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U/W Ally deck. After looking through the catalog of Ally creatures, White/Blue seemed to be the coolest combo and provided the most opportunity for temporary removal/reentry into the battlefield causing multiple triggers of allies' abilities. Mimic Vat and Ghostway are self-explanatory. Win conditions (in order of likelihood): 1. Life Gain scoop 2. Beatdown via Kazandu Blademaster/Hada Freeblade/Serra Ascendant 3. Milling via Halimar Excavator and Ghostway/Turn to Mist This deck is just for fun/casual play. Semi-competitive.
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I'd appreciate any comments. This is a casual deck, so I'd rather not spend MUCH more money on it. If you've got some card suggestions that cost no more than maybe $1 a card, I'd be open to those suggestions. I know Mimic Vat would work really well in this deck, but I've already gone over-budget on this deck so I'm trying to limit it. Maybe sometime down the road if I enjoy playing this deck.
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Just FYI, I spent the budget for this deck on Venser x2...
I really like the direction of this deck. Sorry I don't have any suggestions on how to make it better, but just wanted to say that I like the direction an wanted to give you a like.
Hey, thanks man. I really think that W/U really lends itself better to Allies than Red or Green because of all the unsummon and proliferate spells at Blue's disposal. That, and Venser is awesome for Allies to activate all the "When ally enters battlefield" triggers. I also just like Grand Arbiter Agustin just cause he's awesome and any excuse to squeeze him into a Blue/White deck is great.
What about the other blue allies like seagate loremaster and saescape aerialist? And no counterspells in a blue deck?!
Yeah, I looked at the other blue ally creatures, but I feel like their CMC is too high to justify their inclusion. I want more allies on the battlefield at a faster rate to exploit their triggers. I feel like I was even pushing it with Umara Raptor, but I felt like the Flying was a big enough benefit to the extra mana cost. And yeah, about Counterspell...I don't know how to fit in into the deck's structure. Any suggestions?
Maybe take out the grand arbiter and inexorable tide for the counterspells? I think there's a counterspell with proliferate attached to it too. I forget the name though...
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Sorry for double post - Or maybe counterspell isn't the way to go. Maybe tap into some of blue's other benefits like card draw? Preordain maybe?
Preordain would be cool, but again, where do I fit it in without compromising the deck's primary purpose? I'm pretty happy with the creature to spell ratio that I have right now. I worry that if I take out any more creatures and put in more spells that I will have a bunch of spells in my hand with no creatures on the battlefield to use them on. I originally started this deck with more temporary removal spells like Turn to Mist, Vanish Into Memory, and Aethermage's Touch, but decided that the latter two cost too much to cast for what they do, and Turn to Mist I cut in favor of Momentary Blink and Mark of Eviction.
What do you guys think about Gwafa Hazid? It would help to get my attackers through the opponent's defenses, plus it's just a wicked cool card and dripping with flavor.
I think that Augustin is a much better choice than gwafa because his abilities are passive and affect all of your spells and all of the opponent's spells. Definitely go with Augustin.
I'm thinking about adding in some Elixirs of Immortality. Mill as well as creature removal seems like a pretty big weakness for this deck, so a couple copies of Elixir may help combat against that.
Alright, decided to take this deck in a bit of a different direction. I'm going all-in on the life-gain. Took out Venser and Augustin and put in Felidar Sovereign and Talus Paladin. I really think this helps to focus the deck a bit more.
And holy crap...GHOSTWAY!! How did I miss this card?! That's the trump card for this deck!
A nice creature (though probaly a litte expensive mana wise) for bouncing creatures is the blue white witch from Shadowmoor (I think it's called Mistmeadow Witch). Also I'm surprised that you don't have Rite of Replication in the deck, it's awesome in any ally deck (especially when kicked) :p
Yeah, at first I thought Rite of Replication was just too expensive mana-wise for what it does. But the more I look at it, the more I realize it's a must in this deck. I added in 2x Rite of Replication. I also added in 4x Counterspell to try to combat spot removal of my beaters where a Turn To Mist or Ghostway won't help because they would just lose their +1/+1 counters. I took out Momentary Blink because those will not work as a removal counter.
I think that if you blink all of your Allies (Ghostway) all their abilities will trigger for each one coming in seeing that they all come back simultaneously (except for any token creature Allies, they don't exist anymore when blinked). Same reason you can Mill for insane amounts by playing a kicked Rite of Replication targeting Halimar Excavator.
Yeah, that's why Ghostway would be the trump card. Question: Would my Kazandu Blademaster/Umara Raptor/Talus Paladin get all of their +1/+1 counters back as well? They would, right? Since essentially, every ally comes back into play simultaneously, they would get that many +1/+1 counters again. So I can't see any drawbacks t playing a Ghostway except that I'll lose my tokens, but by that time the tokens will have served their purpose.
A creature that gets blinked will loose all counters on it, all enchantments enchanting it go to the graveyard and all equipment attached to it unattach. Now if, for example, I have 5 allies out and one of them is Kazandu Blademaster and onther is Halimar Excavator and I play Ghostway, when they come back Blademaster will get 5 new +1/+1 counters and Excavator will mill for 5. Also remember that token creatures that are blinked will cease to exist.
Actually, Excavator will mill for 5, 5 times. so 25 cards.
Yep. Comes into play abilities are triggered abilities, which use the stack. If you had four Freeblades and one Excavator out and cast Ghostway, you would end up with four Freeblades with five counters on them and you would mill twenty-five cards off the opponent's library. The triggered ability would trigger once for each occurrence. FYI, you're totally correct that Ghostway is a trump. There was a dude who won a mid-size *Legacy* tournament last year with an Allies Ghostway deck. (The deck died to some of Legacy's super-speedy combo decks, but it beat Goblins and Merfolk. The funniest bit was seeing him play an instant-speed Ghostway in response to an ANT opponent, who had used Mystical Tutor to put Tendrils of Agony on the top of his library and then tried to use Sensei's Divining Top to draw the Tendrils -- in response to the Top, the Allies guy milled fifteen cards of ANT's library, including the Tendrils of Agony. The ANT player drew some random junk card and forfeited. It was priceless.)
I might suggest some Distortion Strikes if you get the Kazandu blademasters big enough. Perhaps check out my deck guys? i really need some help http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=154382
After some playtests this past weekend, Distortion Strike will be a great addition. Thanks! I've also replaced Talus Paladin with Kabira Evangel. I was gaining plenty of life with the Ondu Clerics. The Talus was overkill, plus it's casting cost is pretty steep. I think Kabira will provide a greater benefit when it hits the field for an all-out attack. That in concert with the Distortion Strikes will be formidable, I think. This deck went 5-0 with this deck this past weekend, winning each game handily. I got up to 147 life in one game after casting a Ghostway with 5 copies of Ondu Cleric on the field. Gained 40 life on that turn alone lol. It was awesome.
For cheap awesomeness, include four Kor Skyfisher. Bounce an ally like Ondu Cleric, and replay them to regain the comes-into-play benefits -- and get a 2/3 flier to boot. Another cheap-ish card you could probably find for $1 or so is the junk rare Cloud Cover. It lets you bounce your critters if they're targeted by an opponent's spell, which allows you to completely evade creature burn/destruction *and* replay your allies. Granted, bouncing and replaying a Freeblade means losing its counters -- Cloud Cover is not a super-perfect fix-all solution. You'd only want one in the deck, but it would be awesome fun when it's in play.
I think that those are great suggestions. I like Kor Skyfisher over Umara Raptor since Hada and Kazandu will be my main beaters. I mainly added Umara Raptor because I was concerned with having the ability to block flyers, not necessarily to attack with a flyer because I've got Kabira Evangel and Distortion Strike to make my walkers unblockable. I also like Cloud Cover mostly because it gives you the OPTION to return the permanent to your hand. And yes, returning Kazandu or Hada to my hand would remove all counters, but so would having them killed by removal. That's what Ghostway is for, anyway. Instant max. counters. I like it. I'll have to find a way to fit it in!
I have an ally deck too! Its on the upcoming hits page, called All Together Now. I would indeed appreciate any comments and suggestions.
consider adding a few ajani goldmanes, vigelence til end of turn and a perminent 1/1 counter works well with allies
I really think Venser the Sojourner would be a much better suited planeswalker for this deck than Ajani Goldmane. But...I don't want to spend $30 on two cards. I hardly ever get to play planeswalkers anyways, even when I do have them in a deck.
I suggest running 3x or 4x Kabira Evangel. The protection is really a huge win con, running more not only increases your odds of drawing protection, but being able to trigger against multiple colors in one turn. Also, Mimic Vat is sick in any ally deck, and even more so with Jwari Shapeshifter. You can cast it vanilla as a 0/0, causing it to die immediately and imprint onto Mimic Vat without needing to find a way to get it destroyed.
You know what, I agree. Rite of Replication is tough to pull off without Harabaz Druid and Im reluctant to splash Green. I like the format of this deck, and I generally don't like playing 3-color decks. -1 Rite of Repliction +1 Kabira Evangel
Remember to slow-roll your Join the Ranks -- hold 'em up so you can use them at instant speed to trigger Evangel in response to your opponent's removal spells. If your opponent targets a creature and that creature gains protection from the color of the spell due to Join the Ranks resolving and triggering Evangel, the spell will be countered because its target is no longer legal. (You may already know this, but I'm mentioning it to help anyone who wasn't aware of it.)
I liked Rite of Replication in there too, btw. Just as a late game one-of bomb. Since you're not running standard anyways, you might like Followed Footsteps better. Instead of a one time dose of creature tokens, it gives you a token copy every upkeep. I would have rather taken out a Distortion Strike for Evangel. Pro-color is like unblockable in most cases but far more useful. I'd suggest -1 Distortion Strike for +1 Rite of Replication or Followed Footsteps (or Join the Ranks would arguably be even better), and -1 Ondu Cleric and/or Turn to Mist for +1 or +2 Mimic Vats.
That's pretty much exactly how I run it. Instead of Ghostway and Turn to Mist, though, I run Rite of Replication and Soul Foundry. Your looks pretty solid though, I like it.
Soul Foundry would be a neat alternative to Ghostway, but the two wouldn't work well together. I like the weird instant-speed hijinks of Ghostway, it can actually protect versus removal. (Whereas if someone blows up the foundry, you lose both the foundry and the imprinted card in a 2-for-1.)
Agreed, but the Foundry is standard-legal. But I do like Ghostway in this deck. Massive amounts of counters and life-gain all round!
I am surprised that Distortion Strike is useful enough to making a full playset worthwhile. I'd run three-of plus a Changeling Hero instead, or maybe a Mirror Entity. (Aw who am I kidding; I'd run a Cloud Cover.) Mirror Entity would be super-hilarious, because the "make all your allies X/X" activated ability would complement your critters' +1/+1 counters nicely...
It's not that I'll need all 4 of them, I just want to give myself the highest percentage chance to draw it.
the counterspell with proliferate cost 2UU and is called fuel for the cause
It's an expensive counterspell for only 8 permanents with counters on them, especially when Freeblade and Blademaster have no problems getting counters on their own. A straight Mana Leak would be better.
endless horizons to remove your plains so you can draw creatures. my friend uses it for kithkins and his ascensions. also thrumming bird would be cool it has proliferate. kor skyfisher is late game and slows you down. add a howling mine, it speeds up mill and with cheap creatures they come out quicker. temple bells also work and they are usually $1. also how does ghostway work since they all come in at the same time? Would it be like join the ranks, they come in as 2 allies and not trigger sepately or what?
the bird ally over kor skyfisher
I had Umara Raptor in the deck, but then decided to go with Kor Skyfisher. I like the effect of putting one of the cheap allies like Ondu Cleric or Halimar Excavator back into my hand and immediately recasting it mid-game to pump my beaters. I also like having the opportunity to return Jwari Shapeshifter to my hand and recast it targeting a different ally once, say, I have plenty of life and no longer need a 4th Ondu Cleric and I'd rather have another beater.
turn to mist on the cleric while excavator is out sounds better
thought of something funny. they play DOJ and in response you play ghostway
Precisely. ;) DOJ is probably one of this deck's biggest threats. Ghostway is in there to counter DOJ, and if not DOJ drops, it's a great finisher for the Halimar Excavator. It's also an an auto max. counter generator for Kazandu Blademaster and Hada Freeblade. For example, say you have 4 Allies out but no beaters yet. You finally draw one on turn 5, but when you cast him he's only got one measly counter on him. Play a Ghostway, and he'll return to play with as many counters as you had Allies in play before the Ghostway. Insta buff! Ghostway is extremely versatile, and perfect for an Ally deck. The only reason I have 3x is because most online singles dealers are generally sold-out of Ghostway and I could only get 3 last time I ordered.
There's a cheeky trick to that, actually. The obvious combo is to cast Ghostaway, and follow up with your own board wipe (Day of Judgment). But then you're looking at 7 mana to pull that off. If you only have 4 or so mana, you can cast Ghostaway at the end of the opponent's turn which directly precedes yours. Your creatures will exile, but will not return to the battlefield until the next end of turn (yours) which then allows you to untap your lands, and cast DoJ to wipe the board, keeping all of your creatures safe.
How do you all feel about adding Serra Ascendant in place of Kor Skyfisher? In my playtests this past weekend, I was well over 30 life by turn 3 in every game. Could be a heavy hitter along with Hada and Kazandu...
Fantastic idea. The deck looks much better, which is saying something considering it was solid to begin with :P
Sweet, I'm glad it's a good idea because I just ordered 2x Serra Ascendant online, along with 2x Mimic Vat. :D I'm excited to playtest this new and improved version of the deck. My buddies are going to hate it, much like they hate my Liquimetal land destruction deck. :)
I used to run the more milly side of this deck and it was funny because it was one of those decks your opponent almost beats and then you pull the win right out of your a$$. YAY Ondu Cleric.
This is a fantastic deck, imo! I particularly enjoy Ghostway; seems like you'd basically get to re-do all the benefits of summoning the allies again. Same with Mimic Vat; very solid.
Hey, thanks man. Best part is that it's not insanely expensive. It costs right around $50.
What do you guys think of Neurok Stealthsuit or Alexi's Cloak in place of Distortion Strike? Any opinions on that?
I really like the Neurok Stealthsuit because of its ability to be equipped as an instant, and it's reuseable.
Personally I'd prefer the cloud cover. You can change stealthsuit as an instant, but if the enemy has already put their spells on the stack the spell will still resolve. Cloudcover gives you a choice of getting allies back to your hand, making you able to get the drop-effect again.
Yes, but returning a Kazandu or Hada to my hand causes me to lose all the +1/+1 counters on them, rather than blocking the spell and having them stay on the field.
In that case, I would go for Whispersilk cloak. It will still give the attached unit shroud, but also make it unblockable.
Deck link: http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=169180 CHECK OUT MY CONSPIRACY ALLY DECK!
Why is everyone playing this deck? It is annoying and drags games out and seems not to be able to finish them. Plus I have an infinite fireball combo that has stopped everyone from playing this deck againt me. Plz check out my l8est casual deck it is callled shenanigans. http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=168960