This card is a three piece tutour, yes of course you play it. No, you don't have an "I win" from it, but you have a lot of avenues of set up you can take with it. Some of my preferred piles are Avalanche Riders/Thalia/Goblin Settler or Anathemancer/Legionnaire/Hauler, or if I just want value, then Recruiter1/Recruiter2/SFM......
It's really versatile. And imo wrong if you're not playing it.
In 20 life, you don't need Master. It's only a combo piece on an empty board, dead otherwise. There's more than enough reach to just get there normally.
Karmic is just another big durdly five drop. Rather than rez the 2/2 to get to another, just go right to the source - pick up Siege-Gang, Pia & Kiran, Angel of Invention, Fledgling Dragon, Priest of the Blood Rite specifically. Karmic's body is never relevant, and you never pay the echo anyway. it's a relic from multiplayer battlecruiser play that somehow still makes it's way in here in some lists. That's not to say Karmic isn't a good card, but it's not here. Save it for the Karador decks.
As for bringing back a Reveillark. What are you doing that you need another Llark trigger? One is enough, isn't it? That's a VERY swingy effect, and if you're losing or finding yourself needing more after getting one, that may be a sign you're getting back the wrong targets or not playing the optimal threats. The deck plays best, and always responds best, when playing a resource denial grindy game, slowly syphoning off their resources and whittling away at their smaller threats and life total with cheap burn and efficient removals. Llark into K-Guide? Nah - I'd rather get back a Goblin Settler and an Avalanche Riders. Or Imperial Recruiter of the Guard! All day.
I agree with your point that you shouldn't be needing to recur a Reveillark every turn, because if you do, you're doing something wrong. However, I've had games where having Karmic Guide in my deck makes it so I can just Buried Alive for Reveillark and have fun with it that way. Without guide, you can't reliably recur Reveillark if you find a way to cheat it into your yard.
Do you have an up to date version of your list? And have you tried it on MTGO at all? 30 Life is VERY different from 20 :|
There's been a lot of times where Karmic just sits in my hand turn-after-turn like "Gee, I wish I had something that actually did something to the board..."
If you absolutely need to rebuy a Llark, Volrath's Stronghold is pretty powerful............
This was my last DC list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/aleshrick-alesha-maverick/
Built for 20 life, I had no fear of Zurgo and similar aggressive decks - this is because as a Zurgo player, I respect the mountain and make deck building allowances to not die to said mountain.
And then my Sliver Bidding version: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/alesha-sliver-bidding/
Currently designed for multiplayer play but can reasonably accommodate itself for 1v1 play with a few standard adaptations.
Someone pointed on the lack of wincons, this seems to be a real point.
The deck is very active. We kill creatures, lands, sacrifice, draw, exil etc... but we miss a kill.
Often you just get stuck face to a 2/4 creature you can't handle. Impossible for us to attack.
This is true. I've never put a lot into hard kills, knowing instead I can just kinda...get there with inevitability. Recently though O've been playing around with Angel of Invention and Fledgling Dragon to reasonable success. Vault of the Archangel is pretty good with tokens I hear too...
And how does dragon and angel work? Good / bad? Also, playing at 20 or 30 life?
Dragon is pretty OK at giving us a beefy threat in the air plus mana sink. Angel is versatile, a lifelink fattie or it's own board as well as an anthem effect. I'm a fan.
I know someone mentioned how this deck can hit problems when you can't swing in with Alesha because she'll just die in combat even though she has first strike. I would like to suggest a few solutions to that problem.
Even if the turn seems slow, in that all you do with that turn is reanimate Karmic Guide, which gives you Iroas, honestly that's fine. That enables you to swing with impunity until Iroas is removed in some way. There are also those times, where it doesn't happen often, but Iroas is also a creature so he can start swinging in himself, which is a huge bonus.
The other suggestion is Archetype of Finality. Nothing but Indestructible creatures can kill something with First Strike AND Deathtouch. The obvious downside to this is that Archetype swings in with Alesha if you get it into play from her trigger. However killing 2 of your opponent's creatures every turn might not be horrible if they are playing a more midrange style of deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks: UBG Lantern Control GBU BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I explain the concept behind it in the link. I still need to make room for Claim // Fame, and maaayyybbeeee a Nether Void has a role here. But overall I'm pretty happy with the project.
Think I saw like ten nonlands. Hella flood, saw Lyzolda and Throne do some killer work though. Looped Anathemancer through Lyzolda and Alesha, oh and Bob had both swords at one point. Even with Bob and Arena on board at the same time, I drew a lot of lands, or Expedition Map for lands.
Kinda sad I just named ten randomly but between the eight above, plus the Lightning Bolt and Whip of Erebos I saw, that's precisely how many nonlands I drew. Altogether there was 24 creatures from the draw, plus a lot of token creators and reanimation. I definitely feel I had a good cast OF bodies, just unlucky in my draws.
Got to use Unearth and Recruiter of the Guard a lot, and even finished off a player with Ghitu Slinger. I flipped Liliana, Heretical Healer off my own echo trigger, that was cool. The sheer number of potential interactions from a pool this large and varied is incredible. Knowing you have cards from Beta through Hour of Devastation and everything in-between makes for a sweet environment. Literally "anything is possible".
Its like blazing specter but better. And specter was played. I suggest we rune more 5c lands so that we can play spells that are out of mardu color pie
Don't need to. Either they will feed us lands, or we will just eat away their hand anyway. It's win-win, casting the spell is just bonus. That said, there's value in eating their mana leak and throwing it back at them...not that I'd expect to get that off.
You know, that's a good call on Hushwing tbh. A majority of our triggers are on-damage or straight activated abilities. However of note, and they're some of the bigger ones, Hushwing would shut off;
Avalanche Riders/Goblin Settler
Stoneforge Mystic
Imperial Recruiter/Recruiter of the Guard
There's a couple of others, but those are the most significant ones. Now, I think we might survive, but it depends on what we're shutting down - of note, it shuts down half of Titania but not the other half, and versus control it hits their Snapcaster. I'm not sure it hits enough relevant stuff from them, to justify turning off some of our most powerful interactions.
Congrats on the clutch game, that sounds like it'd have been a blast to watch! You stone-walled a Marit Lage lolololol. And then won. Incredible. Now I kinda want to add Olivia Voldaren to my deck haha. I had forgotten how much of a beating she was in the late game.
New c17s? Yea, the 1/3 menace guy already went in (haven't updated here but it's in the cube for sure lol), as well as Teferi's Protection! Path of Ancestry is another, I like to scry when I cast my commander and then occasional extra scries.
I have only mystic, avalanceh and recruiter of the guard from those you mention But it is a good point, its probably worth testing. Olivia was good but it was just lucky. She is quite mana intensive but for now she stays in.
Path of ancestry seems good but I dont realy get teferi protection
Worst case it blanks their sweeper (how many sweeps do the average DC deck play?) Best case they're doing a pestermite combo and you buy a turn. I guess Angel's Grace does the same (which I do play). You can break the symmetry of a Geddon/Clysm by responding to it with Protection, so that exists a certain non-zero percent of the time.
I kinda want to test Moriok Replica some. I have him among the 252 in the Alesha cube, and I remember a night where I just looped him, flip Liliana, and recruiter over and over. It was quite the beating. You just...don't really ever want to hardcast Replica. Instant Night's Whisper is pretty decent though.
You deffo have less ETB than I have, and hey I get it. Who tf buys a Goblin Settler lol? Freakin' $60 [usually] worse Avalanche Riders because they can't self-sac. Solely redundancy there. You should get Imp. Recruiter though, can't overstate enough how useful it is to have both Recruiters. So so so good.
Do you play Blazing Specter with the Hypnotic? I miss him. Tbh, I like the Spectres more than the Sculler/Fiend/Maggot creatures.
Awwww. I'm so happy my primer has been so helpful to you! I've *only* built 8 or 9 different iterations of this deck over the years (including two tribal versions, slivers which I adore, and birds which is dorky but fun...probably not competitive in the truest sense I think).
Anyway, I've gotta go finish the rest of my shift, but I just wanted to say Thraben Inspector is actually pretty strong. It's a body, can crew looter scooter, draws later, and you're not sad to bring it back really. It's not as good as that 2 drop vampire with "draw a card and lose a life" whose name escapes me right now, but it's a fine roleplayer.
So I had the chance to resolve Mausoleum Secrets. It feels kind of like a Tainted Pact in that it's a bit more limited what it can grab but isn't as restrictive to build for. But it's also less useful to a creature lite deck, and you shouldn't count on fetching high cost (say like a Living Death) things so often but rather cmc 2-3 is most common. All in all, a deck like Doran/Anafenza (or Alesha) should be playing it as it shines most in a midrange creature deck.
This card is a three piece tutour, yes of course you play it. No, you don't have an "I win" from it, but you have a lot of avenues of set up you can take with it. Some of my preferred piles are Avalanche Riders/Thalia/Goblin Settler or Anathemancer/Legionnaire/Hauler, or if I just want value, then Recruiter1/Recruiter2/SFM......
It's really versatile. And imo wrong if you're not playing it.
There's been a lot of times where Karmic just sits in my hand turn-after-turn like "Gee, I wish I had something that actually did something to the board..."
If you absolutely need to rebuy a Llark, Volrath's Stronghold is pretty powerful............
This was my last DC list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/aleshrick-alesha-maverick/
Built for 20 life, I had no fear of Zurgo and similar aggressive decks - this is because as a Zurgo player, I respect the mountain and make deck building allowances to not die to said mountain.
And then my Sliver Bidding version: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/alesha-sliver-bidding/
Currently designed for multiplayer play but can reasonably accommodate itself for 1v1 play with a few standard adaptations.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
This is true. I've never put a lot into hard kills, knowing instead I can just kinda...get there with inevitability. Recently though O've been playing around with Angel of Invention and Fledgling Dragon to reasonable success. Vault of the Archangel is pretty good with tokens I hear too...
Siege-Gang Commander still exists I guess. and then Pia & Kiran (and Pia too). Sorin, Lord of Innistrad if we're all in on the token strat.
Anthem of Rakdos is a five drop, but I can't imagine needing more than two combat steps under this...
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Dragon is pretty OK at giving us a beefy threat in the air plus mana sink. Angel is versatile, a lifelink fattie or it's own board as well as an anthem effect. I'm a fan.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
The first suggestion is one that I use, and another reason why I use Karmic Guide: Iroas, God of Victory
Even if the turn seems slow, in that all you do with that turn is reanimate Karmic Guide, which gives you Iroas, honestly that's fine. That enables you to swing with impunity until Iroas is removed in some way. There are also those times, where it doesn't happen often, but Iroas is also a creature so he can start swinging in himself, which is a huge bonus.
The other suggestion is Archetype of Finality. Nothing but Indestructible creatures can kill something with First Strike AND Deathtouch. The obvious downside to this is that Archetype swings in with Alesha if you get it into play from her trigger. However killing 2 of your opponent's creatures every turn might not be horrible if they are playing a more midrange style of deck.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I explain the concept behind it in the link. I still need to make room for Claim // Fame, and maaayyybbeeee a Nether Void has a role here. But overall I'm pretty happy with the project.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Think I saw like ten nonlands. Hella flood, saw Lyzolda and Throne do some killer work though. Looped Anathemancer through Lyzolda and Alesha, oh and Bob had both swords at one point. Even with Bob and Arena on board at the same time, I drew a lot of lands, or Expedition Map for lands.
Kinda sad I just named ten randomly but between the eight above, plus the Lightning Bolt and Whip of Erebos I saw, that's precisely how many nonlands I drew. Altogether there was 24 creatures from the draw, plus a lot of token creators and reanimation. I definitely feel I had a good cast OF bodies, just unlucky in my draws.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Got to use Unearth and Recruiter of the Guard a lot, and even finished off a player with Ghitu Slinger. I flipped Liliana, Heretical Healer off my own echo trigger, that was cool. The sheer number of potential interactions from a pool this large and varied is incredible. Knowing you have cards from Beta through Hour of Devastation and everything in-between makes for a sweet environment. Literally "anything is possible".
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Awwww.
Alesha, meet your new BFF.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Don't need to. Either they will feed us lands, or we will just eat away their hand anyway. It's win-win, casting the spell is just bonus. That said, there's value in eating their mana leak and throwing it back at them...not that I'd expect to get that off.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
It's a custom design done by Revelen's Light.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Avalanche Riders/Goblin Settler
Stoneforge Mystic
Imperial Recruiter/Recruiter of the Guard
There's a couple of others, but those are the most significant ones. Now, I think we might survive, but it depends on what we're shutting down - of note, it shuts down half of Titania but not the other half, and versus control it hits their Snapcaster. I'm not sure it hits enough relevant stuff from them, to justify turning off some of our most powerful interactions.
Congrats on the clutch game, that sounds like it'd have been a blast to watch! You stone-walled a Marit Lage lolololol. And then won. Incredible. Now I kinda want to add Olivia Voldaren to my deck haha. I had forgotten how much of a beating she was in the late game.
New c17s? Yea, the 1/3 menace guy already went in (haven't updated here but it's in the cube for sure lol), as well as Teferi's Protection! Path of Ancestry is another, I like to scry when I cast my commander and then occasional extra scries.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Worst case it blanks their sweeper (how many sweeps do the average DC deck play?) Best case they're doing a pestermite combo and you buy a turn. I guess Angel's Grace does the same (which I do play). You can break the symmetry of a Geddon/Clysm by responding to it with Protection, so that exists a certain non-zero percent of the time.
I kinda want to test Moriok Replica some. I have him among the 252 in the Alesha cube, and I remember a night where I just looped him, flip Liliana, and recruiter over and over. It was quite the beating. You just...don't really ever want to hardcast Replica. Instant Night's Whisper is pretty decent though.
You deffo have less ETB than I have, and hey I get it. Who tf buys a Goblin Settler lol? Freakin' $60 [usually] worse Avalanche Riders because they can't self-sac. Solely redundancy there. You should get Imp. Recruiter though, can't overstate enough how useful it is to have both Recruiters. So so so good.
Do you play Blazing Specter with the Hypnotic? I miss him. Tbh, I like the Spectres more than the Sculler/Fiend/Maggot creatures.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Anyway, I've gotta go finish the rest of my shift, but I just wanted to say Thraben Inspector is actually pretty strong. It's a body, can crew looter scooter, draws later, and you're not sad to bring it back really. It's not as good as that 2 drop vampire with "draw a card and lose a life" whose name escapes me right now, but it's a fine roleplayer.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.