while i agree white has some of the best the deck there is a totally beast. Though I have considered building it. The curve on Hada Freeblade, Kazandu Blademaster, Kabira Evangel,and Talus Paladin. Thats twenty right there. adding typical white removal and maybe a global pump or something would easily make a decent WW ally deck. There is also the option of splashing green for their aggro allies.
Unfortunately I've grown bored with aggro decks for the moment. So I'm working on various combo decks across the board actually. I was going to work with hedron crab in extended however JVL and someone on mana-something beat me to it.
This one is slowly looking to become either more solidly U/G unless I decide to add in mind funeral in the slot of Smother.
Ok. I didn't even think about how your land was going poof until after I killed the drum. Seemed just a wacky thing particularly since you need 2 mana to cast most of your starter creatures. I hope to illustrate some of our better games next time I post an article. Usually our games are much closer and more interesting.
I totally agree with Join the Ranks and Jwar Shapeshifter was a house when I played against it with Bingo but it wasn't as much of a house as it could have been. I too have been building various allies in an attempt to make them more than unfair. The problem I run into is they quickly get annoying to my opponents in casual which makes testing them well hard. Particularly since no one plays twc in tourney practice.
Diabolist is a great finisher, and a good target for combo (Rite of Replication for example) but costs enough to make it a pain to carry 4. Same can be said for Murasa Pyromancer. Pyromancer can sweep your opponent's board clean eventually but it so damned expensive. So red only gets 1-2 good allies (Warlord which pays for its high cost by being insanely good, and the little 2 coster which pumps things on the offensive.) Tuktuk is horrible and the scrapper is situational. So red is mainly a support color at best. And black has few good allies. Bala Ged is really not that good. Discard CAN be a tempo beating but at 4 cost you wont be hitting good cards early. If you are lucky you get their second rate filler stuff and not land. Late game it acts as a kind of lame win more finisher (if you cast it with a bunch of allies out chances are you have won already.)
Blue has a flier, a draw cards engine, and a shapeshifter. All solid but not amazing. Green gets the curve. turn 2 turn 3 turn 4 turn 5 drops all solid if not amazing individually they add up to must wrath numbers quickly. White is where Allies truly shine. Talas Paladin is fairly awesome, Evangel kills over time and incidentally with the aid of Join the Ranks gives instant speed protection from 2 colors and you can get out a quick stomp with turn 1 Hada Freeblade turn 2 Blademaster ... White imho is the core color for Allies until Rise comes out to complete the picture. I like Blue White splash black or green white splash black/blue.
ok well first thing blau....look back at my game reports, it was tribal classic. It just happens to be a block deck at the moment. Though I did pick up 3 Jwari shapeshifters yesterday and was going to replace the bala ged thieves with them but you're right the raptors and the survivalists are probably the weakest allies in the deck. I have thought off and on about using aa white splash for join the ranks instead of black...It's just a tough decision for me since I like the secondary win con of Hagra Diabolist + Rite of Replication.
It's all debatable Shard. I currentlly have four different builds for Allies. I have a green/blue one simmilar to what you are suggesting. It tends to fall flat in block simply because the blue support cards are not there. If you moved it into tribal classic, I think it would get much better because you can get decent control spells, counterspell should be convincing enough. However, Hagra Diabolist is a house if you can get him into play. Realistically speaking, the only good black ally is Bala Ged Thief. If you want a more powerful deck, I've found dropping black and adding white is much more useful. In block it runs counter to your fetch lands, but in classic that isn't an issue. I say add white because of one card, Join the Ranks. 2 allies at instant speed can crush an opponent. As for running shapeshifter, I was shocked to see it NOT in your decklist. This is a MUST RUN card in allies. Cut the raptor for it. You'll thank me later. :-)
P.s. there were two ally decks that I saw this weekend. I wish I had brought mine. I might have actually won a game. lol
Good Info for newer players who have not had any experience with M10.
You also forgot to add in the almighty Armored Ascension. Now thats a bomb. I won tons of drafts on that card alone. Devastates the opponent especially when both players are in top deck mode.
I want to argue against the Masters Edition stuff. I really do. I don't think they should include post-Mirage cards, but the more I think about it, I can't come up with a good reason why not. There are over 1000 cards that still aren't online - enough for 3 more sets - and only about 20 of those cards are money rares. I like the nostalgia of Frankenstein's Monster or Crumble, but the money rares sell the sets. *IF* Masters Edition sets are the only way they are going to release these old cards, they'll have to reprint some of the chase cards to make the sets worthwhile. Probably these reprints should be classic/legacy/vintage cards to help the supply as new players come on board. But I don't know, a few more Null Rods wouldn't hurt. Anyway, I really think Masters Edition sets should only be pre-Mirage, I just can't put into words why. I'm sure DangerLinto will come along and give a really good reason as to why that I will agree with.
Personally, I think there should be one more ME set with all the chase rares we need, Power 9 at mythic, and selections from the leftover cards to make a balanced limited environment. Then they should promo out all the leftover cards at the lower tiers for the next like 40 years or however long it would take, ending with Aisling Leprechaun as your free St. Patrick's Day Promo on March 17, 2050.
I disagree that MED drafts aren't skillful. Just because there aren't obvious synergies between cards in the pack doesn't mean that draft isn't skillful.
Top 2 reasons not to reprint cards we already have in MED4:
2. Why should anyone play Urza block drafts if we know the cards will just come out in the next MED?
Well, if they're continuing to support Legacy at the pro level ( isn't it a format @ worlds? and a GP every year now?) then it really does make sense to have Legacy online.
I'm really not all that excited over it. I think Legacy is fun, and I've played in some high ranking Legacy tournaments, but I thought Classic was an interesting format that now, never gets to live up to its full potential (there is no Classic in paper, and even the closest thing to it Vintage, never gets any *real* high level officially supported play). If Legacy came about after the release of Prophecy, then I think we may all be feeling a little differently about it.
You bring up an excellent point. I hadn't really thought about the artwork and implications of that card yet, but it totally does fit here. I'll be sure to mention that when I get to it.
Depends on how you've acquired them. I have put no money into Modo in the last year but I have nearly doubled my collection through gifts, drafts, trades, and articles. That said Id expect to be moxless if they came online, as they would undoubtably shoot past my ability to trade for/purchase through tickets immediately. Tis what happened with the duals in ME3 and Baneslayers, and Jaces. Not very disappointing mind you. Just a reality. The super expensive cards in any set are definitely a barrier to play and really are about the pocket. On the other hand if I didn't care about enjoying my collection I could probably turn it into the better cards during a low point and sell off again at a high and repeat this until I had both the good cards and a playable collection.
Along the lines of cards that are politically incorrect, like Jihad and Army of Allah: I would like to suggest Invoke Prejudice as well. Not only the name, but certainly the artwork.
I was thinking of trying to make a decklist for a hybrid Scapeshift/Tooth and Nail decklist a few days ago. I'm not sure if you would want to fit that into here, but since Valakut requires 7 mana, Tooth and Nail is only 2 mana more and can also win immediately. You'd probably go for something like Pestermite/Kiki with maybe another 2 creature plan. One other creature you may want to test out is Avenger of Zendikar. I know in Standard Valakut that guy can actually be really good, at least out of the sideboard.
Yeah, I wasn't too happy about that either. I almost included boreal druid just for that, but the printing of Arbor elf means that he's pretty bad seeing as he basically just makes colorless...
But 90% of games are won through Kamahl, who IS a human, so that's something, right?
just joking around not everything has to be taken so serious lol we're all talking about a game, games are meant to be fun, sometimes I think people forget that
while i agree white has some of the best the deck there is a totally beast. Though I have considered building it. The curve on Hada Freeblade, Kazandu Blademaster, Kabira Evangel,and Talus Paladin. Thats twenty right there. adding typical white removal and maybe a global pump or something would easily make a decent WW ally deck. There is also the option of splashing green for their aggro allies.
Unfortunately I've grown bored with aggro decks for the moment. So I'm working on various combo decks across the board actually. I was going to work with hedron crab in extended however JVL and someone on mana-something beat me to it.
This one is slowly looking to become either more solidly U/G unless I decide to add in mind funeral in the slot of Smother.
Ok. I didn't even think about how your land was going poof until after I killed the drum. Seemed just a wacky thing particularly since you need 2 mana to cast most of your starter creatures. I hope to illustrate some of our better games next time I post an article. Usually our games are much closer and more interesting.
I totally agree with Join the Ranks and Jwar Shapeshifter was a house when I played against it with Bingo but it wasn't as much of a house as it could have been. I too have been building various allies in an attempt to make them more than unfair. The problem I run into is they quickly get annoying to my opponents in casual which makes testing them well hard. Particularly since no one plays twc in tourney practice.
Diabolist is a great finisher, and a good target for combo (Rite of Replication for example) but costs enough to make it a pain to carry 4. Same can be said for Murasa Pyromancer. Pyromancer can sweep your opponent's board clean eventually but it so damned expensive. So red only gets 1-2 good allies (Warlord which pays for its high cost by being insanely good, and the little 2 coster which pumps things on the offensive.) Tuktuk is horrible and the scrapper is situational. So red is mainly a support color at best. And black has few good allies. Bala Ged is really not that good. Discard CAN be a tempo beating but at 4 cost you wont be hitting good cards early. If you are lucky you get their second rate filler stuff and not land. Late game it acts as a kind of lame win more finisher (if you cast it with a bunch of allies out chances are you have won already.)
Blue has a flier, a draw cards engine, and a shapeshifter. All solid but not amazing. Green gets the curve. turn 2 turn 3 turn 4 turn 5 drops all solid if not amazing individually they add up to must wrath numbers quickly. White is where Allies truly shine. Talas Paladin is fairly awesome, Evangel kills over time and incidentally with the aid of Join the Ranks gives instant speed protection from 2 colors and you can get out a quick stomp with turn 1 Hada Freeblade turn 2 Blademaster ... White imho is the core color for Allies until Rise comes out to complete the picture. I like Blue White splash black or green white splash black/blue.
When you said you wanted to mention our games didn't you know you meant those 2
But i will answer your question to the one land hand
It looked good on first look i had a few one drop critters in hand and extra card draw and the drum game me an extra land so to speak
a Gamble ..... yes that didn't pay off but no more land for 6 turns or so didn't help
ok well first thing blau....look back at my game reports, it was tribal classic. It just happens to be a block deck at the moment. Though I did pick up 3 Jwari shapeshifters yesterday and was going to replace the bala ged thieves with them but you're right the raptors and the survivalists are probably the weakest allies in the deck. I have thought off and on about using aa white splash for join the ranks instead of black...It's just a tough decision for me since I like the secondary win con of Hagra Diabolist + Rite of Replication.
It's all debatable Shard. I currentlly have four different builds for Allies. I have a green/blue one simmilar to what you are suggesting. It tends to fall flat in block simply because the blue support cards are not there. If you moved it into tribal classic, I think it would get much better because you can get decent control spells, counterspell should be convincing enough. However, Hagra Diabolist is a house if you can get him into play. Realistically speaking, the only good black ally is Bala Ged Thief. If you want a more powerful deck, I've found dropping black and adding white is much more useful. In block it runs counter to your fetch lands, but in classic that isn't an issue. I say add white because of one card, Join the Ranks. 2 allies at instant speed can crush an opponent. As for running shapeshifter, I was shocked to see it NOT in your decklist. This is a MUST RUN card in allies. Cut the raptor for it. You'll thank me later. :-)
P.s. there were two ally decks that I saw this weekend. I wish I had brought mine. I might have actually won a game. lol
Good Info for newer players who have not had any experience with M10.
You also forgot to add in the almighty Armored Ascension. Now thats a bomb. I won tons of drafts on that card alone. Devastates the opponent especially when both players are in top deck mode.
I want to argue against the Masters Edition stuff. I really do. I don't think they should include post-Mirage cards, but the more I think about it, I can't come up with a good reason why not. There are over 1000 cards that still aren't online - enough for 3 more sets - and only about 20 of those cards are money rares. I like the nostalgia of Frankenstein's Monster or Crumble, but the money rares sell the sets. *IF* Masters Edition sets are the only way they are going to release these old cards, they'll have to reprint some of the chase cards to make the sets worthwhile. Probably these reprints should be classic/legacy/vintage cards to help the supply as new players come on board. But I don't know, a few more Null Rods wouldn't hurt. Anyway, I really think Masters Edition sets should only be pre-Mirage, I just can't put into words why. I'm sure DangerLinto will come along and give a really good reason as to why that I will agree with.
Personally, I think there should be one more ME set with all the chase rares we need, Power 9 at mythic, and selections from the leftover cards to make a balanced limited environment. Then they should promo out all the leftover cards at the lower tiers for the next like 40 years or however long it would take, ending with Aisling Leprechaun as your free St. Patrick's Day Promo on March 17, 2050.
MED, and MED2 were lame draft enviroments, but they put thought into MED3
I disagree that MED drafts aren't skillful. Just because there aren't obvious synergies between cards in the pack doesn't mean that draft isn't skillful.
Top 2 reasons not to reprint cards we already have in MED4:
2. Why should anyone play Urza block drafts if we know the cards will just come out in the next MED?
1. We ALREADY have the cards! We want NEW cards!
Well, if they're continuing to support Legacy at the pro level ( isn't it a format @ worlds? and a GP every year now?) then it really does make sense to have Legacy online.
I'm really not all that excited over it. I think Legacy is fun, and I've played in some high ranking Legacy tournaments, but I thought Classic was an interesting format that now, never gets to live up to its full potential (there is no Classic in paper, and even the closest thing to it Vintage, never gets any *real* high level officially supported play). If Legacy came about after the release of Prophecy, then I think we may all be feeling a little differently about it.
Want to know a great way to not have to spend 40 bucks for an underground sea? DON'T PLAY MTG!!!! lool
Buying cards straight-up isn't an accomplishment, but trading towards a goal is.
I swapped the Sphinx Sovereign and one of the mana producers for 3x Enlisted Wurm. The Wurm has some synergy with Mycoid Shepherd.
You bring up an excellent point. I hadn't really thought about the artwork and implications of that card yet, but it totally does fit here. I'll be sure to mention that when I get to it.
Depends on how you've acquired them. I have put no money into Modo in the last year but I have nearly doubled my collection through gifts, drafts, trades, and articles. That said Id expect to be moxless if they came online, as they would undoubtably shoot past my ability to trade for/purchase through tickets immediately. Tis what happened with the duals in ME3 and Baneslayers, and Jaces. Not very disappointing mind you. Just a reality. The super expensive cards in any set are definitely a barrier to play and really are about the pocket. On the other hand if I didn't care about enjoying my collection I could probably turn it into the better cards during a low point and sell off again at a high and repeat this until I had both the good cards and a playable collection.
It's on. Got the email Friday. I'm guessing they didn't feel the need to hype it.
Along the lines of cards that are politically incorrect, like Jihad and Army of Allah: I would like to suggest Invoke Prejudice as well. Not only the name, but certainly the artwork.
I was thinking of trying to make a decklist for a hybrid Scapeshift/Tooth and Nail decklist a few days ago. I'm not sure if you would want to fit that into here, but since Valakut requires 7 mana, Tooth and Nail is only 2 mana more and can also win immediately. You'd probably go for something like Pestermite/Kiki with maybe another 2 creature plan. One other creature you may want to test out is Avenger of Zendikar. I know in Standard Valakut that guy can actually be really good, at least out of the sideboard.
Beta's got auto sent to anyone who Beta tested for WWK
Yeah, I wasn't too happy about that either. I almost included boreal druid just for that, but the printing of Arbor elf means that he's pretty bad seeing as he basically just makes colorless...
But 90% of games are won through Kamahl, who IS a human, so that's something, right?
thanks that is more what I'm trying to convey, just better worded lol
just joking around not everything has to be taken so serious lol we're all talking about a game, games are meant to be fun, sometimes I think people forget that
I agree. No need to eliminate the top cards in a color just because they happen to gather usually in top decks.
Really...no need to criticize someone's typos. I mean he did spell it right elsewhere so it was just a mistake.