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the vamp decks ive been playing are absolute killers...whereas the ally decks i've faced were very underwhelming....definitely go with vamps!

Ah. Goin out soon to buy...

Same, Vampires are definitely better.

Well, I recently read that Vamps would dominate the metagame, but I played against my friend's RG ally deck w/ my W weenie, and I got wrecked, so I just wanted other opinions. Thanks!

True. I guess it comes down to how you like to play.

Do you like faster paced games that use steadily more powerful creatures and lifegain/parasite abilities to not only win but dominate your opponents or do you prefer slower games but with creatures that feed off the strength of others, becoming stronger with each turn making your opponent sweat as they slowly begin to realize you can't be stopped?

If you're the former, go with Vampires.

The later Allies.

Have fun.

Also, I know it what I typed was a little... dramatic... it's how I write. :P

Ya, but it's fun to read.

Thanks. Nice to know someone enjoys my writing. I've written a few articles for the forum and no one has commented even once. I know I might be expecting a little much from people, but I'd still like to be told whether or not my ideas are interesting.

It's a little annoying.

But enough of that little tirad... umm... yeah go with Vampires.

By comment, do you mean like post right after your article? It may be a little late, but I will comment on future articles. It would be fun to discuss articles...

Sorry fo the double post, but I find your articles intriguing. Quite frankly, I want more. :)

Well thank you. That would be nice. I'm sure you'll like my next article. I hope to powt it in a few hours... or maybe late tomorrow depending how events pan out.

white has a LOT of black hate cards like Devout Lightcaster, Celestial Purge and then the tons of cards that are good allround removal like oblivion ring, journey to nowhere, day of judgement, path to exile and...

That said I would currently obt for Allies the reason being that allies right now are VERY cheap and vampires are not. Playing a white/blue T2 ally deck can easily win from a mono black vampire deck if you know how to build it right. All this is ofcourse with casual games in mind. Neither deck stands a chance versus Jund.

May I ask why you believe Jund is superior?

Seth, you should read Lelouch's article on Jund...

[QUOTE=Seth]allies right now are VERY cheap and vampires are not.[/QUOTE]

how are vampires not cheap? the decks are stacked with great 1-2cc commons and 2-3cc uncommons.

rarely do you see decks that manage to be as effective as they do when stuck at one or two lands for the first 5-6 turns.

Vampire Nocturnus is a very expensive crap rare seling at 20$ per card. That's mainly what makes vampires expensive. Sorin and Bloodghast are expensive too but they at least are good cards that you might still be using when you are done playing vampires.

Allies on the other hand all cost less then 1$ and day of judgement or wrath of god if you don't care about T2 is a good long term investment at half the price of Nocturnus.


And what did I miss about Jund, 90% of the tourney scene is jund. It's nearly unbeatable at the moment?

[QUOTE=Seth]Vampire Nocturnus is a very expensive crap rare seling at 20$ per card. [/QUOTE]

in that case....don't use it?

one card does not a deck make.

I guess the question then becomes, what is stronger, a budget Ally deck or a budget vampire deck. Sounds like fun to test this out.
As a block deck vampires probably are the strongest deck.

Here's an idea.

Those who think Allies are better on a budget, construct a deck and post it here.

Those who favor Vampires build a budget deck and post it here as well.

Your max budget 35 dollars. The one who creates the best deck in my opinion and who has the lowest total cost will win. Lands are not included.

You have 3 days.

does it have to be Type 2 or don't you care about that? (in case you don't know what T2 is, it means only cards from Shards block, M10 and Zendikar)

http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=39291

here's a quick example for about 18$, all zendikar except 3 copies of one M10 common.

my main opponent plays an equivalent deck and it's been dominating our circle even against some pretty stacked decks. it's very mana cheap, takes control very early and wins before most deck even get started.

Let's make it Type 2 only.

Here is a Red-Black vampire list that I think might work well

Seth's Budget Vampires

This deck should beat the one Seras posted :) And I wish I could put that to the test :)

Trusty Machette is excellent on Vampire Nighthawk and Child of Night for lifegain and on Vampire Hexmage as a first striker. It's cheaper then Blade of the Bloodchief and it's effective immediatly after equipping.

I made an ally list as well but it's still at home. It runs burn and Pyroclasm as cheap replacement for day of judgement. Within a 35$ budget sticking to T2 the guys are probably right, not much is going to beat vampires and if you are just starting out vampires will be far easier to play then some sort of aggro-control attempt of an ally deck. Also remember that a lot depends on how you play your deck. So learn to play it by playing a deck over and over before giving up on it.

Seth how much does your vampire deck cost?

[QUOTE=Lelouch32]Seth how much does your vampire deck cost?[/QUOTE]

Depends on the shop you use doesn't it :). That said there's only one rare in the deck and that's Vein drinker which nobody plays and so it's very cheap (which doesn't mean it's bad, it's pretty good as far as cheap cards go).

Vampire Nighthawks are expensive for an uncommon at the moment, they might go at 2$ but you could always buy a set on ebay. The Savage Lands and Akoum Refuge will cost 1 to 2$ each as well. The rest should be cheap enough (0.25$-0.5$ a card).

I use cardkingdom.com but it's by no means the cheapest. Just see what you can get. Lots of the cards will be good in many decks like the lightning bolts or the dual lands, you'll be using these over and over.

LOL weren't you supposed to make an ally deck? the challenge originated from your claims that an ally deck would be better and cheaper than a vampire one.

[QUOTE=Seras]LOL weren't you supposed to make an ally deck? the challenge originated from your claims that an ally deck would be better and cheaper than a vampire one.[/QUOTE]

wel you got me there :)

The thing is there's a part of me that just loves a challenge and that wants to play the rogue deck, the deck nobody else plays. I think you can do nifty stuff with allies and Sea Gate Loremaster gives solid carddraw which is high on my list of important stuff in a deck. That said I would play a full set day of judgement and a set Path to exile and without it it's hard to recover from fast aggro decks. For the unexperienced player who just wants a solid deck and can't affort to play a different deck every day I can only agree with you guys. Vamps are the way to go. Reasonably cheap, fast and cool.

Alright, just trying to get a total so I can do the judging in a few days.

[QUOTE=Lelouch32]Alright, just trying to get a total so I can do the judging in a few days.[/QUOTE]

umm i bought a deck from a friend and it only has 2 captian of the watches pne evenangel i paid ten bucks for it:p

I think I dove in on this a little late, but Vampires is slowly cutting Nocturnus from their lists.

Example Ally decklist: http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=57926

Example Vampire decklist: http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=57929


Yes, these are supposed to be tournament lists, no I don't have anything updated for Rise.

Both have different powers and different characteristics. So it is totally depends on you what is the right choice for you. If you choose Vamp, it is like monster and the power is same as name. If you choose Ally, it is quite cool but strong enough. So final decision will be yours.