Now that we have the full set spoiled, I feel like I have a good idea of what I want to do with this deck now. I know Mardu Allies looks very strong, but I wanted to try to make my own version of BFZ Allies - 4-colour BRGW Allies!
This deck basically contains all of the better Ally cards in the Mardu colours, but with a splash of green for the incredible mana dork Beastcaller Savant, as well as some removal cards and other spells.
Remember to upvote if you like the deck, and don't forget to leave any feedback you have, however small it is!
Chasm Guide
- A 4 drop with 3 power and haste is perfectly fine for this deck, and his rally ability makes a great combo with March from the Tomb plus just generally adding value to other allies entering the battlefield meaning they can swing in on the turn they come out.
Munda, Ambush Leader
- This guy is a perfectly reasonable turn 4 (or even turn 3) play, being a 3/4 haste that also lets you filter your draws slightly. The downside is that it's legendary, but I still feel that having 2 copies won't be a bad idea.
Drana, Liberator of Malakir - She's a pure value creature, able to be dropped turn 3 for a turn 4 swing with multiple other creatures to buff them, and the flying is great evasion to ensure her ability always triggers.
Drana's Emissary - This might not seem like much of a powerful card, but with multiple of these out at once, that's 1-2 life being lost each turn just by its upkeep ability, then being a flier with 2 power helps to deal extra damage.
Firemantle Mage
- Giving your team evasion helps them be able to be constantly attacking without fear of getting killed, and this card is perfectly suitable for the job, being a 3 mana 2/3 that also grants its ability on entry like every other rally ally.
Kalastria Healer - A decent turn 2 play that provides value the longer it stays on the battlefield. It's also easy to knock the opponent down quite a bit from their starting life total with only playing a few extra allies.
Expedition Envoy
- An Ally version of
Savannah Lions
. Mostly just used as a solid turn one play and as a cheap late game rally activation.
March from the Tomb - This is a late-game powerhouse, being able to return (most likely) 3 creatures just when your opponent thinks they've dealt with them. Also, it triggers rally if you still have any creatures left on the battlefield from the previous turn.
Crackling Doom
- This card can straight-up wipe any huge eldrazi that happens to appear off of the board, leaving the smaller (and easier to deal with) creatures behind, and shocks the opponent as well, just to put icing on the cake.
Kolaghan's Command - Provides the deck with a bit more versatility and consistently 2-for-1s, meaning it's always going to be a value play. Even at its worst, it's just going to shock my opponent and make them discard on their end step, but at its best, it's killing a creature and getting a Drana, Liberator of Malakir back ready for me to use next turn.
Dromoka's Command - It's such a versatile card, being able to prevent sided-in Radiant Flames from being a mass boardwipe against my deck as well as function as a mini combat trick with the +1/+1 counters mode. It's also a removal spell if I have bigger stuff than them, and can also destroy the odd enchantment that pops up occasionally.
Atarka's Command
- Again, like Dromoka's Command, all of the modes are pretty good. It can close the gap late game if I can no longer attack efficiently by bolting the opponent for 3, as well as acting as a buff spell/combat trick, and can also be used to help mana ramp early on. The anti-lifegain mode seems weak, and it is, but if the Felidar Sovereign lifegain deck becomes a thing, this can help to stop it.
Murderous Cut
- With all the fetches I'm playing, it seems like a waste to just let the lands sit there in the yard, so that's why I'm playing this as a 1-of, mostly because the more delve you have, the weaker you are to eldrazi decks, and they appear to naturally be this deck's weak point once they ramp out, so I'd rather not give them more of an advantage. Anyway, it's normally a B or 1B 'destroy target creature' effect, and at that low of a cost, it's hard to turn away.
2x March from the Tomb - For when I come across any wrath-heavy control decks (which are what make up most control decks in the new Standard format) as a way to consistently get my threats back from the yard, and if they end up tapping out to play a huge bomb like Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger or an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, I can just play March from the Tomb to go wide and get in (possibly) the final points of damage needed for lethal. Included one in main because it's still pretty decent if you topdeck it lategame vs midrange or maybe even aggro because it gives you so much gas to finish the game quickly.
3x
Lantern Scout
- For the aggro matchups, this helps me to put pressure on the opponent to kill the Scout before they kill me, which may save me from a burn spell, and the Scout itself slows down my clock by gaining me back the life lost to my opponent's endless attacks while allowing me to stay on the offensive as there's no need to hold back creatures for blocking if I'm levelling out my life total with every swing.
2x
Aligned Hedron Network
- For the Eldrazi matchup. Obviously it doesn't kill their little guys like
Forerunner of Slaughter
or Herald of Kozilek but it'll kill the big guys like Sire of Stagnation and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger while my other removal can kill the little guys.
My sideboard, and, to a lesser extent the mainboard, is still a WIP so if you have any suggestions or if any sideboard cards work well in playtesting matchups, please let me know and I'll consider adding them to the sideboard.
Thanks for checking my deck out!
