freeblade or something like him. A GW Ally deck (which I was really really hoping to build before we've received no indication it's possible) really needs something like:
4-8 good 1-drops
8-12 amazing 2-drops
4 Veteran Warleaders
4-8 other good 3-drops
2 or 3 Gideons
And then some value like Dromoka's Command. Right now, we have nothing but Warleader and draft fodder. At this point, we're running low on mythic and the rares are getting worse and worse. Allies might be a draft archetype and nothing more in BFZ.
This card does pretty much guarantee an Allies deck will be a thing, if March from the Grave didn't already. Problem is that I'm not expecting to see a single 1- or 2-drop ally in this set (Skyrider Elf doesn't count) because March from the Grave has a limit of 8 CC. That's exactly the maximum you can have without allowing you to bring back more than 2 3- or more-mana guys. That feels deliberate to me. I guess maybe we see a completely vanilla 2/2 Ally for two, but I'm betting they don't go any cheaper than that.
Allies doesn't feel like an aggro deck to me. I think they're going for more of a Rally the Ancestors kind of finish.
I like this card a lot. Utility and man lands are some of my favorite things in Magic.
Can I just say though that this spoiler pace is just stupid. At this rate we'll get there some time next week, after the PR. I can kind of get behind not spoiling anything at all, I've done it before personally, and it is cool to go in blind to pre release. However, if youre going to do spoilers then get on with it already.
I like this card a lot. Utility and man lands are some of my favorite things in Magic.
Can I just say though that this spoiler pace is just stupid. At this rate we'll get there some time next week, after the PR. I can kind of get behind not spoiling anything at all, I've done it before personally, and it is cool to go in blind to pre release. However, if youre going to do spoilers then get on with it already.
They usually finish spoilers the Friday before the PR. I would expect the full set to be revealed on the website on Friday morning.
That bounce ability is too damn clever. I only wish it were blink instead, but this is definitely a pretty innovative Ally enabler and I'm excited for the Ally decks that I can build now.
Haven of the Allies? Cavern of Allies? Design-wise, it is really close to Haven of the Spirit Dragon and kind of uncreative, but uncreative cards are perfectly fine. We don't need every card to be wacky and have seventeen lines of text.
Regardless, this land is a 4-of in Standard Allies. First, it can tap to produce mana of any color, which is helpful since Allies are a 5-color theme and are going to need the fixing. It's a land that's not a dead draw late-game. The cheap activation cost means that you can activate it AND save your best Ally from death, recasting him in the same turn. This wouldn't be too hot in and of itself if you were just getting back a beater like Tarmogoyf, but Allies are all about the ETB abilities, which means you can get 2-3 triggers off it in the right board state.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
I don't think that in practice this will be THAT similar to Haven of the Spirit Dragon. Haven is a pure value card whose mana ability is less important than the return ability, that works to counter a general control weakness to discard, and generally is played very late in the game for a finisher. Ally Encampment is more of a tempo card that will be used earlier in the game where the rainbow mana is actually a major selling point of the card. Turn 4-5 counter removal/sweeper and get another ETB versus turn 10 get back a Thoughtseized Ugin. The text of the two cards appear similar but in play they'll be used in different scenarios and with different styles of deck.
As far as playable allies go, here is a list of the spoiled ally cards we have to work with:
Hero of Goma Fada - 4W 4/3: Rally for Indestructible - Not Playable
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - 2WW 4 loyalty: +1 Become 5/5 Indestructible Ally, 0 put 2/2 ally, -4 +1/+1 Emblem - Absolutely insane, probably modern playable and better than Elspeth #1 plus synergy
Retreat to Emeria - 3W Enchantment: Landfall either 1/1 Ally or +1/+1 till EOT - Possibly great. Fetches become double rally triggers or large buffs
Lantern Scout - 2W 3/2: Rally for lifelink - Probably not playable
Zada, Hedron Grinder - 3R 3/3: Ink-Treader text - Not playable
Tajuru Warcaller - 3GG 2/1: Rally +2/+2 - Not playable unless you can abuse the reanimation
Grovetender Druis - 2GW 3/3: Rally to pay 1 for 1/1 plant - Not playable
Munda, Ambush Leader - 2RW 3/4: Haste, Rally to index for allies - Playable for body alone, text is gas
Drana's Emissary - 1WB 2/2: Flying, life drain each turn - Probably not playable
Skyrider Elf - XGU 0/0: Flying, converge +X - Not playable
Resolute Blademaster - 3RW 2/2: Rally for doublestrike - Not sure, probably not
New Drana - 1BB 2/3: Flying, first strike, +1/+1 on each attacking creature when she hits - Easily playable if confirmed
March from the Tomb - 3WB: Return any allies with total CMC =<8 - Insane or unplayable depending on combo potential
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper - 3WU: Prowess-style put 3 +1/+1s on land - If playable, not in ally deck
Ally Encampment - subject of thread
Veteran Warleader - 1GW X/X: X = creatures, tap ally for first strike, vigilance, or trample - Maybe
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.
To be competitive we need reprints or functional reprints of Hada Freeblade, Kazandu Blademaster, Oran-Rief Survivalist, Akoum Battlesinger, Harabaz Druid, and Kabira Evangel. Maybe even Ondu Cleric. These cards are what make allies explosive, not unstackable abilities on 4 drops. What we've added are support cards that generate free rally triggers or just large stat buffs, but we need splashier effects (mill, mana, stat growth, haste) and/or quality low drop allies that can be hit with Collected Company.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Lantern Scout is your man.
This post was aimed at a certain member, now it landed randomly here.
but to remind you of 1 of the playable Allies already.
Land is cool, but its sad that it has no repeatable effect. Like Sliver Hive <- That card is much better.
but i think power down cards is a Trend now. cough Theros cough
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.
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.
The nature of a lot of this websites users is becoming clearer
Allies were viable in Standard back in Zendikar but the netdeckers would not ve aware of this because all they do is look at PT decks, complain about good cards' prices and about every other card that doesn't look like it will belong on one of those decklists
At first, I thought that it is just a Haven of the Spirit Dragon for Allies. Then I realized that it just returns the Ally to your hand - but not from the graveyard.
Quite nice card, but again - why is this a rare?
And as for the name...after Aligned Hedron Network, another very "creative" one.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
100% Vorthos Spike and Storyline Expert
Former Fact Prospector of the Greek Alliance.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
>>Banner by Spanglegluppet<<
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
"Ally Encampment"? Really?
The last ability is a pseudo hexproof, that allows you to re-trigger your Ally triggers. Most importantly, the didn't over-cost that utility. Solid design.
You mean the first AND last ability right? Because Zigurat doesn't help you cast non creature spells and this one at least gives you colorless mana.
And because they all have ETB abilities. In modern, you can bounce + vial for many shenanigans.
I bet you can expect a classic 1WW double striker of this block to be an ally. Those used to be almost always played.
Rafiq of the Many
Kruphix, God of Horizons ~ Geist of Saint Traft ~ Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
Omnath, Locus of Mana ~ Patron of the Moon ~ Mangara of Corondor
What we really need is Hada Freeblade or something like him. A GW Ally deck (which I was really really hoping to build before we've received no indication it's possible) really needs something like:
4-8 good 1-drops
8-12 amazing 2-drops
4 Veteran Warleaders
4-8 other good 3-drops
2 or 3 Gideons
And then some value like Dromoka's Command. Right now, we have nothing but Warleader and draft fodder. At this point, we're running low on mythic and the rares are getting worse and worse. Allies might be a draft archetype and nothing more in BFZ.
Allies doesn't feel like an aggro deck to me. I think they're going for more of a Rally the Ancestors kind of finish.
Can I just say though that this spoiler pace is just stupid. At this rate we'll get there some time next week, after the PR. I can kind of get behind not spoiling anything at all, I've done it before personally, and it is cool to go in blind to pre release. However, if youre going to do spoilers then get on with it already.
They usually finish spoilers the Friday before the PR. I would expect the full set to be revealed on the website on Friday morning.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Regardless, this land is a 4-of in Standard Allies. First, it can tap to produce mana of any color, which is helpful since Allies are a 5-color theme and are going to need the fixing. It's a land that's not a dead draw late-game. The cheap activation cost means that you can activate it AND save your best Ally from death, recasting him in the same turn. This wouldn't be too hot in and of itself if you were just getting back a beater like Tarmogoyf, but Allies are all about the ETB abilities, which means you can get 2-3 triggers off it in the right board state.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
As far as playable allies go, here is a list of the spoiled ally cards we have to work with:
Hero of Goma Fada - 4W 4/3: Rally for Indestructible - Not Playable
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - 2WW 4 loyalty: +1 Become 5/5 Indestructible Ally, 0 put 2/2 ally, -4 +1/+1 Emblem - Absolutely insane, probably modern playable and better than Elspeth #1 plus synergy
Retreat to Emeria - 3W Enchantment: Landfall either 1/1 Ally or +1/+1 till EOT - Possibly great. Fetches become double rally triggers or large buffs
Lantern Scout - 2W 3/2: Rally for lifelink - Probably not playable
Zada, Hedron Grinder - 3R 3/3: Ink-Treader text - Not playable
Tajuru Warcaller - 3GG 2/1: Rally +2/+2 - Not playable unless you can abuse the reanimation
Grovetender Druis - 2GW 3/3: Rally to pay 1 for 1/1 plant - Not playable
Munda, Ambush Leader - 2RW 3/4: Haste, Rally to index for allies - Playable for body alone, text is gas
Drana's Emissary - 1WB 2/2: Flying, life drain each turn - Probably not playable
Skyrider Elf - XGU 0/0: Flying, converge +X - Not playable
Resolute Blademaster - 3RW 2/2: Rally for doublestrike - Not sure, probably not
New Drana - 1BB 2/3: Flying, first strike, +1/+1 on each attacking creature when she hits - Easily playable if confirmed
March from the Tomb - 3WB: Return any allies with total CMC =<8 - Insane or unplayable depending on combo potential
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper - 3WU: Prowess-style put 3 +1/+1s on land - If playable, not in ally deck
Ally Encampment - subject of thread
Veteran Warleader - 1GW X/X: X = creatures, tap ally for first strike, vigilance, or trample - Maybe
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.
To be competitive we need reprints or functional reprints of Hada Freeblade, Kazandu Blademaster, Oran-Rief Survivalist, Akoum Battlesinger, Harabaz Druid, and Kabira Evangel. Maybe even Ondu Cleric. These cards are what make allies explosive, not unstackable abilities on 4 drops. What we've added are support cards that generate free rally triggers or just large stat buffs, but we need splashier effects (mill, mana, stat growth, haste) and/or quality low drop allies that can be hit with Collected Company.
even though you're right, when the power level is obviously high as it was with Origins, the amount of whining is MUCH smaller
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
This post was aimed at a certain member, now it landed randomly here.
but to remind you of 1 of the playable Allies already.
Land is cool, but its sad that it has no repeatable effect. Like Sliver Hive <- That card is much better.
but i think power down cards is a Trend now. cough Theros cough
...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.
GGo Elf YourselfG
WThat Cat Has A Knife!W
BUGWhip your assBUG
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.
Allies were viable in Standard back in Zendikar but the netdeckers would not ve aware of this because all they do is look at PT decks, complain about good cards' prices and about every other card that doesn't look like it will belong on one of those decklists
Quite nice card, but again - why is this a rare?
And as for the name...after Aligned Hedron Network, another very "creative" one.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)