Nef, I think that wouldn't really do well. First of all you don't always cast your Allies, often you are looking to cheat them in via AEther Vial etc. Second it isn't an Ally, meaning it doesn't trigger your other Allies. I imagine it could be ok, but compared to being able to drop an Ally it wouldn't hold up in terms of power.

Good thing I ran out of allies to run and I can't afford AEther Vial then.

Edit - It also grows when any player casts a spell. So I don't necessarily have to cast stuff for it to get big. Your opponent tends to cast spells so he ends up growing.

yep, its strictly worse than its red counterpart Taurean Mauler

Explain to me how it's strictly worse CricketYT

Well its not much worse, but as you said it triggers allies, adds ally count and even with the lack of trample, fits better into most ally decks.

Yea I suppose it does that but I like that this guy grows even when we cast a spell which basically means it gets the "ally" buff from any spell we cast. Also, my deck doesn't have red in it... so I gotta run this guy.

Really liked to read the primer! Personally I've played a bunch of ally decks. I started off with aggro. Then I've made a ally deck that never worked out. Furthermore I've played control, and mono midrange. My latest creation was the Turntimber Ranger + Conspiracy combo build.

Four honorable mentions that I do not find in the primer; Adaptive Automaton basically an auto include for all ally builds because it is and a boss and it will cause etb triggers to go off. Also it is colorless, which makes it easy to cast in multicolored decks and useful in mono colored decks if you face protection from that color. Doubling Chant aka "the boom" not very competitive, but has a very high fun factor. Opposite is, in my opinion, Mutavault very competitve combined with a low fun factor. Soul Foundry because it can grant you a late game creature drop on every turn.

Allies are coming back in Battle for Zendikar!

The hype is real. 4 boxes please.

The hype is so real. Expect this page to get a full revamp as BFZ gets closer (Currently I'm pretty swamped with work)

I almost have my deck completed. I can't wait to upgrade it with some hopefully new g/w ally support cards!

I have found that this is an excellent Primer!, I expect good things to come with Allies as BFZ draws nearer!! I've already bought all the allies in anticipation =)

Currently building a Bant Ally, so far its not holding up too well with the current meta in play testing..

Also... Does everyone else agree that AEther Vial is as important to Ally Decks as it is to Merfolks? Gotta invest in those..

Aether Vial is crucial because it allows you to both circumvent counterspells (if you don't have a Cavern of Souls) as well as avoid Removal by instantly pumping your Team or giving them Protection via Kabira Evangel (mostly from Burn or targeted Removal).

I would also stock up on various enablers for Allies, such as Ghostway and Collected Company while it's cheaper from the Clashpack. Ofc you should get or ideally already have all of the older Allies as well as some of the better Changelings. I am currently sifting through the cards I didn't initially see because of my absence from Magic, maybe I'll add some cards to the list you might want to already have once Allies become more popular again.

Minor correction @JLenzen: In the red section, the mana cost of Murasa Pyromancer is wrong, also it should be (last line of Tuktuk Scrapper) "wreak havoc"

Cards to look out for for potential strong synergies are imo:Cloning: Infinite Reflection, Clever Impersonator (decently flexible), Mirror Mockery, Parallel Lives, Polymorphous Rush, Progenitor Mimic, Twinflame

Manasink/Finisher: Craterhoof Behemoth, Dragon Throne of Tarkir, Flying Crane Technique, Gavony Township, Heroes' Bane, High Sentinels of Arashin, Kessig Wolf Run, Primal Surge, Savageborn Hydra, Setessan Tactics to solve a stall, Akroma's MemorialHydras obviously are meh when you have the possibility of Chameleon Colossus and Mirror Entity to sink Mana into, but maybe the wind up being somewhat useful in one way or another.

Flexible/CA: Domri Rade, Dromoka's Command, Kolaghan's Command, Mentor of the Meek, Ojutai's Command, Chord of Calling, Garruk, Caller of Beasts, Return to the Ranks, Creeping Renaissance, Retribution of the Ancients

Blinks: Conjurer's Closet, Restoration Angel, Sudden Disappearance

Other Neat Effects: Corpsejack Menace, Descendants' Path, Gleam of Authority, Hardened Scales, Illusionist's Bracers, Ivorytusk Fortress, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Master Biomancer, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Ooze Flux, Prophet of Kruphix, Ready / Willing, Ulvenwald Tracker, Vault of the Archangel, Xenagos, the Reveler, Door of Destinies, Kalonian Hydra, Obelisk of Urd, Shield of the Avatar, Strionic Resonator

Maybe also Riders of Gavony as a specific Sideboard Card. I would look into the charms as sideboard options, specifically Rakdos Charm seems like it usually ensures a win against Twin Combo while also providing graveyard and artifact hate.

Oh god the hype... Lifelink 2cmc counter guy anyone? How about some hexproof Allies? :D

Hexproof ally please..

Granting Hexproof to all Allies until end of turn...

Kabira Evangel's best friend.

I'd prefer an ally that just has hexproof to be honest. 1green 1colorless 0/1 elf ally with hexproof and whenever it or another ally enters the battlefield it gets a 1/1 counter.

I just want more playable allies in colors outside of white so you don't have to feel like you must make every ally list W/x/x. You look at the white allies vs the allies in other colors, and it doesn't even take a seasoned player to note that white got many of the best allies.

Completely agree, W has so many good allies, if BFZ does bring back Allies, I expect a more variety in R and B

I think allies is ready to compete at top tier! I think my list ive used in the dailies is really close.

@aubman02: Is your list (All-in-Allies) up to date? Have you tested Chord of Calling to enable a toolboxy number of one-offs such as Tuktuk Scrapper, Ondu Cleric, basically the non-growing Allies which are enough with one or two on the board?

Ally deck in PPTQ Montecatini Terme (Pistoia, Italy) top 4

sweet! DSJJ, I'm glad to see the world wide community playing it! What do you think of his list? Oh yeah, I also have been working on a list with Collected company.Johanson, I originally opted out of using chord cause of the triple green, but now I am currently running one Ondu Cleric. I think it would really come in handy there. TukTuk is pretty awesome too.

aubman02 It's because of this list that results in the inclusion of 2 Boros Charm. I had contemplated for a long while when I first started this build. It gives the extra reach that we sometimes need, the indestructible to prevent wipes and removal and double-striking is a nice touch!

However, I feel that Path is unnecessary in the list; we are going all-in aggro for the build, so removals are at the bare minimum but not essential. I rather top-deck another ally or coco/gambit to boost my clock against them.

Adaptive Automaton seems to be a unique touch, but I'm not sure of its relevancy other than the extra +1/+1 buff. It's a lord at best and a dead 2/2 vanilla card at worst if no allies in play.

Tuktuk Scrapper seems to be a nice finisher, but at 4 mana, it's a little steep. Worth the risk to try if we manage to survive that long.