Ally Lifedrain FTW (Standard MTG Deck)

This is a deck I came up with at the pre-release due to some very lucky draws (multiple kalastria healers, drana's emissaries, and a Gideon) so I decided after years of playing EDH to wade back into Standard.

Gotta say, it has been pretty fun. Biggest difference is trying to figure out what I need 2 - 3 - or 4 of in the deck. Suggestions are welcome as to why I should run more or less of one thing or another.

This deck is intended to do a couple of things well. 1. it is meant to drain life with triggers. 2. it is meant to effectively alpha strike.

Life drain- There are multiple triggers for this, the ally trigger with Kalastria Healer being the most direct. Zulaport Cutthroat helps too, but usually it's better to have creatures on the board and I don't run a lot of sac outlets. The big question I have with this is regarding the Drana's Emissary. How many do I run? Is the lifedrain on my upkeep really that great or should I switch it out for something else?
Alpha strike aggro. Trying to build a sideboard that will be effective once they realize the lifedrain is such a threat. The way I see it if a deck is TOO linear then it will be easy to find answers for it. Not sure if this deck can reach tier 1 status this early in the block rotation but it's clear that Wizards has some plans for allies in the future. SO! How does this deck become more versatile?

Sideboard- suggestions welcome. I have never played competitive standard so I am open to thoughts on what makes a good sideboard, what cards to swap out, etc. The colors are great for removal of all sorts so I want it to be the cheapest, fastest, most effective removal to go along with the low Curve of this deck.

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I need to learn how to play with my sideboard — Nov. 5, 2015

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I had a night of fun playtesting against a R/G landfall beatdown deck. It made it clear to me that my deck works most of the time. What seems to make the difference is Collected Company in my hand. COCOing into either a Lantern Scout, Veteran Warleader, or drana seemed to have the most value.

A night of playtesting made it clear that I needed to work in regular removal when faced against beatdown creatures. After the first round my opponent sideboarded in some removal and that made him more competitive. Then after the second round he decided to put ALL his sideboarded removal in and then it was a race to see if I could keep pumping out creatures and hit the 5 mana mark to recur them once they died.

The quesion I have is- what cards do I take out to sideboard in some removal? I am thinking Kor Castigator is a definite, and possibly the Beastcaller Savant. Suggestions welcome!

I can beat up crappy decks — Oct. 28, 2015

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Date added	8 years
Last updated	8 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 32 - 2 Rares 12 - 5 Uncommons 4 - 8 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.92
Tokens	Emblem Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Knight Ally 2/2 W
Folders	Potential Deck
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