Hi !!

I think -1 Zulaport Cutthroat -1 Kor Bladewhirl and +2 Resolute Blademaster is better. Do you think if Butcher of the Horde have ability life link and Double Strike??

Actually tim27 I have discovered that I needed more 2 drops, so taking out those two cards wouldn't be beneficial.

Double Strike would be nice but I've tested Resolute Blademaster and his power and toughness doesn't justify his ability. At that stage of the game I need bombs.

Resolute Blademaster not come to make damage but it's come for gain ability to Butcher of the Horde

Thanks for the constructive feedback on my deck Junk-yard Allycrats, I was curious what your build was and here it is! Loving the Mardu hasty Allies although the curve seems a bit high, are you sure full playsets of Citadel Siege & Mardu Ascendancy are needed? Perhaps you can shave 1 off each for a pair of Kalastria Healer for more incremental lifegain/lower curve.

Also, given you have both Butcher of the Horde + Chasm Guide , why not play Rally the Ancestors instead of March from the Tomb in the SB for X=4 for instant combo kill backup plan?

Yeah I get why you suggested Resolute Blademaster, tim27.

I'm always loathe to put cards in my deck that rely on each other to be effective.

To put Resolute Blademaster in I have to take things out that I find are better value eg. Butcher of the Horde with automatic Haste due to Chasm Guide is much better than one with Double Strike ... MAYBE on its second turn.

If I have my choice of a 3/2 for 4CMC or a 2/2 for 5CMC I know I'll take the Chasm Guide every time.

Don't forget that I'm getting First Strike from Kor Bladewhirl. That plus Haste is an awesome combo. If I had Ondu Champion for the Trample things would be different, but I can't stick another large card into the mix just to make one combo work.

I did do a lot of initial testing with Resolute Blademaster. In fact, he is the reason I went Mardu. He just wasn't that effective.

howaboutno you have stumbled onto my deck at a time when I am trying to find the final tweak.

I had the choice to put Kalastria Healer in but went for Expedition Envoy. My earlier build had a lot of life gain, but then I realized that it wasn't helping me win. The 2/1 for 1CMC seems to be a lot more effective than a 1/2 for 2, even with the life gain.

Don't forget that I have Zulaport Cutthroat who gives and takes life as a punishment for wiping my board. I can also give Butcher of the Horde Lifelink in the late game, if need be.

A lot of copies of Tainted Remedy are starting to float around my local meta. Mostly because of ... me! lol

Having automatic Lifegain is problematic, as a result.

I do take your point about curve though, and will remove another Mardu Ascendancy for one more Expedition Envoy.

The four copies of Citadel Siege will stay as their dual mode has saved my bacon against Eldrazi decks.

You make the best case I've heard so far for Rally the Ancestors. I will try subbing those in instead of March from the Tomb in my Sideboard and see what I like better.

March from the Tomb allows me to keep building on Rally, which can be useful. For example, think about Chasm Guide + Drana, Liberator of Malakir + Expedition Envoy coming back and sticking around.

Thank you so much for the help.

Putting Tainted Remedy in was brilliant, I may just do that. A lot of these lifegain abilities aren't "may" abilities.

I'm curious... why four Citadel Siege?

Citadel Siege is a brilliant card for me for many reasons, ComradeJim270.

It gets some of my main hitters instantly out of Languish range - notably Butcher of the Horde and Drana, Liberator of Malakir.

It helps me to win races with my mirror.

OPPONENT: Play Drana, Liberator of Malakir
ME: Play Drana, Liberator of Malakir and give her two +1/+1 counters

Most importantly, though, is its versatility. I can choose its Dragon mode and stop big Eldrazi from hitting me. Or just keeping buffing up my Creatures. When it and Drana, Liberator of Malakir are out ... Oof!!

I like it. I'm not sure I'd want to run it as a four-of here, but I see the value. The main problem is that you're using turn four on it, which isn't very good as far as tempo is concerned. It feels more like a sideboard card to me, to bring in during the matches you mentioned; that's where the tempo loss can be very much worth it.

Blanking Languish and tapping down finishers is exceedingly unpleasant for control. But an aggro player would much rather see this than a Butcher of the Horde punching them in the face and ticking up your life total to put them on a slower clock.

Yeah ComradeJim270, I understand what you're saying.

My Allies can actually out-aggro decks with their First Strike and Menace.

They lack punch in the late game, which is where Citadel Siege comes in.

I'm feel like I may be missing something in the 2 or 3 CMC mark to make this deck really sing. Sword of the Animist used to fill that role. Any ideas?

It's interesting to play this deck.

The top of its curve is 4CMC. You do get a lot of things that you can play for that, but they are all equally good.

Of course you can just start throwing them on to the field once you have the mana.

Abzan Falconer would be hilarious with all the counters, but that feels a little too cute to me. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death does very funny things with Drana and can bring back any early-game allies who have died (or been sacrificed) for another rally trigger. Those are the first two that come to mind in that range. Some of the two and three drop allies are good too. Kalastria Healer and Drana's Emissary can put a lot of pressure on an opponent. The healer may be too durdly for this list though.

I've actually tested with all those cards.

I had some nice interactions going on in the early game with them, but ran out of steam in the mid to late game.

I feel like it's something non-creature that is lacking. I may shove Sword of the Animist back in to see how it goes.