One-hundred and forty-one matches from Jan 7, 2016 to November 9, 2017
I've stopped keeping track since then (it's more fun without the pressure), but still have it in the rotation because it's my favorite deck to play. It still hovers around 50% at our competitive Thursday night modern.
This deck was featured on the [Channel Fireball Modern Monday]([https://strategy.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/mtg/channelmagic-articles/modern-monday-4-color-allies/)] video on April 4, 2017.
Coco-vial modern allies for competitive play. Currently has a match record of 69-68-4 in twenty-six of RTP's Thursday Night Modern tournaments, a GPT, an SCG IQ, SCG States, seven RTP Modern Ladder matches, and two RTP contender series (including a top 8 out of 60).
• Aether Vial, Collected Company, and Harabaz Druid get the allies in play fast, help rebuild quickly, allow for combat tricks as instants (the first two), and make using only 19 lands doable (the first and third).
• Akoum Battlesinger (+ Jwari Shapeshifter copying it) make them huge.
• Kabira Evangel gets them around (non-colorless) defenders and keeps them alive on defense in conjunction with Aether Vial or Collected Company.
• Ondu Cleric, either main-board or side-board depending on the meta (+ Jwari Shapeshifter copying it) puts you out of reach of aggro decks. And you've got white and green for good sideboard choices against the others.
The Flexspots are meta-dependent and get experimented with once in a while. Until recently the deck ran 2x Captain's Claws in place of the 2x Metallic Mimic I'm trying now. The original version also had 3x Oran-Rief Survivalist, 2x Mirror Entity, and some three card combination of Firemantle Mage, Natural State, Ondu Cleric, and Path to Exile. The one featured on CFB had 2x Beastcaller Savant in for what are now 2x Oran-Rief Survivalist. The current one seems the most reliable and makes room for Firemantle Mage out of the sideboard without sacrificing room for Ondu Cleric.
Some of card choices, like having used Captain's Claws for quite a while, are because of how they play well with everything else. A deck that focused on Hardened Scales instead of Aether Vial would probably make different choices in a number of places (like considering bounce cards like Eerie Interlude).
Tourney Results and Updates
Tourney Results and Updates
2-0 vs. untuned Goblins, 2-1 vs. Sultai Control (won on extra turn 5), 2-1 vs. Fish (won on extra turn 5), 0-2 vs. Twin.
Removed Lantern Scout for 4th Kabria Evangel in the main deck. In sideboard, replaced 2 Suppression Field with an additional Nature's Claim and Spellskite. Replaced the 2 Stony Silence with 2 Kataki, War's Wage.
3-1 vs. Junk
2-1 vs. Junk, 1-2 vs. Dega Pox, 1-2 vs. Eldrazi, 2-0 vs. Twin
0-3 vs. Jund with 3 main board Engineered Explosives
2-0 vs. Storm (finished 3-1), 2-0 vs. Zoo, 0-2 vs. Twin (finished 1st at 4-0), 2-0 vs. Affinity (finished 2-2)
Removed the two Hardened Scales for two Captain's Claws in the main deck, and replaced the Sacred Foundry with a second Temple Garden In sideboard, replaced 3 Nature's Claim with 3 Natural State.
2-0 vs. Merfolk (finished 3-1), 0-2 vs. Affinity (finished 1st at 3-0-1, same I beat least week 2-0), 2-0 vs. Jund (finished 1-3, had the Goyfs and Lilis), 2-0 vs. Infect (finished 2-2 for 6th as highest 2-2)
2-0 vs. Scapeshift (finished 0-4), 2-1 vs. Little Kid Red (finished 3-1 in 5th place), 0-2 vs. Burn (finished 4-0 in 1st place), 1-1-1 vs. Skred (finished 2-1-1 in 8th).
2-1 vs. Temur Ascendancy, 1-2 vs. Merfolk, 1-2 vs. Colorless Eldrazi, 2-0 vs. Mardu Team Italia.
2-1 vs. Infect (finished 4-2 at #17), 0-2 vs. Colorless Eldrazi (finished 4-0-2 in top 8; I mulled to five in game 1, and he had a perfect draw in game 2), 0-2 vs. Kiki Chord (finished 4-2 at #16; land flooded game 1, had a misplay in a long game 2 that might have done it), 1-2 vs. Merfolk (finished 4-2 at #15), 2-1 vs. Burn (finished 1-5 at #45), 0-2 vs. Infect (finished 3-3 at #20; I did better than .500 in the follow-up games).
Replaced 2 Rest in Peace with 2 Firemantle Mage.
2-0 vs. Anti-Eldrazi Junk (finished 8th at 2-2), 1-2 vs. Bant (finished #7 at 2-2, mulled to 5 in last game and drew three vials mid-game), 1-1-1 vs. UW Eldrazi (finished #5 at 2-1-1, third game basically started on turns after a long game two I lost), 0-2 vs. GW Turbo Fog (finished #13 at 1-3, insert swearing)
3-2 vs. Jund (Having been off playing Elves until some of the anti-Eldrazi side-board cards go away, I was really rusty for the first two games!)
Replaced 1 Spellskite and 2 Leyline of Sanctity with 1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast and 2 Pithing Needle.
2-0 vs. Young-Pyro Jeskai (finished 12th at 1-3), 2-0 vs. Grixis Delver (finished 8th at 2-2), 2-1 vs. Mono-Green Elves (finished 3rd at 3-1, exciting match), 0-2 vs. Jeskai Control with AV (finished 1st at 4-0, land flooded both games, was neat getting killed by my own ulta-jace-stolen Mirror Entity)
3-2 vs. Jund (Rematch from last week. One bad draw, one mediocre, one spectacular, and two good enough to win. He forgot he had his Kalitas subbed out for two other cards... might have shifted one of the games.)
1-2 vs. Elves (finished 8th at 2-2; the one I beat last time, and that one the GPT the previous weekend, won the first where we both had meh draws, land flooded the second, meh draw the third and he had a great one), 0-2 vs. Infect (finished 4th at 3-1), 2-0 vs. Jund (finished 7th at 2-2), 1-2 vs. Grixis Bad Stuff (finished 9th at 2-2, 1 damage short for taking the first game)
Out: 2x Firemantle Mage, 2x Kataki, War's Wage, 1x Natural State, 2x Pithing Needle
In: 2x Eerie Interlude, 1x Mark of Asylum, 1x Rest in Peace, 2x Stony Silence, 1x Worship
2-1 vs. Naya (finished 46th, drop; my meh draw vs. his great one in game 2, recovered from a mull 5 in game 3), 2-1 vs. GW Hatebears (finshed 12th at 4-2, land flood loss game 1), 2-0 vs. Naya (finished 20th at 3-3, he got flooded game 1, only 1 in game 2), 0-2 vs. Junk (4th place, 4-0-2 in swiss, too many land game 1, killed by Sigarda game 2), 1-2 vs. Scapeshift (2nd place, 4-1-1 in swiss, blew him out game 1, two misplays game two, and a mul-error game 3 didn't help, my worst two games of the day), 1-2 vs. Jund-Loam (finished 9th at 4-2).
2-0 vs. Affinity, 0-2 vs. Grishoalbrand (meh draw game 1, didn't get the fourth land in game 2), 0-2 vs. Affinity, 2-0 vs. Kiki-Chord.
1-2 vs. Jund (GP Prep; games 2 and three were tight, I could have used more land, and had a misplay on game 2), 2-1 vs. Scapeshift (GP Prep; he never got off the ground games 2 and 3), 1-2 vs. Affinity (GP Prep, Mirror Entity for the Win in game 1; games 2 and 3 he got sideboard cards I didn't), 1-2 vs. Whiteless Naya (didn't get him below 10 in games 1 or 3).
2-0 vs. 2-0 Kiki Jiki (2-2 for 10th of 16; I should have mulled game 1 but still pulled it out with 18+ points off coco the turn before he was going to combo), 0-2 vs. Jeskai Control (2-2 for 8th of 16; Game 1 was a meh draw. Game 2 had 14 lands and 3 vials in the fist 24 cards. Would have been another land before the first coco), 1-2 vs. Mardu Tokens (2-2 for 7th of 16, Torpor orb on turn 2, ouch!), 1-2 vs. Abzan Company (2-1-1 for 5th of 16, Seeing a sideboard card would have been nice).
2-0 vs. GW Knights (1-3 for 21st out of 24; he was trying out a new deck), 2-1 vs. Temur Traverse (2-2 for 14th of 24), 1-2 vs. Naya Burn (3-1 for 4th of 24, Swiftspeared me into the ground), 2-0 vs. Abzan Company (2-2 for 10th of 24, ok draws for me and he couldn't dig out the last of his combo pieces... turn 2 needle on seer didn't help his cause).
0-2 vs. Affinity (2-2 for 10th), 0-2 vs ?? (1-3 for 19th), 0-2 vs. Infect (3-1 for 4th), 2-0 vs. Naya (0-4 for 22nd).
2-0 vs. Thopter Foundry, 0-2 vs. RG Ponza (should have mulled in 1st, drew 3 coco in second!), 0-2 vs. Affinity, 0-2 vs. Abzan Coco.
0-2 vs. Bant Eldrazi (had three turns to draw for a win in the first game, blown out in second), 2-0 vs. Grixis Delver (first was close, his deck did him no favors in the second), 2-0 vs. Jeskai, 2-1 vs. Bug.
There had been three Path to Exile for quite a while in the "FlexSpots". Went to 1 Ondu Cleric, 1 Path to Exile, and 1 Path to Exile a while ago. Now gone to 2 Ondu Cleric and 1 Firemantle Mage.
I've stopped making comments on the sideboard.
2-1 vs. Naya Burn (1-4 for 11th), 1-2 vs. Grixis Delver (3-2 for 5th), 1-2 vs. Jeskai Control(3-0-2 and 2nd overall), 2-0 vs. Mardu Tokens (1-4 for 9th).
Took out the 2 Ondu Cleric and 1 Firemantle Mage, along with 1 Oran-Rief Survivalist and the 2 Mirror Entity to go with 2 Beastcaller Savant, 2 Expedition Envoy, and 2 Reckless Bushwhacker. Also took out 1 Temple Garden for 1 Sacred Foundry.
1-2 vs. Jund (2-2 for 8th), 2-1 vs. Affinity (3-2 2-2 for 9th), 2-0 vs. Tron (1-3 for 13th),and 2-0 vs. BUG Foundry (2-2 for 10th).
Took out the 2 Oran-Rief Survivalist and put in 2 Ondu Cleric, so that 2 Firemantle Mage could be in the sideboard - there was lots of Eldrazi, Tron, and Affinity around.
2-0 vs. Bogles (good draws and ran them off the table), 1-2 vs. Burn (Should have been 0-2, he misread a card in game 1, and got stuck at one land with Vial and a sideboard card in the other two), 0-2 vs. Cheerios (Holy expletive, four chalice in the side and mulling to get one might be the only hope here),and 1-2 vs. Valakut (ran him off the table in Game 1, and couldn't get it going in the other two).
2-0 vs. Zoo with Revolt (turn 3 kill in game 1, Allies is too fast for that deck), 0-2 vs. BUG Delver (two coco and no 4th land in the first one; he flipped three delvers early in the next; this feels like a find matchup in general), 2-1 vs. Skred Red (massive life gain in game one gave time to finish; stalled in game two and he came back from an 87-6 score!; blew him off the table in game 3 - he never saw the ensnaring bridges from the sideboard), and 0-2 vs Jund (couldn't get the coco mana in game 1, he got out a cage in game 2, still could have done it if that had been just about anything other than the second leyline draw towards the end).
In maindeck, put in two Wooded Foothills for a Forest and an Ally Encampment. In sideboard, took out two Mark of Asylum for a Leyline of Sanctity and a Relic of Prgenitus.
1-1 vs. Mardu Nahiri (4-1-1 for 9th; he won 2nd game as time expired - I had kept gaining life and he had kept drawing blockers); 2-1 vs. Jund (1-5-0 for 50th; I milled to 6 and had a horrible misplay to start game 1); 0-2 vs. Affinity (4-0-2 for 6th in swiss; game 1 was ok, he had a nut draw in game 2); 2-1 vs. Grixis Delver (for 52nd); 2-1 vs. Tron (2-4-0 for #33); 2-0 vs. Goryo's Vengeance (4-2 for 17th; Relic was great in game 2); 0-2 vs. Grixis Delver in 8 vs. 1 game (were both slow in game 1; had 8 lands out in a flood when I died in game 2).
0-2 vs. Affinity (4-0 for 1st; miss-mulled and mis-played in game 1, no chance in game 2), 1-0-1 vs. Soul Sisters (1-3 for 21st; He didn't get any locks down in game 1, game 2 went to time when he had two ghostly prisons), 1-2 vs. Tron (Turn 3 or 4 kill in game 1 for me; Tron on 4 with Ugin in game 2; Karn and Oblivion stone in game 3), and 2-0 vs Modern Expertise (he had really bad draws).
3-2 vs. Death's Shadow (The two games I mulled didn't go well. Leyline on turn one helped in one, and got the right cards off of co-co in two of them. This feels like an ok match-up for allies).
1-3 vs. Death's Shadow (Different player than last week. Still feels like a fairly even match-up. Need to work on the side-board if I know he's playing this).
2-1 vs. Green Stompy (lots of pumps and rancor, surprisingly fast), 2-0 vs. 120 card shirft (2-2 for 9th; The deck I played vs. a few challenges ago with a different player. All the luck went my way.), 0-2 vs. Storm (4-0 for 1st; Rest in Peace would be helpful, drew the Leyline in game 2, and should have held the mana for the Relic instead), and 2-1 vs Bant Eldrazi (2-2 for 8th; Tight games.).
1-3 vs. Esper Control (That's a lot of removal! I need to think about my side boarding more for a match like this. I had two Return to the Ranks in the Board and no Rest in Peace because I forgot to reset after a previous match, and only boarded in the Ranks in one of the games. If I had drawn one more land that game it might have made a difference and I might try that more).
In the maindeck, took out the 2xBeastcaller Savant for the beefiness of 2xOran-Rief Survivalist. In the sideboard, took out 2xRelic of Progenitus for another Rest in Peace and a Selfless Spirit.
2-0 vs. Bant Knightfall (4-2 for 10th; his deck never really started). Good enough to overcome a misplay in Game 2); 0-2 vs. Jund (4-1-1, eventual winner; should have mulliganed game 1 and then deck no favors, somehow forgot to play a land in game 2 and he was far too good a player to make a mistake against); 2-1 vs. Naya Company (1-2 and I guess dropped; anything Naya generally feels ok to play against); 0-2 vs. Death's Shadow (4-2 for 12th; Need a good draw against death's shadow and didn't get it. Misplay in game 2 certainly didn't help); 0-2 vs. Seismic Assault (3-3 for 20th; he got me creatureless and locked in game 1, game 2 he had used his entire library and needed to hit with the swan to kill me - I should have put leylines in and will no better next time); 2-1 vs. RG LD with beaters (2-4 for 21st place).
Not much you can do if they go all in on board wipes in their mainboard and deck (12 pyroclasm type effects in the 75?) because they figure you're running either Allies, Elves, or Bogles :-(
Trying to track down the results list. This is the first one I've misplaced :-(
Misplaced the results sheet for this one too. Round 1 was a 2-1 win vs. Knightfall with Vizier, not says I needed more removal after he combo'd for the win in game 2. Round 2 was was 1-2 loss vs. Grixis Death Shadow -my first strike damage helped his Death's Shadow in game 2. Not sure on match 3. Match 4 looked like it was a 2-1 win... until I counted my sideboard afterwards and came up with 16, and 59 in the deck :-(.
2-0 vs. Red (1-3 for 13th; I got life gain and good draws); 0-2 vs. Scapeshift (3-0-1 for 2nd; This isn't a good match up, but had him down to 3 in game 2); 1-2 vs. Vengevine (1-3 for 12th; First time I played against that! Scary, but not fast/consistent enough with that build anyway); 2-1 vs. Affinity (2-2 for 6th; Not usually my best match-up and he nuked a stony silence in game 2, but I got good draws in the other two games, game 3 could have been a lot different if he didn't get greedy).
In maindeck, put in two Metallic Mimic for two Captain's Claws. Haven't had them hit enough to see how they feel.
**3-1 (5th out of 22 for a prize) Thursday Night Modern 9/14/17** 2-0 vs. Enduring Ideal (2-2 for 12th; On turn 4 of game 2 I got a swing for 22 with a Natural State to take out the Ghostly Prison); 2-0 vs. GW Kitchen Table (1-3 for 16th; I think they got paired with another of the few kitchen table decks in round 1); 0-2 vs. Devotion to Green (3-1 for 3rd; I even survived several turns after Emrakul hit... but I needed more than just life gain.); 2-0 vs ??? (2-2 for 13th; misplaced my deck description on this one).
**0-3-1 (16th out of 16) Thursday Night Modern 11/9/17** 0-2 vs. Mono Green Devotion (3-0-1 for 2nd; vs. a good player on their favorite deck, mulled to mediocrity); 1-2 vs. Goblins (2-2 for 10th); 1-2 vs. Burn (1-3 for 15th; I miss-sequenced a Battlesinger and a Mimic and left the four lethal on the table in game 3); 1-1-1 vs Zoo (1-2-1 for 11th; I played a Mimic and Evangel when I should have just done the former, opponent is a solid player who was having an off night too).
Sample Perfect Draw
Sample Perfect Draw
Cavern of Souls + Aether Vial
Forest + Hada Freeblade + Harabaz Druid
Cavern of Souls + Akoum Battle Singer + Akoum Battle Singer + Collected Company + Kabira Evangel + Battle Singer or Jwari Shapeshifter
With no disruption, it's a swing for 41 with them all being unblockable in two colors.
If they kill either the Hada Freeblade or one of the Akoum Battle Singer on Turn 3, it is still a swing for 20+ with all being unblockable in two colors.
If they kill the Harabaz Druid or Counter the Coco on Turn 3, it is only a swing for 14, but you still have decent board state.
If they kill the Aether Vial before Turn 2, you still get a swing for 7 and have decent board state.
Are Vial and Cavern Needed?
Are Vial and Cavern Needed?
- A first turn Vial serves several purposes, including setting up the turn 3 and 4 kills. It lets you get an extra ally out by turn three. On turn three (with
Harabaz Druid) or four you can both vial in an ally and CoCo. It helps against counter spells and blood moon. It allows you to drop in a creature defensively to trigger ETB effects. Along with
Harabaz Druid, it supports running only 19 land. And finally, it gives you something to do with your first turn land. The down-sides are that you don't want more than two at the beginning, and you don't want any later (especially when you CoCo - although the fewer lands helps balance that out).
If you want to run a wider ranger of Allies in terms of CMC (fewer 2s than the 19 out of 31 I run, and maybe some 4s) then I can see leaving vial out. Ditto if your deck focuses on Hardened Scales. Similarly, if your meta doesn't feature many counter spells or blood moons, and you don't find yourself relying on turn 3 and 4 kills against things like Storm (and formerly Twin), then you could skip the vials. I don't, I don't, it does, and I do. So I'm using 4 vials. Without them I would focus on Hardened Scales and modify several of the other deck choices to use them to their full potential.
- Running four Caverns (in conjunction with 4 Ally Encampment and 4 Windswept Heath), means you will only rarely suffer for playing four colors. In particular, Cavern saves your allies from counter spells, lets you cast them in all four colors without taking damage (like City of Brass or Mana Confluence), always comes in untapped, and lets you get away with playing a surprisingly small number of lands (so more room for other things). The downside (vs. City of Brass, Mana Confluence, or more fetches) is that once in a while you will be missing both your color-producing lands and your Harabaz Druid and won't be able to CoCo.
All that being said, you can certainly have fun with the deck and win matches without them.
Why White?
Why White?
- When an ally enters, your allies get protection from color of your choice until end of turn. Gets you around blockers, makes them decide if they want to blow it up immediately (so protects the later ones, and can be vialed in (think carefully before setting vial to 3 though) to give spot protection or suprise blocking. Spectacular against any deck that uses colored creatures, and some extra value when there are colored removal or damage spells. Has a 2/3 body to boot. Only downsides are that it has a 3CMC and the rise of Eldrazi and Affinity. Remember to sideboard it out against those match-ups.
- Enters as a 1/2, gets bigger with future allies, and triggers your allies when it enters. The one you can vial in on turn two, and your first turn play if you don't have vial or hardened scales. The only other 1 CMC allies are white or the blue Mothdust Changeling, and none are worth playing in a deck with Vial (which you'll move up to two) or Scales (none of them are counter getters).
- One of the CMC-2-or-lower +1/+1 ETB allies. The first strike and vigilance put his into a different league than Hada Freeblade (0/1 W), Bojuka Brigand (1/1 1B, can't block), and Oran-Rief Survivalist (1/1 1G). Only downside is that the WW casting cost means you have to think about which lands you will fetch.
- Ondu Cleric is my favorite card against burn and non-poison aggro decks. Cleric or ally on the field and another coming in gives you two live. Each extra ally is another. Add another cleric and start doubling it, with no attacking needed. Something to strongly consider main-boarding if you leave one of the others out. And then there are the usual suspects Kataki, War's Wage, Leyline of Sanctity, Rest in Peace, etc....
*What else does White bring?*
- A vanilla 2/1 is kind of just there, but there are a lot of times early where you have nothing else to spend a stray mana on. Adding two of them in also updates your chance of a first turn play from 65% to 74%. It feels necessary if you're running Reckless Bushwhacker to give you an extra shot at the surge cost, and it also is another free cast off of Beastcaller Savant.
- Midgame, the turn after it comes in, all of your allies are now 4/4 (or bigger) before adding in there +1/+1 counters, whenever you want. Use it to over-run the enemy or pump them in response to a removal-by-damage effect.
*Why not...*
has a bigger body than Ondu Cleric, but you need to attack or block to get the life, and it costs three.
has only a two casting cost, but Kabira Evangel gives an evasion effect and doesn't care who swings first. If you're leaving out one of the other colors and need bodies, this isn't bad.
Why Green?
Why Green?
- It's an ETB deck, and this brings in two allies at one time that see each other (so both trigger twice). This is the card you want to draw when your hand is empty or you need the final push. Can go off on turn 3 if you have the other must-include green card. Be careful when fetching lands though, because Cavern and Ally Encampment won't be casting this one.
- If it comes out on turn 2, you can get Coco out on turn 3 (even after casting a 3CMC ally if you've been vialing along). Mana fixes, can help dig out of a 1-land mull to 4 or 5, and might give you one extra ally after the blood moon (before they bolt it). Lets you get multiple creatures out if you didn't start with vial. Late game it still triggers your other ETB affects if it comes out (including by bouncing it back to your hand by Ally Encampment, could be an emergency blocker, and you can swing with it if you have Battlesinger or Mirror Entity is helping.
*What else does Green bring?*
- One of the backbone 2CMC +1/+1 ETB allies. Castable using every two mana combination you'll have on the board. If you're running Scales, then this is one of your must haves. Part of the reason 2 is often where you want vial to be. On the other hand it is the least special of the standard allies in the deck, so is usually the first one boarded out for Ondu Cleric.
- As a GB elves player, this seemed a bit weak - and that doesn't even consider that the humans deck gets Noble Hierarch. I think the initial impression is deceiving though - it lets you get two allies off on one turn for one fewer mana and it can attack right away off of the coco (making it better than almost anything except another Battlesinger to come in with an Akoum Battlesinger). I think it is especially needed if you're going to try and run Reckless Bushwhacker.
- Brings the instant artifact/enchantment removal in the form of Nature's Claim, Krosan Grip, and/or Natural State.
*Why not...*
- The +1/+1 ETB allies are the backbone of your army, and this lets them get stupid big if its out. You should already be trying to get a green mana source out for CoCo, this just makes that a little more vital. Not your first choice on turn one (that's Aether Vial) or turn two (that's Harabaz Durid), but a solid fill in if you can't get those, and often still useful late game. I haven't found it quite as useful as Captain's Claws though - since that will trigger your all of your ETB allies as long as you have one you can attack with. If you were running a few more +1/+1 allies and not the Battlesingers, I can certainly see why scales could be preferred. It seems sub-optimal in an Aether Vial build.
Why Four Colors?
Why Four Colors?
- This is the kill card (including possible turn 3). One on the field and another enters, that gives all of your allies +2/+0 for the turn, and the newcomer can attack. Get two to CoCo in, or one in a CoCo pair with another on the field already, it's +4/+0 and both attack. Ally encampent it back and recast if needed late game. Castable with the majority of your two land combinations. Only down-side is the one defense, so be careful in blocking or attacking if they have a blocker they don't care about.
- This is how you increase the odds of getting a second battlesinger to come into play and really up the chances for a turn 3 or 4 kill. Like Battlesinger, it's castable on most of your two land combinations - at worst you fetch the UG shock land. Just remember not to put it into play (including off of a CoCo) if there isn't another ally in play already. Can also be useful copying Ondu Cleric when that is side-boarded in against something like Merfolk, or putting another Kabira Evangel on the field with against a colored creature deck with lots of spot removal.
*What else do Red and Blue bring?*
- By itself, this card has some big strikes going against it in a Coco-Vial build - it can't pay surge off of Aether Vial or Collected Company and enters as essentially a hasty expedition envoy. Same if it's the only ally you have with three mana out. The reason to put it in is because of what it can do as the 2 CMC second cast of the turn - give whatever you brought in haste (including a Harabaz Druid or two +1/+1 getters off of a CoCo) and give everyone else on the field +1/+0 for the turn. I think it needs help to be efficient and I don't think I would run it without 2 Beastcaller Savant and 2 Expedition Ennvoy.
- The "three-CMC to make things unblockable spot" is often better filled by Kabira Evangel (which can also protect creatures from other spells and on their turn if you vial someone in), and you don't really need more than four of that effect. However, if there are lots of affinity and eldrazi decks, then this could have a place in the sideboard or even main deck. It also feels nice to have a bit more red against decks that threaten an early Bloodmoon.
*Why not...*
- Shapeshifter and Battlesinger are castable using an Ally Encampment or Cavern, and any other mana. You're already worried about green (for Scales and CoCo) and maybe the second white for the Blademaster, so adding in the extra stress of a non-creature U or R spell seems a step too far.
Play and Sideboard Notes
Play and Sideboard Notes
Aether Vial on turn one. You almost always want to leave it set on two. If it is set to a good place, there are lots of times you want to keep that ally in your hand instead of casting it right away.
"Casting Kabira Evangel. (pause) Enters play, trigger on the stack." "Bolt." "Aether Vial (pause) Akoum Battlesinger, enters play, trigger on the stack. (pause) Pro-red."
If they are playing Blood Moon, I think you almost always want to immediately fetch for a Forest if you didn't start with one. (That's the one you need for Collected Company and Harabaz Druid. Between those two and Aether Vial there is a chance to cast the other things).
Harabaz Druid on turn two almost always feels like the right play.
Ally Encampment can be spectacular for saving someone or getting that extra push if you have the lands to recast. Combined with Aether Vial it can be really devastating.
Think about how your creatures match up against blockers before getting excited about Captain's Claws (and remember your Kabira Evangel when deciding).
Don't forget that the Kor Ally must attack the first turn and so can't block next turn.
For sideboarding out (except against affinity or eldrazi) I often remove either an Oran-Rief Survivalist or two, or if more than two are needed the Reckless Bushwhacker and some of its helper cards.. Remember to take out the Kabira Evangel against affinity or eldrazi, and that the damage from Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is colorless.
The key to Merfolk and lots of aggro decks are the Ondu Cleric, and remember the Jwari Shapeshifter effectively double the number you have.
Previous Decks
Previous Decks
This is my second attempt at a modern allies deck for tournament play - the first is over at Scale-Vial Nayallies. It started off based on the work of [Sky Mason](http://modernnexus.com/rally-to-the-ally-cause/) and [Niran](http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=90888).
It was good for a-bit-above-FNM type events (2nd place, 3rd place, never under .500), but not strong enough for IQs. The big difference is the lack of Jwari Shapeshifter (making the multiple Akoum Battlesinger outcome a lot more likely) and Harabaz Druid (for speed when you don't have vial and Mirror Entity synergy). I Tried out several variations goldfishing (including with some black), and the current four colors seems strongest.
In order, other modern decks I've played are Budget Mono-Green Modern (fun, to get into the format for cheap, but not competetive); Another Bogles Deck (fun, but a bit fragile and a bit too linear); and, Gilt-Leaf Elite (as good or better than allies in some metas, not quite as fun to play).
With special thanks to LS for the loaner cards over several months, to DD for suggesting Jwari Shapeshifter much earlier than I started using it, RC for mana base pointers, and to all the folks at RTP for the advice and great matches.
Make sure and check out JLenzen's great resource page for the definitive scoop on Modern Allies!!!
Finally, the featured card is the Unglued Soldier token that I use for the Captain's Claws' 1/1 white Kor Ally.
