Alesha, Combo Cackler

Commander / EDH Casual Combo RBW (Mardu) Reanimator

VanderW

Land (35)

• 1x Badlands
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Dakmor Salvage
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Inspiring Vantage
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 5x Plains
• 1x Rugged Prairie
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Graveyard-fill (6)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Stinkweed Imp
• 1x Stitcher's Supplier
• 1x Tortured Existence
• 1x Undercity Informer

Sac-Outlet (5)

• 1x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1x Disciple of Griselbrand
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Lyzolda, the Blood Witch
• 1x Viscera Seer

Ramp (11)

• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Removal (8)

• 1x Big Game Hunter
• 1x Crypt Rats
• 1x Fiend Hunter
• 1x Fulminator Mage
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Magus of the Disk
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Siege-Gang Commander

Tutor (8)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

Draw (5)

• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

Commander (1)

Toolbox (9)

• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Dire Fleet Daredevil
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Judith, the Scourge Diva
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Treasonous Ogre
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage
• 1x Wall of Blood

Enhancement (6)

• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Grafted Exoskeleton
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Reconnaissance
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Recursion (6)

• 1x Crypt Champion
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow

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Maybeboard

Toolbox (10)

• 1x Anathemancer
• 1x Drannith Magistrate
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
• 1x Mogis's Marauder
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Teysa, Orzhov Scion
• 1x Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
• 1x Village Bell-Ringer
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Sac-Outlet (2)

• 1x Falkenrath Torturer
• 1x Phyrexian Altar

Tutor (2)

• 1x Dimir House Guard
• 1x Entomb

Removal (9)

• 1x Agent of Erebos
• 1x Ashling the Pilgrim
• 1x Avalanche Riders
• 1x Duplicant
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Necrotic Sliver
• 1x Ravenous Chupacabra
• 1x Sin Collector
• 1x War Priest of Thune

Ramp (3)

• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Springleaf Drum

Land (1)

• 1x Rogue's Passage

Recursion (4)

• 1x Lurrus of the Dream-Den
• 1x Order of Whiteclay
• 1x Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
• 1x Vesperlark

Enhancement (3)

• 1x General's Enforcer
• 1x Nighthowler
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel

Graveyard-fill (3)

• 1x Cathartic Reunion
• 1x Golgari Thug
• 1x Key to the City

Draw (1)

• 1x Pain Seer

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Alesha!

Aggro deck turned into combo deck.

Disclaimer: I mostly play in a casual playgroup, in which we house-ruled that infinite combos won't be played, since we found that these most often lead to easy wins and suck the fun out of playing for us. If we ever get around to building cEDH decks, that will be a different story, and in that case players will delight in genius and efficient combos. However, then there will be a clear and level playing field and the completely in-theme tribal decks and other wacky creations won't fall to the wayside. Also, I don't think this version of Alesha would cut it in a competitive environment: It's probably still too inconsistent, too light on the disruption needed for such a table and the ramp and tutor package should get tighter and more cost-efficient.

It was particularly difficult to build combo around Alesha without getting possible infinite combos. It turns out there are a couple. I will be listing those for anyone who wants to know and I might use them if I play with other people also using infinite combos.

With the disclaimer out of the way, the core of the deck still retains pieces from the aggro deck it used to be: which used to be built around cards like Cathars' Crusade . The deck mostly dealt damage through attacks and was centered around more tokenmakers, which took some time to build up. Until the deck could finish people off, it looked for repeated value and answers from the graveyard.

Now, the deck has been rebuilt for combos. It looks for early chip damage, while it will still use Alesha's ability for an attrition style of playing. Goblin Bombardment can still grind out wins by recurring and saccing token-makers. Some late game combat tricks are still there: Nighthowler can become or turn something else into an (unblockable) threat with the help of other enhancers.

However, most cards I used in a previous version (such as: Raving Dead , Urbis Protector and Custodi Soulbinders ) made the deck top-heavy and I found that I wanted to keep the deck lean enough for early setups and using Dark Confidant and Pain Seer to draw cards and dig/tutor for combo wins, instead of having just a Mardu version of my deck:aluren-for-roon deck in terms of endgame. (In case anyone is wondering: the deck has never included Master of Cruelties since I just find the card to be too easy and un-fun.)

The combos included in the deck involve the following:

Non-infinite Finishers

These are harder to execute and get right then the infinite combos, hence more fun for me. Also, the combos in the list of possible infinites below would fit here when used with a sacrifice outlet that requires mana to activate.

• Vizkopa Guildmage + Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• Vizkopa Guildmage + Wall of Blood + Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim / Disciple of Griselbrand
• Vizkopa Guildmage + Children of Korlis + any of the life loss the deck offers, including, but not limited to: Wall of Blood , Crypt Rats and Treasonous Ogre . It helps to have a higher life total than the other players, but activiting Vizkopa Guildmage 's second ability twice goes a long way.
• Grafted Exoskeleton + Judith, the Scourge Diva (if you can loop saccing creatures) / Lyzolda, the Blood Witch (with enough red creatures). In a last-ditch effort this could also work with Crypt Rats , but keep in mind this also damages you, so you need to have fewer poison counters than the other players.

Possible 'infinite' combos

Most of what is described down here works with free sacrifice outlets. For now I have only three, more or less on purpose, because going infinite is not really my intention: Goblin Bombardment , Viscera Seer and Altar of Dementia .
If you want to make the combos below easier I would suggest adding the following cards: Ashnod's Altar , Phyrexian Altar and Yahenni, Undying Partisan (the last two mentioned here I don't even own). If you wish the sacrifice outlets that need mana could also be swapped: Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim or Disciple of Griselbrand .

1. Crypt Champion + Fiend Hunter + a free sacrifice outlet. This interaction is kind of tricky, so an explanation might be in order. Let Crypt Champion enter the battlefield with Fiend Hunter in the graveyard. Both triggered abilities of the Champion will be put on the stack and you can choose in which order: putting the sacrifice ability on the stack first and then the recursion ability, which will then resolve first. With the recursion ability bring back Fiend Hunter causing its ability to be put on the stack on top of Champion's sac trigger targetting the Champion. With Fiend Hunter having exiled the Champion the sac trigger of Champion will fizzle. Then sacrifice the Hunter to keep doing this. The free sac outlet involved will decide what happens:
   • Altar of Dementia will let you sacrifice Fiend Hunter for infinite mill.
   • Goblin Bombardment will let you sacrifice Fiend Hunter for infinite damage.
   • If you wish to include these the Altars will net you infinite mana sacrificing the Hunter.
   • Viscera Seer will let you sac the Hunter for infinite scrying.
   
   
2. Karmic Guide + Fiend Hunter + a free sacrifice outlet: is basically an easier version of the Champion combo above, since you don't have to worry about the sacrifice timing of the Champion.


3. The following cards have been included in the deck for their stand-alone value, but these happen to be two of the best combo cards white has to offer: Reveillark + Karmic Guide + a free sacrifice outlet. There are plenty of sites explaining the combo to unfamiliar players, so I won't rehash that. Viscera Seer will let you scry through your entire deck with just that card out. With a fourth creature like the following and keeping the Seer on the battlefield can do the following:
   • Gray Merchant of Asphodel : infinite life drain.
   • Recruiter of the Guard / Imperial Recruiter : 'infinite' tutors.
   • Pawn of Ulamog : 'infinite' spawn tokens and thus infinite colourless mana.
   • Dockside Extortionist with at least one player having an artifact or enchantment: infinite treasures.
   • The following combo has been cut for cheaper ramp in one of the Talismans, but you can easily put it back in. Solemn Simulacrum : all the lands and cards you need (don't draw yourself out).


4. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is (in)famous for its potential in going infinite. In this deck it works with Karmic Guide / Reveillark + a free sacrifice outlet.
   • Karmic Guide : If you copy the Guide with Kiki-Jiki and hold priority you can sac Kiki in response to the Guide token entering the battlefield. Once the Guide token does: return Kiki-Jiki to the battlefield and repeat. As mentioned above, the different sacrifice outlets give different results, but with any of them you'll end up with an arbitrary large amount of hasty 2/2 flying tokens.
   • Reveillark : copy Reveillark with Kiki, then sac Kiki and with Kiki in the grave sacrifice the Reveillark token bringing back Kiki and another 2 power creature in the graveyard to the battlefield.

Value

• Stinkweed Imp + Tortured Existence .
• Pain Seer + Reconnaissance .
• Fiend Hunter / Leonin Relic-Warder + any sacrifice outlet = permanent exile, since you can sacrifice either with the exile trigger on the stack.
• Basilisk Collar / Crypt Rats will help remove the board and gain a decent amount of life in order to stay ahead.
• Crypt Rats + Sword of Light and Shadow / Sword of Feast and Famine : the rats will survive their own ability.
• Basilisk Collar + Lyzolda, the Blood Witch / Judith, the Scourge Diva = targeted removal for creatures bigger than 2 toughness (and incidental lifegain).
• Grenzo, Dungeon Warden + Treasonous Ogre + Children of Korlis . (This combo has been removed from the deck when I took out Grenzo, but it's cute enough for me to keep in the list if someone wants to try it.)

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 31 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.48
Tokens	Copy Clone, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Emblem Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, Goblin 1/1 R, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B