“So You Want To Learn to Alesha?”
A comprehensive Primer for Duel-Commander competitive play with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death at the helm. Written by 3drinks.
You like using creatures and/or the combat step to win.
You enjoy graveyard interactions being used in a creative way.
Because you like Anafenza but you’re tired of punting games to Animar.
You’re an aggro player, but you can appreciate a deck that can “go late” without losing it’s raw efficiency.
You enjoy a deck that can reshift it’s role on the fly - that is to say, can play the control game against aggressive strategies or the aggressive game to pressure slower strategies.
Those who know me, both offline and online, know that I’m a no-nonsense “win at all costs” kind of player (though I keep it laid back with enough jokes, lame one-liners, and cheesy smiles to keep it fun) - and that is hallmarked by my penchant for blowing up your lands. Why do I do it? For sport, for profit, and for the general utility of putting my opponents on tilt because they lost that clutch t2 dual that was the reason they kept their shaky opening hand, really. Competitive players respect that mentality of mine, while still others shun me, including what I can only imagine is a laundry list of countless Magic Online players whom have blocked me after their deck got owned by a t2 Sinkhole (ironically, I don’t play Sinkhole in this deck...any more). But in all actuality, I’m really so much more than that - I’m actually just a player who is very passionate about the game, and his builds, to the point of honing decks (like this one) that people would swear up and down would never work, but - and maybe this is my own stubbornness - I would see something, a glimmer of hope or other playability, and I would build on that. I worked on Kaalia of the Vast for (and still working on the polish) four years, and I worked on, between previous iterations, Zurgo Bellstriker All-In-Red for the past two years before catching a breakthrough with Raude Ewen’s top eight list months ago. Mostly however, I do this because I have a natural affinity to brew a build for a specific metagame.
This is the third Primer I’ve written for this site. Holy crap, what? Geez, it’s been a long time. Six years strong @MTGS.
Who is Alesha, and why is she so special? According to the lore and R&D’s own story, Alesha is the first ever openly transgender character to have a card named for them, and to-date, is the only one to have such a distinction.
“...When you learn what your place among the Mardu is, then you can choose a name."
She turned away, ready to move to the next group of soldiers.
"Wait," the orc said.
Alesha paused but did not turn around. "Why?"
"I have a tale of the battle."
She turned and glared at him. "We have heard enough of your deeds."
"This is not my glory." He raised his voice so all around could hear. "Today I saw a warrior strike down a dragon with a single blow, and on her face she wore the joy of battle."
Alesha smiled.
The orc took a step closer and spoke more quietly. "As you say, my khan, I do not know myself. But I know you, I follow you—"
Now he shouted over all the din of the battlefield. "—and I call you Alesha, Who Smiles at Death."
And once again, the warriors of the Mardu shouted her name..” (You can read the full story here at this link).
There are a number of reasons I selected this Commander. The first being, I thought she was special, and I saw a lot of potential in her (first in the Tiny Leaders format, but then I grew disenfranchised by what it offered in comparison to Duel-Commander). My suspicions would be furthered by comments from others “Oh man she is so good” or “That is gonna be the newest metagame shifter”. This was shortly after the emergence of Marath, Will of the Wild as a premiere non-U deck, as I recall. But to my surprise, no one had any real semblance of a list to start with (unlike Kaalia of the Vast who at least had a preconstructed deck as a base point, awful as Heavenly Inferno was). No one had put up any tournament numbers with this Commander, despite the reasonably loud cries in celebration of what a powerful Commander Alesha would make. I don’t know if it’s because the majority are afraid to innovate new decks, or if it’s due to a lack of regularly scheduled Duel-Commander events (it’s probably a combination of, to be quite honest), but I announced my intent to start this journey. I was determined to build this Commander to it’s utmost potential, money was no object to me now (time to acquire the money was, of course, but that would soon be mitigated, as you’ll notice when you get to the deck list). But why did I choose Alesha, when I could have played big Zurgo? I think, the bottom line is, in searching for ways to make my #RedQueen a viable and feared deck in the metagame, the same tools that I’d use there would also work here...only in this deck, I have a lot more inevitability while being more resistant to removal.
But of course, my dedication to Alesha’s cause would be anything but turning my back on my beloved Kaalia. Never. Never ever. She completes me in a way that no other card could complete me. She allows me to play as the “Timmy” inside of me (inside of all of us) that gets excited for every shiny new big Angel, Demon, or Dragon that sees print. Alesha however, allows me to satisfy my “Spike” urges, the urge to feed my competitive attitude to win at every opportunity. Alesha allows me to heed the advice a great man once told me. And that advice, is just four simple words; “Greatness, at any cost”.
Filth doesnt look impressive or is it meta call?
a) is it worth to play ONLY creatuers with power 2 or less? Im looking at hellrider or the new black guy
b) I think you play quite a lot of instants/sorceries what about young pyromancer / monastery mentor? for some additional value
c) goblin rabblemaster / siege-gang commander ?
a) I think so, yes, as we can maximize the chances of our commander bringing value back.
b) Young Pyro is interesting, but I don't think it is aggressive enough with our other two drops.
c) Siege-Gang is very, very good, but he is maybe uncastable or comes down too late. I want to minimize cards that I can't cast before t3. Rabblemaster maybe is good, but better than our other three drops? I don't believe so.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Viscera Seer is playable. Altar is not. I like Carrion Feeder more (in a vacuum) but Seer could be a slot over Bloodsoaked Champ, for sure.
Altar in the Reveillark/Karmic or Kiki combos is infinite mana of any combination of colors. I wouldn't call that "unplayable"
I'm not playing Lark, Karmic, or Kiki. Part of the strength of my list is it's low cmc, giving me a higher percentage of forcing two spells/turn vs control . The closest combo I have is Master of Cruelties.
Just curious but why no Hymn to Tourach? You've got multiple hand disruption effects including things like Castigate but why not one of the best discard spells printed?
Wow didnt see that filthy interaction of those two, very nice
Im not sure if running only 2 or less power is that good. I understand your argument but usualy at least single creature will die each combat so there might be some room to add few strong creatures with power higher than two.
Fiend Hunter can perma-exile. Banisher Priest can not. I'd need to play Faceless Butcher before playing Priest (which was in the deck, but cut in favour of the cheaper Hunter).
Just curious but why no Hymn to Tourach? You've got multiple hand disruption effects including things like Castigate but why not one of the best discard spells printed?
Simple. Hymn does not give me the information on what they're holding, and in this day and age, it helps make their Treasure Cruise/Dig Through Time better. In this deck I value the information granted from Castigate, or a draw2, higher than a virtual draw2 from taking cards from an opponent's hand.
Well, I tested a similar list on Cockatrice and it was pretty disillusioning. I played against Marath, Will of the Wild, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, Anafenza, the Foremost, Thraximundar and Narset, Enlightened Master
This deck has a quite a few issues:
-It gets outclassed by Doran/Anafenza/Marath. They are faster, they have stronger creatures/general and they can kill Alesha easily.
-Pyroclasm and friends fry your whole board.
-It lacks the speed and the punch to apply enough pressure against control decks
The decks looks alright on paper but lacks the raw power to win against the decks-to-beat. That being said, the deck is definitely fun to play.
Well, yes, Abzan creatures do outclass ours. It's the nature of the beast. I'm also not built towards that, but if I was, our creatures just won't favourable match-up ever. Mardu is about smaller, faster critters, while Abzan gets valuetown midrange dudes. You know what does a good job out-valuing Abzan? Jund; i.e. Prossh. Our best chance is to disrupt early and while they're kept off their mana, we strike hard and fast.
If you're losing to Pyroclasm, you're attacking too soon when the coast isn't clear. Disruption is paramount to the success of this deck, but also don't be afraid to put Alesha in the 'Yard as Tortured Existence will allow us to rebuild, and cast our commander for three.
Most Doran and Anafenza lists are tempolists not midrange. They look most of the time like this: http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=8457&d=248551&f=EDH
"Waiting until the coast is clear" isn't a good idea against control decks like Thraximundar and Narset since they have a very strong mid- and lategame. As an aggro deck you need to apply pressure at which the deck fails at the moment.
Putting the only real threat of the deck into the graveyard doesn't seem very sensible to me. Tortured Existence is a really bad card, it can't hit, it doesn't disrupt the opponent and its interaction with Alesha is cute at best.
...It's like a black Survival of the Fittest (in this deck). It places stuff in the 'Yard we don't want in our hand and it brings stuff back for a second go. It's not a "mindless" card choice like Survival is as TE definitely needs build around. But when you do build on it, yes, it is phenomenal. At the same time I'm not dependant on it to win to the point of being crippled by a Disenchant either.
Anyway I'm looking around for Cockatrice now to try installing it. May need some help as I only had it some long time ago (I prefer MTGO).
While I understand the power of Stoneforge Mystic, it only has 3 targets in the deck, all of which can be hard cast for the same cost as the activation (or less). If you draw all 3 equipments before SFM, then it becomes a dead draw, and you don't want dead draws in an aggressive deck. I think you should either include more equipments or remove SFM for something a bit more versatile.
this is my post from the other thread: glory might be an interesting addition if you can get it into the graveyard as a way to protect your horde from removal. Additionally a sunforger package using things like boros charm could potentially be really strong as well. The ability to tutor up what you need at instant speed seems really strong, but it might be a bit too slow. ebonblade reaper is another fun possibility, especially combined with a sac outlet. break through the line also seems particularly good here. reconnaissance also potentially has a place if you want to use utility creatures that probably shouldn't be attacking. Iroas, god of victory is another consideration
I've played around a little bit with some of these, and things like archetype of finality, which evens out the creature combat (and synergizes amazingly with alesha), combined with things that do really nasty things when they connect seems fairly effective so far. It creates a nice dilemma for them where they want to block, but are losing out since they not only can't recur stuff, but usually spend more mana on their critters. I haven't played with a herald of leshrac yet, but it also seems quite brutal, both crippling their mana for a few turns while being big enough to not die to most things even before the buffs. I think rather than being straight up aggro, playing lots of tiny quick guys, it might be better to go with small guys that have crippling abilities that will just flat out win the game if they're not dealt with. things like sadistic hypnotist, blind zealot and dauthi mindripper quickly become overwhelming when coupled with the recursion that alesha provides.
Another good solution to the problem too small creatures is to go for 0/0 that come into play with a large amount of +1/+1 counters. Things like savage firecat and ignition team quickly become too much to deal with turn after turn.
Granted those all rely heavily on having alesha out and attacking constantly, as well a consistent way to get things into the graveyard. I think maybe going a more heavy reanimator style with brutal efficiency creatures as opposed to raw bulk ala sidisi might be the way to go. Recurring nightmare also seems like an autoinclude here.
The problem with those is you're relying on activating Alesha to sneak these on the board. That is a fool's game because any half-competent opponent will catch on and shut you out.
Actually the realy problem with that kind of strategy is that unlike sidisi, who puts them into the graveyard herself, you need to rely on alternative ways to get them into the GY with alesha, of which there are surprisingly few viable red/black/white ways to do so. The best things I could find after an brief search are red's faithless lootingdangerous wagergoblin loreand shattered perception type effects, buried alive, chains of mephistophelesenduring renewalsewer nemesisstinkweed imp and undercity informer, none of which are particulary good, and most which won't happen before alesha comes into play. maybe tybalt, the fiend blooded could do some work in that regard? regardless, you need to do something about the fact that nearly all the creatures she can bring out are fairly quickly outclassed. It doesn't do much good to destroy their hand if all they need is a single creature and you're shut down. since almost all your creatures are going to be smaller than theirs you want to them to have to waste their time blocking things that aren't alesha. In your current list if they get a single X/4 or bigger out then you can't do anything until you draw removal for it, because nothing you can resurrect aside from master of cruelties is all that threatening.
But isnt it the exact same problem with the list you provided? I mean you cant realisticaly beat any Gx deck with only 2/x cretures and without any sweeper. Sudden demise comes to mind since its one sided.
The deck also screams for magus of the moon. We play armaggedon and this is basicaly the same vs multicolored decks AND it is a creature.
We do have a sweeper - Fire Covenant. I don't believe Sudden Demise is strong enough as an X spell since we don't generate a lot of mana (don't need to make a lot of mana).
I don't rely on Alesha as much as using her to pressure my control opponent. If you're playing against big XG decks that may be the problem as I didn't build for that. That said the threat of decks like Jenara and Anafenza are real, and even Animar too. So back to the drawing board it seems.
I disagree with playing Moons in this deck because we're three colour with many tight mana costs.
I think this list adds a bit more midrange ability to the deck, with creatures that are still effective past turn 6 or so. While it lacks some of the land disruption of the original, it adds quite a bit more removal and recursion, as well as a sunforger package that not only makes your creatures able to compete later on (via the +4/+0) but enables you to tutor key removal or protection for free. The downside is that it's still very heavily dependent on getting alesha out and attacking with her as much as possible. It's also worth noting that with both chrome mox and mox diamond it's possible to get a turn 2 win with a god hand.
\]
less removal and more creatures
pack rat: not good enough, you would rather play the cards than discard them (not sure if I agree here)
I think we can easily play about 35-40 creatures that leaves about 20 for spells. In that case it easily can be maybe 25 creatures with power to fit alesha and the rest just the other good guys like hero of bladehold, restoration angel, hellrider, then the 3/4 angel which stops oponents creatures to activate abilities etc..
The more I think about it the more I think this is the correct way to go. Do it like sidisi where you have as many creatures combined with spells as you can. ETB the battlefield and triggers on combat damage are key. You want the creatures you bring back to either do their thing regardless or force your opponent into tough decisions.
Now see, if we "add more basics" in order to accommodate Moon effects, we then lose tainted Pact (we need more than six basics to justify this decision).
I know they aren't exactly cheap, but still can be cast later in game and also returned with Alesha right into play.
Most */* creatures don't count because their P/T is still calculated while in the graveyard. For example, if your opponent is at 20 life, Malignus is a 10/10 while in the 'yard.
Most */* creatures don't count because their P/T is still calculated while in the graveyard. For example, if your opponent is at 20 life, Malignus is a 10/10 while in the 'yard.
Oh.. Didn't know that. So I need to kick out few cards out of my deck.
And what about cards such as Clockwork Dragon? And other 0/0 which comes with counters into play?
Are some of them useful?
I am thinking. Alesha is interesting because it gives us Mardu access, but it can be played as Boros or Rakdos to full effect. My point? We can play like a Lyzolda deck as two colours, and then we can play our Moons. We could even splash a Plains for 'Geddon but it might not even be necessary.
Logic behind the idea: Three colour and aggro doesn't work; you're too slow and come off midrange, but Mardu is not a midrange wedge. By going two colour we can still be fast and be the aggro deck, while making use of Alesha's ability to help maintain pressure.
Most */* creatures don't count because their P/T is still calculated while in the graveyard. For example, if your opponent is at 20 life, Malignus is a 10/10 while in the 'yard.
Oh.. Didn't know that. So I need to kick out few cards out of my deck.
And what about cards such as Clockwork Dragon? And other 0/0 which comes with counters into play?
Are some of them useful?
It's all based on how the P/T is determined.
If a creature is 0/0 and ETBs with counters (like Clockwork Dragon), then the creature is a 0/0 in the graveyard. Another case is Nighthowler which is a 0/0 in any zone except the battlefield because of its ability.
Sewer Nemesis is a */* creature, but it's a 0/0 creature in the graveyard due to the first line of rules text. However, Mortivore's P/T is a static value that can always be calculated.
A comprehensive Primer for Duel-Commander competitive play with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death at the helm.
Written by 3drinks.
~~Analysis of the Commander~~
Reasons you would enjoy piloting this deck:
Reasons you might not enjoy piloting this deck:
Those who know me, both offline and online, know that I’m a no-nonsense “win at all costs” kind of player (though I keep it laid back with enough jokes, lame one-liners, and cheesy smiles to keep it fun) - and that is hallmarked by my penchant for blowing up your lands. Why do I do it? For sport, for profit, and for the general utility of putting my opponents on tilt because they lost that clutch t2 dual that was the reason they kept their shaky opening hand, really. Competitive players respect that mentality of mine, while still others shun me, including what I can only imagine is a laundry list of countless Magic Online players whom have blocked me after their deck got owned by a t2 Sinkhole (ironically, I don’t play Sinkhole in this deck...any more). But in all actuality, I’m really so much more than that - I’m actually just a player who is very passionate about the game, and his builds, to the point of honing decks (like this one) that people would swear up and down would never work, but - and maybe this is my own stubbornness - I would see something, a glimmer of hope or other playability, and I would build on that. I worked on Kaalia of the Vast for (and still working on the polish) four years, and I worked on, between previous iterations, Zurgo Bellstriker All-In-Red for the past two years before catching a breakthrough with Raude Ewen’s top eight list months ago. Mostly however, I do this because I have a natural affinity to brew a build for a specific metagame.
This is the third Primer I’ve written for this site. Holy crap, what? Geez, it’s been a long time. Six years strong @MTGS.
Who is Alesha, and why is she so special? According to the lore and R&D’s own story, Alesha is the first ever openly transgender character to have a card named for them, and to-date, is the only one to have such a distinction.
She turned away, ready to move to the next group of soldiers.
"Wait," the orc said.
Alesha paused but did not turn around. "Why?"
"I have a tale of the battle."
She turned and glared at him. "We have heard enough of your deeds."
"This is not my glory." He raised his voice so all around could hear. "Today I saw a warrior strike down a dragon with a single blow, and on her face she wore the joy of battle."
Alesha smiled.
The orc took a step closer and spoke more quietly. "As you say, my khan, I do not know myself. But I know you, I follow you—"
Now he shouted over all the din of the battlefield. "—and I call you Alesha, Who Smiles at Death."
And once again, the warriors of the Mardu shouted her name..” (You can read the full story here at this link).
There are a number of reasons I selected this Commander. The first being, I thought she was special, and I saw a lot of potential in her (first in the Tiny Leaders format, but then I grew disenfranchised by what it offered in comparison to Duel-Commander). My suspicions would be furthered by comments from others “Oh man she is so good” or “That is gonna be the newest metagame shifter”. This was shortly after the emergence of Marath, Will of the Wild as a premiere non-U deck, as I recall. But to my surprise, no one had any real semblance of a list to start with (unlike Kaalia of the Vast who at least had a preconstructed deck as a base point, awful as Heavenly Inferno was). No one had put up any tournament numbers with this Commander, despite the reasonably loud cries in celebration of what a powerful Commander Alesha would make. I don’t know if it’s because the majority are afraid to innovate new decks, or if it’s due to a lack of regularly scheduled Duel-Commander events (it’s probably a combination of, to be quite honest), but I announced my intent to start this journey. I was determined to build this Commander to it’s utmost potential, money was no object to me now (time to acquire the money was, of course, but that would soon be mitigated, as you’ll notice when you get to the deck list). But why did I choose Alesha, when I could have played big Zurgo? I think, the bottom line is, in searching for ways to make my #RedQueen a viable and feared deck in the metagame, the same tools that I’d use there would also work here...only in this deck, I have a lot more inevitability while being more resistant to removal.
But of course, my dedication to Alesha’s cause would be anything but turning my back on my beloved Kaalia. Never. Never ever. She completes me in a way that no other card could complete me. She allows me to play as the “Timmy” inside of me (inside of all of us) that gets excited for every shiny new big Angel, Demon, or Dragon that sees print. Alesha however, allows me to satisfy my “Spike” urges, the urge to feed my competitive attitude to win at every opportunity. Alesha allows me to heed the advice a great man once told me. And that advice, is just four simple words; “Greatness, at any cost”.
Deck Statistics: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mavlesha-or-aleshrick-alesha-maverick/#
Average CMC: 1.62
1x Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Land (38)
1x Arid Mesa
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Command Tower
1x Concealed Courtyard
1x Fetid Heath
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Flooded Strand
1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
1x Godless Shrine
1x Graven Cairns
1x Inspiring Vantage
1x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Plateau
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Rugged Prairie
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Scrubland
1x Shambling Vent
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Smoldering Marsh
1x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Snow-Covered Plains
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Swamp
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Throne of the High City
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Wasteland
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Anathemancer
1x Avalanche Riders
1x Burrenton Forge-Tender
1x Dark Confidant
1x Duergar Hedge-Mage
1x Eldrazi Displacer
1x Ember Hauler
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Filigree Familiar
1x Fulminator Mage
1x Goblin Legionnaire
1x Goblin Settler
1x Imperial Recruiter
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Mother of Runes
1x Phyrexian Revoker
1x Recruiter of the Guard
1x Reveillark
1x Sanctum Prelate
1x Selfless Spirit
1x Stingscourger
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Thought-Knot Seer
Artifact (7)
1x Basilisk Collar
1x Batterskull
1x Skullclamp
1x Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1x Smuggler's Copter
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Umezawa's Jitte
Enchantment (3)
1x Bitterblossom
1x Contamination
1x Recurring Nightmare
1x Cataclysm
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Duress
1x Gamble
1x Grim Tutor
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Night's Whisper
1x Radiant Flames
1x Sign in Blood
1x Thoughtseize
1x Vindicate
1x Wrath of God
Instant (8)
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Char
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Kolaghan's Command
1x Lightning Bolt
1x Lightning Helix
1x Pulse of the Forge
1x Swords to Plowshares
Planeswalker (4)
1x Ajani Vengeant
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Liliana of the Veil
1x Nahiri, the Harbinger
9/10/2016 - Updated through Conspiracy 2
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Filth is pretty good evasion since we can play Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
a) I think so, yes, as we can maximize the chances of our commander bringing value back.
b) Young Pyro is interesting, but I don't think it is aggressive enough with our other two drops.
c) Siege-Gang is very, very good, but he is maybe uncastable or comes down too late. I want to minimize cards that I can't cast before t3. Rabblemaster maybe is good, but better than our other three drops? I don't believe so.
Fantastic questions though.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Altar in the Reveillark/Karmic or Kiki combos is infinite mana of any combination of colors. I wouldn't call that "unplayable"
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
Okay... so assuming the list above, what exactly are you doing with infinite mana? There aren't any mana sinks or mass draw spells that can use it.
I'm not playing Lark, Karmic, or Kiki. Part of the strength of my list is it's low cmc, giving me a higher percentage of forcing two spells/turn vs control . The closest combo I have is Master of Cruelties.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Fiend Hunter can perma-exile. Banisher Priest can not. I'd need to play Faceless Butcher before playing Priest (which was in the deck, but cut in favour of the cheaper Hunter).
Simple. Hymn does not give me the information on what they're holding, and in this day and age, it helps make their Treasure Cruise/Dig Through Time better. In this deck I value the information granted from Castigate, or a draw2, higher than a virtual draw2 from taking cards from an opponent's hand.
Well, yes, Abzan creatures do outclass ours. It's the nature of the beast. I'm also not built towards that, but if I was, our creatures just won't favourable match-up ever. Mardu is about smaller, faster critters, while Abzan gets valuetown midrange dudes. You know what does a good job out-valuing Abzan? Jund; i.e. Prossh. Our best chance is to disrupt early and while they're kept off their mana, we strike hard and fast.
If you're losing to Pyroclasm, you're attacking too soon when the coast isn't clear. Disruption is paramount to the success of this deck, but also don't be afraid to put Alesha in the 'Yard as Tortured Existence will allow us to rebuild, and cast our commander for three.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
...It's like a black Survival of the Fittest (in this deck). It places stuff in the 'Yard we don't want in our hand and it brings stuff back for a second go. It's not a "mindless" card choice like Survival is as TE definitely needs build around. But when you do build on it, yes, it is phenomenal. At the same time I'm not dependant on it to win to the point of being crippled by a Disenchant either.
Anyway I'm looking around for Cockatrice now to try installing it. May need some help as I only had it some long time ago (I prefer MTGO).
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Deal Broker is a loot engine to help get creatures into the graveyard.
Goblin Settler is another land destruction creature to run alongside Avalanche Riders
Hex Parasite gives you away to remove counters, similar to Vampire Hexmage
Eight-and-a-half-Tails can be super annoying
Grand Abolisher prevents counterspells
Garza's Assassin might be hard to cast, but it can be repeatable removal
Mirror Entity can buff your whole team
Tuktuk the Explorer provides extra value when it dies
Hokori, Dust Drinker allows a stax element, and you can sac it before your turn to untap all your lands
Mindless Automaton becomes "(W/B)(W/B): draw a card" while also being a discard outlet
Sengir Autocrat brings in tokens that can be sac-ed for value
Anarchist can return any discard spell back to your hand
Solemn Simulacrum
My apologies if any of these are already in your list. It isn't organized in any obvious way (no tags), so finding anything specific is difficult.
glory might be an interesting addition if you can get it into the graveyard as a way to protect your horde from removal. Additionally a sunforger package using things like boros charm could potentially be really strong as well. The ability to tutor up what you need at instant speed seems really strong, but it might be a bit too slow. ebonblade reaper is another fun possibility, especially combined with a sac outlet. break through the line also seems particularly good here. reconnaissance also potentially has a place if you want to use utility creatures that probably shouldn't be attacking. Iroas, god of victory is another consideration
other fun utility beasts include:
[c]archetype of finality[/card]
archetype of courage
balthor the defiled
big game hunter
bitterheart witch + a curse package
blade splicer
blind zealot
body snatcher
bone dancer
bone shredder
burrenton forge tender
mentor of the meek
balefire leige
savage firecat
nekrataal
soltari visionary
disciple of bolas
dragonscale general
drakestown forgotten
mindclaw shaman
entomber exarch
falkenrath maruaders
feldon of the third path
flesh carver
hellhole rats
herald of leshrac
high priest of penance
hokori dust drinker
ignition team
kathari bomber
order of whiteclay
sadistic hypnotist
instigator gang
throat slitter
I've played around a little bit with some of these, and things like archetype of finality, which evens out the creature combat (and synergizes amazingly with alesha), combined with things that do really nasty things when they connect seems fairly effective so far. It creates a nice dilemma for them where they want to block, but are losing out since they not only can't recur stuff, but usually spend more mana on their critters. I haven't played with a herald of leshrac yet, but it also seems quite brutal, both crippling their mana for a few turns while being big enough to not die to most things even before the buffs. I think rather than being straight up aggro, playing lots of tiny quick guys, it might be better to go with small guys that have crippling abilities that will just flat out win the game if they're not dealt with. things like sadistic hypnotist, blind zealot and dauthi mindripper quickly become overwhelming when coupled with the recursion that alesha provides.
Another good solution to the problem too small creatures is to go for 0/0 that come into play with a large amount of +1/+1 counters. Things like savage firecat and ignition team quickly become too much to deal with turn after turn.
Granted those all rely heavily on having alesha out and attacking constantly, as well a consistent way to get things into the graveyard. I think maybe going a more heavy reanimator style with brutal efficiency creatures as opposed to raw bulk ala sidisi might be the way to go. Recurring nightmare also seems like an autoinclude here.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
We do have a sweeper - Fire Covenant. I don't believe Sudden Demise is strong enough as an X spell since we don't generate a lot of mana (don't need to make a lot of mana).
I don't rely on Alesha as much as using her to pressure my control opponent. If you're playing against big XG decks that may be the problem as I didn't build for that. That said the threat of decks like Jenara and Anafenza are real, and even Animar too. So back to the drawing board it seems.
I disagree with playing Moons in this deck because we're three colour with many tight mana costs.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
1 alesha, who smiles at death
38 land
1 chrome mox
1 mox diamoond
1 entomb
1 faithless looting
1 gamble
1 tortured existence
1 diabolic intent
1 demonic tutor
1 night's whisper
1 enlightened tutor
1 duress
1 inquisition of kozilek
1 thoughtseize
1 castigate
1 swords to plowshares
1 path to exile
1 terminate
1 boros charm
1 fire covenent
1 utter end
1 orim's thunder
1 lightning bolt
1 firestorm
1 wear/tear
1 wrecking ball
1 umezawa's jitte
1 mask of memories
1 skullclamp
1 tybalt the fiend-blooded
1 lilliana of the veil
1 oversold cemetary
1 recurring nightmare
1 contamination
1 dark confidant
1 imperial recruiter
1 mirran crusader
1 tidehollow sculler
1 mesmeric fiend
1 braids, cabal minion
1 avalanche riders
1 fiend hunter
1 vampire hexmage
1 stoneforge mystic
1 bone shredder
1 mindclaw shaman
1 disciple of bolas
1 dauthi mindripper
1 archetype of finality
1 falkenrath marauders
1 flesh carver
1 blind zealot
1 carrion feeder
1 silverblade paladin
1 pack rat
1 hokori, dust drinker
1 mother of runes
1 glory
1 thought gorger
cards I wanted to include but can't find the space for:
withered wretch
raving dead
herald of leshrac
savage firecat
arcbound overseer
break through the line
anger
master warcraft
phyrexian revoker
I think this list adds a bit more midrange ability to the deck, with creatures that are still effective past turn 6 or so. While it lacks some of the land disruption of the original, it adds quite a bit more removal and recursion, as well as a sunforger package that not only makes your creatures able to compete later on (via the +4/+0) but enables you to tutor key removal or protection for free. The downside is that it's still very heavily dependent on getting alesha out and attacking with her as much as possible. It's also worth noting that with both chrome mox and mox diamond it's possible to get a turn 2 win with a god hand.
The more I think about it the more I think this is the correct way to go. Do it like sidisi where you have as many creatures combined with spells as you can. ETB the battlefield and triggers on combat damage are key. You want the creatures you bring back to either do their thing regardless or force your opponent into tough decisions.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Maligus
Molten Sentry
Mortivore
Serra Avatar
Sewer Nemesis
Adamaro, First to Desire
Kagemaro, First to Suffer
I know they aren't exactly cheap, but still can be cast later in game and also returned with Alesha right into play.
Most */* creatures don't count because their P/T is still calculated while in the graveyard. For example, if your opponent is at 20 life, Malignus is a 10/10 while in the 'yard.
Oh.. Didn't know that. So I need to kick out few cards out of my deck.
And what about cards such as Clockwork Dragon? And other 0/0 which comes with counters into play?
Are some of them useful?
Logic behind the idea: Three colour and aggro doesn't work; you're too slow and come off midrange, but Mardu is not a midrange wedge. By going two colour we can still be fast and be the aggro deck, while making use of Alesha's ability to help maintain pressure.
Discuss?
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
EDIT: I also feel like grenzo, dungeon warden really needs to be in this deck.
It's all based on how the P/T is determined.
If a creature is 0/0 and ETBs with counters (like Clockwork Dragon), then the creature is a 0/0 in the graveyard. Another case is Nighthowler which is a 0/0 in any zone except the battlefield because of its ability.
Sewer Nemesis is a */* creature, but it's a 0/0 creature in the graveyard due to the first line of rules text. However, Mortivore's P/T is a static value that can always be calculated.