by Kar Yung Tom
This is not an article, but simply a scouting report on an archetype that I have not personally seen pop up anywhere else. I honestly doubt Allies are viable with the rotation of Bloodbraid Elf, but I am never one to close myself off from new ideas. Let's get right down to it!
The original plan was to record videos of me playing with the decks that I am about to show you, but if you have been following my Twitter, you would know that I have been quite sick over the last couple of weeks. Fever, non-stop coughing, runny nose… Also just got over a stomach virus too. Maybe living in the cold up here in Canada is not that great after all.
With that all said, I wanted to make sure that I get this information out there while it is still fresh. The Standard metagame seems to have stabilized and I am sure a lot of you are looking for a new brew to try. Unsurprisingly, I found these lists from the results of Japanese tournaments. The first one went 6-0 in a 61 player tournament, while the second list took down second place with a 5-1 record in a 37 player tourney.
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Jwari Shapeshifter
2 Ondu Cleric
4 Kabira Evangel
2 Umara Raptor
4 Talus Paladin
4 Preordain
2 Spell Pierce
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 Mana Leak
7 Plains
3 Island
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
Sideboard
3 Revoke Existence
3 Unified Will
3 Negate
2 Ondu Cleric
4 Day of Judgment
Umara Raptor? In a Constructed deck? I remember picking that guy highly in Limited, but I would never imagine playing it in Constructed, though I did not play Zendikar Block Constructed and maybe it saw play there. I can see this version of UW Allies being good against aggro decks as Ally decks seem to just plant a few guys and grow them into the best creatures on the board. I always hated playing against a decent-sized Kazandu Blademaster.
However, I do not see how this deck could possibly be fast enough to race against Valakut. You have 4 Mana Leaks and 2 Spell Pierces in the main deck to slow down their acceleration, but my feeling is that this counterspell suite would simply not be enough. This is based on my experience playing against Valakut with UW Control of course.
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Thrummingbird
3 Leonin Arbiter
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Umara Raptor
4 Talus Paladin
1 Emerge Unscathed
1 Mana Leak
1 Negate
2 Ajani Goldmane
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Venser, the Sojourner
8 Plains
2 Island
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
2 Tectonic Edge
Sideboard
3 Negate
4 Oust
3 Devout Lightcaster
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Gideon Jura
This second list looks a lot more experimental with its two copies of three different Planeswalkers. Leonin Arbiter in the main deck is probably a concession to the fact that the archetype needs more game against Valakut though it is certainly good against other notable decks such as Mono Green Eldrazi. The inclusion of Thrummingbird is interesting as it gives most of your squad +1/+1 counters every single time it attacks.
Again, this is more of a scouting report than an article, so I hope I am not disappointing my followers by how brief this post is. As Flores pointed out a few weeks ago, everyone loves decklists, so I figure I am safe. If you actually do give these decks a spin, please let me know how they actually play in the comments section below.
With lots of love,
KYT
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.
