Naya Allies Deck (1st Place Out of 60 Players)
March 30, 2010 | Posted by Dee
I know I just wrote about allies in my last post, but I think I found a better ally decklist. Last week, on March 23, a Naya Allies deck won a Magic Online Standard Premier Event. The event was six rounds. The deck went 5-1 in the swiss and then swept the top eight. In the elimination rounds, it beat a Red Deck Wins, UW Ramp Control, and Jund to take home the top prize. Not bad for a rogue deck, taking out three top archetypes in a row.
Another player took the same exact list and got 5th place yesterday in a 57 person tournament. This player also went 5-1 in the swiss rounds.
Based on these results, this deck seems pretty good.
| Naya Allies | |||||||||||
Creatures (30)
Spells (7) | Lands (23)
Sideboard (15) |
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Cheap Creatures
To succeed in standard, you need a deck that can deal a lot of damage quickly or be able to neutralize the quick creature rush.
Naya Allies may not deal damage as fast as Red Deck Wins but as a trade-off for speed, it has cheap creatures that can get big really quickly.
4 Hada Freeblade
If you play this guy on turn one, he often becomes a 3/4 on turn three. That’s a possible six damage for one mana. Also, you can fetch him with Ranger of Eos.
This guy is the biggest reason why allies has become a viable archetype in Standard.
4 Kazandu Blademaster
This white creature is the best two-drop ally. Two mana for a 2/2 with first strike and vigilance is great value. Once he becomes a 3/3, he can win a fight versus just about any other cheap creature in Standard. As a 5/5, he can even trade with Baneslayer Angel.
His vigilance ability is helpful to win races.
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
This two-drop is weaker than Kazandu Blademaster, but he’s easier of cast and has the same power and toughness. Left unimpeded, he deals the same amount of damage as Kazandu Blademaster.
4 Akoum Battlesinger
Think of this creature as Goblin Bushwhacker for allies. She doesn’t give haste like Bushwhacker but she’s easier to cast. Most importantly, her ability is reusable unlike Bushwhacker’s.
Although Akoum Battlesinger is a cheap creature, you don’t want to play her on turn two. Instead, you should wait until you have more creatures on the board so that her ability will be more powerful.
1 Ondu Cleric
Only one copy because the life gain ability is not relevant in many matchups. But in a few matchups, he can provide a big advantage especially if you trigger the ability multiple times.
Buy these creatures at eBay:
Other Creatures
4 Kabira Evangel
This ally allows you to overcome battlefield stalemates. Think of him as a poor man’s Eldrazi Monument on a 2/3 body. As an ally, he makes most of your allies bigger while his ability gives them evasion and protection for a turn.
4 Bloodbraid Elf
Ally decks’ main weakness is lack of card advantage. Bloodbraid Elf not only provides card advantage but she’s the best creature in Standard. She fits right at home in Naya Allies. She will always cascade into something good – either an ally, Naya Charm, or Violent Outburst for more cascading.
2 Ranger of Eos
Ranger of Eos is one of the top creatures in Standard and provides more card advantage. However, only two copies make it into the deck since there are only four one-drops.
3 Talus Paladin
This four-drop ally has a very useful ability against creature decks. I suspect only three copies are used because lifelink is not that good against control. Also, he is vulnerable to Lightning Bolt.
Find good deals on these creatures at eBay:
Spells
3 Naya Charm
Naya Charm is a solid, flexible card for this deck. It can take out a small creature or get a card from your graveyard (like Talus Paladin or Ondu Cleric if you need to gain life). But the most powerful effect is the third one, which can instantly win you the game.
4 Violent Outburst
Ally decks can’t afford to play a lot of non-ally cards since they need a critical mass of allies to function well. But this spell is basically an ally card because it will always cascade into an ally.
It combos very well with Akoum Battlesinger to deal a lot of damage quickly. Plus, as a cascade card, it’s great with Bloodbraid Elf.
Buy the spells at eBay:
Lands
There’s not much to say about the lands. 4 Jungle Shrine is a given since you’re playing cards with casting costs WW, WRG, 1RG, and 2RG. The sideboard brings more colored requirements with WWW and 1GW.
There are 19 white mana sources to support the WWW of Devout Lightcaster. There are 13 green sources and 11 red sources. This makes sense, since none of your red spells are two drops (you shouldn’t play Akoum Battlesinger as a two drop) while green has Oran-Rief Survivalist, a two drop.
There are only 4 manlands (1 Raging Ravine and 3 Stirring Wildwood). You might be tempted to add more manlands but I wouldn’t. The deck is aggressive and adding more lands that enter the battlefield tapped will slow it down.
Check out the latest eBay auctions on the lands:
Sideboard
3 Dauntless Escort
This card is a must since Day of Judgment and other sweepers are so good against a creature-heavy deck.
4 Devout Lightcaster
Great against Vampires and Jund. Also, they probably won’t suspect her from the sideboard since you’re playing three colors.
2 Ondu Cleric
More life gain to bring in against burn decks.
3 Path to Exile
One Baneslayer Angel can stop your whole army. Path to Exile deals with her at instant speed for only one mana.
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
This red ally is good against decks like Jacerator, UW Ramp Control, and Open the Vaults that rely on artifacts.
Find low prices on the sideboard cards at eBay:
91 Responses to “Naya Allies Deck (1st Place Out of 60 Players)”
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The decklist seems solid, but given the number of 1 drops in the deck, i’m not convinced that Ranger is the most appropriate 4 drop. I’d rather have the instant surprise factor of a Join the Ranks, plus it removes 2 non-allies and effectively gives you four bonuses if you’ve got stuff on the field. Would you agree with the assessment, or do you think the interactions with cascade and pulling the cheapest spells out of the deck to make better cascades is why the deck builder did that here?
I think Join the Ranks is worth testing but Ranger will probably still be better. I don’t really count Ranger as a non-ally because he fetches allies. Also, Ranger is better versus board sweepers. If your opponent wraths the board, you’d rather have Ranger in hand over Join the Ranks.
Also, I think Ranger is better because the allies you get can grow rather than just triggering other allies.
imo, these things trump the instant speed of Join the Ranks.
I dont think that JTR helps this decks plan. It’s already risky enough to play 28 creatures maindeck, one sweeper and you have no way to recover as you are removing one of the few CA tricks the deck has.
One topdecked Ranger of Eos midgame means a 3/2 a 2/2 and a 1/1 that can pack a punch to get those last damage through control. Using JTR only provides two 1/1s that cant put a fight to anything.
The only valid reason i would see to run JTR would be on a Bant allies list ive been testing that uses Harabaz Druid to play negates/cancels to avoid getting DoJ’d and Sea Gate Loremaster to generate card advantage.
Josh Silvestri talks about a Naya build here: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=8829
MAIN
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Hada Freeblade
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Talus Paladin
2 Path to Exile
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Mountain
5 Plains
4 Sunpetal Grove
BOARD
3 Cunning Sparkmage
4 Kor Firewalker
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Path to Exile
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
He agrees that ranger is great, and even though I have my reservations I can see that you wouldn’t want to pull a Join the Ranks on an empty board.
Thanks for the link. I think that list is the one that did well at the Grand Prix. It looks solid too. I like that the mana base more stable but losing manlands seems bad. I would switch the Sunpetal Groves for Stirring Wildwoods.
I’ll playtest both ranger and join the ranks this weekend main and let you guys know; however i’m still a fan of the deck with black Dee posted previously (I am thinking gleefully of using duress and the thief to get rid of removal) and will be playtesting that as well. I am leaning towards having Ranger as a sideboard card with the escort.
To summarize the question though so far, assuming posted decklist as-is with the exception of trading rangers for JTR’s:
Ranger of Eos
Pros
- mid/late game help vs getting judged (aka wrath) as it = 3/2, 2/2, 1/1
- synergy of dropping 2 freeblades on a field with other allies
Cons
- not an ally in and of itself
- would effectively cost 2 more white mana than Join the Ranks
- diminishing returns on drawing more than one b/c of small # of targets (plus potential to cascade into those few targets)
- Sorcery speed
Join the Ranks
Pros
- synergy with allies if cast “as sorcery”
- instant speed trickery (+2/+2 to growing allies, +2/+0 with battlesinger, +2 color protections with evangel, lifelink with paladin)
Cons
- two non-growing 1/1’s on an empty board
- requires open mana to function as an instant speed “trick”, which may be unlikely as you’ll probably be casting things left and right
Looks like Simone[ITA] is doing pretty well in magic-league 8 man single-elim tourneys with this one today:
MAIN
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Mountain
5 Plains
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Hada Freeblade
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Talus Paladin
1 Join the Ranks
4 Path to Exile
BOARD
3 Baneslayer Angel
4 Dauntless Escort
2 Kor Firewalker
4 Ondu Cleric
2 Tuktuk Scrapper
I forgot that Violent Outburst is an instant, and effectively is the “trick” that I was looking for as it can be cast on your opponents turn to get one ally…so now i’m agreeing with the rangers maindeck! I’ll still playtest and let you know my thoughts though!
That looks like a good recap of the pros and cons between Join the Ranks and Ranger of Eos.
Thanks for the list by Simone[ITA]. That’s probably a strong list since Simone[ITA] is a good player.
Yeah, Violent Outburst can be a great combat trick
Just thought I’d pop in and mention that if you Ranger’d up 2 Hada Freeblades, and played them that you’d have a 3/2, a 2/3 and a 1/2. rather than a 3/2, 2/2, and 1/1 as everyone has quoted. This may make a significant difference in some circumstances.
Hey Jack, thanks for the clarification.
I was gunslinging this deck at Anime Boston (no sideboard) with random folks while waiting for different events, and am pretty please with the performance. I didn’t play many tier 1 decks, but it did let me get a feel for the cards. I was never sad to see the ranger, despite sometimes only having a single target for the second one.
One thing that has concerned me is the number of “comes into play tapped” lands which slow the deck down; designed as an aggro deck I feel like I am prone to losing tempo because of them. After having played more games, I am considering dropping the jungle shrines for ziggurats to increase the speed of the deck, and pulling the cleric main and sticking him in the side. As i’ve mentioned in previous posts, my meta contains a lot of decks with sweepers, so escorts will likely go main in favor of the cleric, a naya charm, and a violent outburst.
Those seem like good ideas. I especially like Escorts main. Even vs a deck without sweepers, you could still use Escorts to protect your best ally.
I’m thinking of building a White Weenie deck with Escorts main to protect the protection creatures against Jund.
I started searching various boards today looking for inspiration, here’s a quick recap:
- most decks seem to pull manlands in favor of the ziggurats rather than the jungle shrines to increase speed. Some folks even advocate dropping the shrines also, and upping m10 land count in their stead. There seems to be a break between “ziggurat/harabaz druid” and “outburst/manland or outburst/jungle shrine” builds. I will have to playtest both to see which I like.
- in people’s boards, i’ve seen Tuktuk Scrapper (used vs Naya to kill sledges and collars, vs open the vaults since they use quite a few artifacts/artifact creatures, vs turbofog to kill mine effects so they can’t draw answers), Ondu Cleric (for any in which you are racing or lifegain is of utmost importance like RDW), firewalker (vs Jund and RDW), Manabarbs (vs control decks, or boarded in with lifegain), Pithing Needle (catch all, also good vs sparkmage/collar combo), Mark of Asylum (vs RDW or other damage based removal heavy decks), Dauntless Escort (vs wrath and other board clearing spells), Celestial Purge (vs Jund, Vamps, RDW), and some combination of path / o-ring / journey to nowhere.
Apologies – I realized I neglected to include devout lightcaster…I wish I could edit rather than spam comment!
Hey Beau,
Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
By the way, if you ever want to write for this blog, just contact me http://magicgameplan.com/contact/ I can pay you a little bit of money and if you generate more traffic for the site, than I can pay you a better rate.
You can just blog about similar stuff that you’ve been leaving in the comments. Your comments have been helpful and I think the info found in them should be more prominent. I get about 30,000 visits per month so you would be getting good exposure to your posts.
Also, I’ve been pretty busy with my new job so I’m not able to post as much. I can help edit your posts too.
Tonight I play tested with my playgroup against mono green elves, ranger of crabs, white weenie, and Chapin’s U/W Control.
Rather than maindeck the escorts like I said, I pulled the cleric, a naya charm, and an outburst for 3 harabaz druids and switched in ziggurats for the manlands (I found that more often than not I wanted to use my mana to cast allies, and not activate manlands, plus the manlands come into play tapped which loses you tempo). I am extremely happy with the druids – even though they suck to cascade into they still activate your other allies plus they also let you power out your hands which can make for lightning fast wins. Reducing the amount of comes into play tapped lands is key since in most circumstances you are aggro.
Against mono-green and white weenie, the Kabira Evangel shines (as you would expect). Since you’re basically racing them as well, the lifegain from the Talus Paladin is also extremely important. In some circumstances I really wished I had more removal (eg kicked Joraga Warcaller) but found pound for pound if you just took the damage early rounds vs both decks, the lifegain would be enough to prevent them from winning and your creatures would get too large to deal with.
Against crabs, speed is your ally (no pun intended). I learned you really have to watch out for cracking fetches and getting archive trapped, but the battlesingers, bloodbraid elves, and outbursts.
I also did pretty well against U/W control; power out a hand early expecting it to get Judged / Martial Coup’d, and hold back your rangers and cascade cards for post board clearing. Iona naming white is pretty much GG with no removal, unless you have board position already and can attack through it. Dauntless Escort shines, but sometimes I found myself wishing it had been an ally to pump my guys.
Here’s my current list. I would like opinions on the sideboard, if anyone out there has ideas.
CREATURES (32)
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Ranger of Eos
3 Talus Paladin
SPELLS (5)
2 Naya Charm
3 Violent Outburst
LAND (23)
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Jungle Shrine
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Arid Mesa
1 Forest
2 Mountain
4 Plains
BOARD OPTIONS
Sideboarding intelligently is extremely, extremely important, because as Dee said you need to maintain critical mass of allies in order to remain effective.
In my humble opinion, there are 3 absolute musts in my board:
3 Dauntless Escort – necessary against sweepers. It was either the escort or Mark of Asylum for this slot, but the escort won out because of the ziggurats, the fact that is a body that can swing, and that it prevents Day of Judgement whereas Mark of Asylum does not.
3 Ondu Cleric – necessary for races against other creature decks, RDW, etc
3 Tuktuk Scrapper – vs equipment like Boss Naya or UW that relies on artifacts for mana, but also great against Open the Vaults or other fringe decks with lots of artifacts like time sieve
I then thought one of the glaring weaknesses of my build was removal, so sought to address that with the next 3 free slots:
3 Oblivion Ring – while the instant speed of path was nice, I didn’t want to cascade into it with violent outburst nor did I want to ramp up someone else’s deck. I thought Journey filled the same slot admirably, but then settled on O-ring because it was useful against multiple things rather than just creatures. My one concern is something like Iona naming white, but can’t find an non-white answer to an Iona in Naya colors.
Which Left 3 slots left, and three cards immediately came to mind:
Manabarbs – a house vs control, I also thought sideboarding this in with the Ondu Clerics would be kinda ridic when racing other creature decks.
Naya Charm (this card shines in creature based deck matchups, but I had cut them to 2 maindeck becuase of ziggurat and in favor of other cards)
Pithing Needle – a catch all card basically, vs planeswalkers, equipment, manlands, etc
My first instinct is to go with Pithing Needle because it’s useful in quite a few matchups, but manabarbs is just so cute and Naya Charm wins games (and doubles as removal, which as I mentioned is a glaring weakness). Any ideas on the remaining 3 slots in the board?
William Spaniel’s article on the statistical relevance of Naya Allies as a tourney winning Standard deck:
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=8839
My summary:
Not enough data points from MTGO to tell as yet. Call me when the results are statistically significant.
I wanted to say thanks Beau. I’ve needed serious help constructing a fantastic ally deck that can stand up to any other Type II out there. Your info is well thought out and has inspired me.
I just ordered the extra cards I needed to have your deck at its current configuration. I would be happy to let you know how it turns out.
Please keep the updates coming.
Thanks Scott – hopefully the deck is working out for you!
I was out trolling the boards again tonight (like I used to on this site, hah), and someone posted a decklist that Cedric Phillips is playing (one of the Pros) and that he wrote about on starcitygames premium:
Creatures (32)
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-rief Survivalist
4 Talus Paladin
Instants (2)
2 Naya Charm
Basic Lands (24)
2 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Plains
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Raging Ravine
4 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard:
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Ondu Cleric
1 Ranger Of Eos
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
2 Turntimber Ranger
3 Manabarbs
1 Raging Ravine
The first thing that was noted on the boards was that he only listed 58 cards – there was a lot of speculation as to what they were supposed to be, based on my experience with the deck and the fact he has one in the board, they should probably be 2 Ranger of Eos.
The differences between my build and his appear to be the removal of the outbursts and inclusion of 1 more Talus Paladin, 1 more Harabaz Druid, and 1 Raging Ravine, as well as his sideboard choices. Some I already noted above, but the two that really surprised me were turntimber ranger and a second manland.
Before I talk about those though, I want to talk about the 3rd ranger and the 1 of bushwhacker, and i’m kind of digging the interaction. Boros used the ranger / bushwhacker combo to power out alpha strikes and we all know how nasty those could be, but allies has the added benefit of synergies with Evangel – tutor for a freeblade and a bushwhacker, and all of a sudden you have unblockable medium to large sized creatures to send your opponent’s way.
His selection of Turntimber Ranger confuses me a little, especially since none of his board choices prevent removal. Additionally, they have a fairly high casting cost – something that I think is a no-no because I feel you want to keep as low a curve as possible. For the same converted mana (actually, easier to cast since the Turntimber needs 2 green) you can cast Kazuul Warlord to pump your allies if you really thought it was necessary. I’d still probably stick with Dauntless Escort though, for the reasons stated above.
The other item of note was the extra Raging Ravine. I haven’t extensively tested with manlands and find that on most turns i’ve either tapped out or am holding back mana for Naya Charm or Outburst, but i’m guessing they are in there to make Manabarbs easier to cast and that they are good in matchups where the board has been cleared more than once (eg vs U/W) and you find yourself with an empty hand.
Sorry, I really should learn to review my posts before I hit send. I listed “Basic Lands” when they are really all just “Lands”. Don’t make fun of me, i’m fragile!
Here’s a link to another site, where a gentleman gives a breakdown of games versus Jund:
Careful Study: Trial By Fire #1: Naya Allies vs Jund
http://manashift.com/articles/?p=208
His list here:
Main Deck:
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Harabaz Druid
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Talus Paladin
3 Ranger of Eos
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
5 Plains
2 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Jungle Shrine
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Arid Mesa
Sideboard:
4 Ondu Cleric
4 Devout Lightcaster
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
3 Manabarbs
1 Ranger of Eos
You’ll note he removes Naya Charm and Violent Outburst for 2 more lands, a third Ranger of Eos, a fourth Talus Paladin, and a Goblin Bushwhacker main. Personally, I prefer the utility of Naya Charm and Violent Outburst – the only time i’m ever unhappy with Outburst is when I cascade into a Harabaz Druid…but usually i’ve saved it as a trick to play on my opponent’s turn, so i’m not too dissatisfied.
Last one for the night, then it’s off to the bars, I hope it’s ok that I cut / pasted this…
Tinweasel on mtgsalvation posts (and I agree):
“I tried kazuul and hes just a win more card, if you have enough allies out to make him worth it, you are already winning. Once this deck passes about 3-4 allies you have hit critical mass already. Turntimber is much more potent but personally i am still not a fan due to the lack of toughness for a 5 drop. being out of bolt/urge range is huge for me.
As an aside, budget not withstanding, i think the builds running baneslayer main are definatly onto something. the first 3-4 allies that we drop are pretty much must kill, or we overrun people, meaning they HAVE to use their removal early, making baneslayer that much more powerful. its synergy by a weird route, in short your allies protect your baneslayer. This is on top of the fact that post board wipe, baneslayer is an awesome easy way to reset board position”
Sadly, I have zero Baneslayers (*insert Snookie from MTV’s Jersey Shore “Waah” here*) so can’t try it out, but if anyone out there does and gives it a shot, I would love to see how it works out for you.
I played the “original” version of this deck at FNM a few hours ago, and went 5-1 on the swiss and took out top 8 ending in 1st place. I have to say, the one loss was to vamps, which really shouldn’t be a problem but was completely “mana screwed” on rounds 1 and 3. I’m very impressed on how this deck held up against Jund and U/W control. I’m thinking about playing goblin bushwhacker and perhaps Druids but I’ll leave that to testing later on in the week. Good luck to anyone playing this deck, it really is an interesting one.
My friends went to a tourney today and Naya Allies took the whole thing. I understand the guy didn’t play outbursts, but instead played 2 of Kazuul Warlord and another naya charm.
I just heard the guy that won played a Behemoth Sledge, 4 Naya Charms as his spells. He ran Kazuul Warlord in place of Ranger.
I am considering trying planeswalkers instead of Naya Charms and/or outbursts; I think that the reusable abilities are necessary because of the limited number of spells we can cast. Additionally, if your opponent is focused on ridding the board of your planeswalker, he isn’t targetting you or using a critical O-ring on one of your creatures.
Here are the planeswalkers and their abilities in our colors:
Ajani Goldmane
+1: You gain 2 life.
-1: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Those creatures gain vigilance until end of turn.
-6: Put a white Avatar creature token onto the battlefield. It has “This creature’s power and toughness are each equal to your life total.
Ajani Vengeant
+1: Target permanent doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
-2: Ajani Vengeant deals 3 damage to target creature or player and you gain 3 life.
-7: Destroy all lands target player controls.
Chandra Ablaze
+1: Discard a card. If a red card is discarded this way, Chandra Ablaze deals 4 damage to target creature or player.
-2: Each player discards his or her hand, then draws three cards.
-7: Cast any number of red instant and/or sorcery cards from your graveyard without paying their mana costs.
Chandra Nalaar
+1: Chandra Nalaar deals 1 damage to target player.
-X: Chandra Nalaar deals X damage to target creature.
-8: Chandra Nalaar deals 10 damage to target player and each creature he or she controls.
Elspeth
+1: Put a 1/1 white Soldier creature token onto the battlefield.
+1: Target creature gets +3/+3 and gains flying until end of turn.
-8: For the rest of the game, artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands you control are indestructible.
Garruk
+1: Untap two target lands.
-1: Put a 3/3 green Beast creature token onto the battlefield.
-4: Creatures you control get +3/+3 and gain trample until end of turn.
Nissa
+1: Search your library for a card named Nissa’s Chosen and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
+1: You gain 2 life for each Elf you control.
-7: Search your library for any number of Elf creature cards and put them onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
Sarkhan Vol
+1: Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain haste until end of turn.
-2: Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
-6: Put five 4/4 red Dragon creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield.
The ones that immediately get the no:
Nissa – obvious, as her abilities are more elfdrazi focused
Chandra Ablaze +1 is pretty useless, you’ll want to cast rather than discard. -2 is nice, it refills your grip because you’re likely to be casting left and right. -7 is also useless, given the number of spells. Given that two of 3 abilities aren’t useful and the high casting cost, I pass on using her.
Goldmane +1 is good for races, -1 grows your allies, -6 can give you a large must remove creature if you have your paladins and clerics, which you can get in as little as 2 turns. Seems good and even with the double white it’s fairly easy to cast, but I think there are better options as the +1 and -6 are marginal given the lifegain in this deck already and the ultimates of the other planeswalkers.
The ones that I plan on testing:
Ajani Vengeant: covers one of the decks glaring weaknesses, removal. +1 keeps a blocker tapped or opponents off their mana, -2 is a repeatable bolt/lifegain, -7 locks the game in your favor. He starts in bolt range, which is an issue, but any removal not targeting your growing allies is definitely in your favor. I’m not so sure the ultimate is as useful in this deck, because by the time you hit 7 you want to have won. Better in a control deck I think, but a contender for the slot.
Chandra Nalaar: +1 pings your opponent, which is always nice, -x gives a good way to kill critical blockers, and the -8 is nasty which you can get in two turns. A contender, but the double red would require an adjustment to the mana base.
Elspeth: +1 gives virtual card advantage and serves as token blockers so your allies can attack, the other +1 gives evasion which the allies currently lack, and the ultimate is basically an auto-win because it keeps your permanents on the board. In other creature-based decks like mono-white Elspeth is a house, so she is definitely in consideration.
Garruk +1 is nice, as it can keep you on your colors to let you cast your spells if you’re slightly mana screwed, though the double green will mean an adjustment to the mana. -1 gives you virtual card advantage and serves as a blocker so your growing allies can be on the offensive, and the -4 ultimate is great in a creature deck obviously. He starts in bolt range, which is an issue, but any removal not targeting your growing allies is a good thing.
Sarkhan Vol: I’ll admit i’ve been trying to find a place for this guy for a long time, with little success, but this might be a deck he does well in. The +1 ability gives +1/+1 and haste which can help you end games faster. -2 removes a critical blocker and gives you another guy to swing with, and the -6 is amazing because of the virtual card advantage plus the fact that they have flying, since the deck has no evasion except for the Naya Charms.
Of the five, i’m leaning most towards Chandra Nalaar, as she is a reusable removal card, and Sarkhan Vol, because he lets you swing with all your creatures immediately. I’ll let you know how playtesting goes, and if anyone out there has ever given it a try, please let me know.
It was just pointed out to me by my friend Ethan (thanks Ethan!) that technically we do have a very powerful form of evasion in the form of Kabira Evangel, which is arguably the most pressing reason to run Outbursts. You’re right, i’m wrong, and i’ve said it in a public place so now you can’t hold it against me!
I agree, beauseph, that sarkhan, ajani, elspeth and nalaar are the most relevant planeswalkers in this build. The question to ask, I think is: which suite of abilities helps the most in tough match-ups? Removal is important in a lot of match-ups (really, all creature based match-ups) but is poor against u/w control. However, denial is good against control…I guess as I work it through, ajani vengeant seems to cover most bases…relevant removal abilities, as well as threats against control…
Question Beausophet? What would you remove from your current build to add your Planeswalker?
Yeah, I think Kabira Evangel is the best ally against the decks without mass removal because he’s basically an Eldrazi Monument on a 2/3 body every turn as long as you have allies to cast.
Kabira Evangel is very good but not like Eldrazi Monument as it does not protect against Day of Judgment which is one of this deck’s biggest fears. Violent Outburt and/or Join the Ranks are still vital in this deck for protection from mass removal other than Judgement (mostly red spells).
I agree with Ethan that Ajani seems to give you what you are lacking in this deck. However, I’m leaning towards Sarkhan Vol. The ability to give haste plus added power fits right in and the 2nd ability gives temporary removal plus added attack. Not to mention the 3rd ability which requires your opponent to handle it.
Elspeth and Garruk are never wrong either.
It’s a hard choice, trying to figure out what to cut. I didn’t want to touch any of the allies, because of the whole critical mass issue we’ve previously discussed. Naya charm is versatile and can win you games by tapping all of your opponent’s creatures. Outburst I feel is necessary because of the instant speed trickery.
I plan on removing the Naya Charms first, in favor of Sarkhan. If I like playing planeswalkers in that slot, i’ll try Chandra out some games. I am suspecting I will like Chandra more than Sarkhan b/c of the ultimate ability to do 10 to an opponent and all of his/her creatures, as it doesn’t have to target them – there are lots of shroud creatures in the format right now.
(not to mention Mike Flores said he’s playing around with a list of all shroud creatures recently)
I think you can have a problem with running planeswalkers if you are playing 4 Ancient Ziggurat. With only 20 lands that can cast spells, you could have problems reaching 4-5 mana to cast your walkers. I know Harabaz Druid is a mana source but creatures are easy to kill.
Page 20 of the thread on mtgsalvation has a couple of tournament reports: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=231163&page=20
@Dee – even with the 4 Ziggurats, i’ve not as yet had issues casting any of the 5 spells I maindeck, but maybe that’s because they are only 3cc spells – you might be right about reaching 4 to 5 as one of my lands is almost always a ziggurat. I’ll have to playtest thoroughly and let you know. I plan on taking my original decklist to WNM (our version of FNM, our local shop does standard on Wednesdays) since I haven’t had a chance to playtest ‘walkers yet. I may make a gametime decision and throw two in, in place of the naya charms.
On the last 3 slots in the board for tonight: I mentioned that I was looking for something in the last 3 slots in the board, but i’m leaning towards pithing needle becuase of its catch-all nature. I do however expect to see the mirror. The last 3 slots might even become Journey to Nowhere.
PS, I just recently found magicgameplan on facebook, for all you readers out there that want to become fans!
Thanks, Beau! Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Magic-Game-Plan/230908879481
3 Pithing Needle seems like too much. I can’t think of a deck where I would want to bring in all three. Maybe UW Control but then they’re probably bringing in Baneslayers. I think Journeys are a good idea if you expect the mirror. 2 Journeys and 1 Pithing Needle for the last 3 slots seems good.
Anyways, good luck tonight!
0 and 3 then drop – won one game and lost two in each match. Despite the dismal showing, games were extremely close and could have gone either way, plus I made a ton of play mistakes. I have a tendency to overplay my hand and overextend, which in this deck is lethal.
Lessons Learned:
- sometimes white weenie has martial coup. don’t overextend!!
- control decks always have Judgements and Martial coups. Don’t overextend!!!!
- WGU token decks have martial coup. You may have heard it before, don’t overextend!
- don’t forget you also do damage when you blow up an artifact with Tuktuk Scrappers (ugh)
- manabarbs instead of Journey; O-ring is enough for key blockers. I wouldn’t have been blown out by martial coup so many times, with them at 5 or 6 life!
- don’t keep suspect hands. If you are questioning a hand, you are probably right and should mull.
- Kabira Evangel is SICK. I wish I could play 8 of them.
- Violent outburst may be an underperformer, used as a trick it’s amazing, but a lot of times I had wished it was something else. More often than not i was just casting it during my turn to get more board presence.
- Harabaz druid is amazing, and can cause T4 blowouts
Ouch, sorry to hear that. Looks like you got bad matchups with all those board sweepers that are pretty good against Allies.
I had matchups vs white weenie and two homebrews with tons of mass removal; I also misplayed a lot and in typical Beau fashion overextended my board position (it’s a known problem i’ve talked about before, that I can’t seem to curb…it’s like whenever I scent blood I go in a frenzy and have tunnel vision).
I lost games I should have won because I forgot tuktuk scrappers does damage in addition to destroying an artifact, named the wrong color with Kabira Evangel, and didn’t pay attention to manlands (which caused unprofitable attacks). I made a lot of play mistakes.
I am planning on putting together a primer of how to play vs different archetypes, general notes, what colors to call out for kabira evangel, etc. based on all the games i’ve played, and will post here eventually.
Apart from Allies related stuff, Lodestone Golem is an intersting card that was played against me that i’d like to find a deck for, and I can’t wait for the Eldrazi prerelease this weekend!
PS i’m going to try 3 manabarbs main and 3 Ondu cleric in place of the naya charms, outbursts, and 1 harabaz druid.
I go the other way with my play mistakes. I often hold back my creatures because I fear mass removal. It’s a tricky balance to keep but most of the time I err on the side of too much caution and cause myself to lose games when they don’t have the mass removal spell and I could’ve won by not playing around the spell.
That primer seems like a great idea. I thought playing allies would be pretty simple but there seem to be a lot of decisions to make especially when playing against different archetypes.
I think the 3 Manabarbs and 3 Ondu Cleric could work. But if you do play those spells, I wouldn’t play other spells that cost four mana like planeswalkers because of Ancient Ziggurat. Three spells that cost four mana seems to be most your manabase can handle especially if you’re cutting a Harabad Druid.
I can’t believe Splinter Twin! I was sad that there were no new allies in this latest set. But when I drafted Splinter Twin, and got two more in the box I bought, I cried for joy to see an ally booster like this. Tell me you cried to Beau.
I know you must be a busy guy, but that primer of how to play vs different archetypes, general notes, what colors to call out for kabira evangel, etc… is what I am really needing.
Being a big Building on a Budget player, I’ve recently caught the allies bug and have been building a Bant Allies deck. I’d really like to see an allies primer as the Valakut one was very helpful. I’d be willing to help with a tailored version for UWG allies based on my headbutting of this deck against others.
Splinter Twin looks good – I haven’t as yet tried it! Sorry i’ve been idle, i’ve been fiddling around with trying to cheat fatties like Emrakul into play (polymorph, summoning trap). My latest efforts are focusing on a monogreen summoning trap deck.
As for the primer, specifically matchups – I’ll try to do one a night. What do you guys want to see first?
Mike Flores talks about a Naya Allies build on Daily MTG here: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/td/88&dcmp=ilc-mtgrss
Main Deck
60 cards
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
3 Forest
2 Mountain
3 Plains
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Sunpetal Grove
——————————————————————————–
23 lands
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Hada Freeblade
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
3 Ranger of Eos
3 Talus Paladin
——————————————————————————–
34 creatures
3 Path to Exile
——————————————————————————–
3 other spells
Sideboard
3 Journey to Nowhere
3 Kor Firewalker
4 Manabarbs
3 Ondu Cleric
2 Tuktuk Scrapper
——————————————————————————–
15 sideboard cards
My new current tech is 3 manabarbs and 3 Ondu Cleric main, and it’s won me many, many games. I went 3 and 1 tonight, losing to Time Sieve. I’ll post my decklist tomorrow.
I should mention that I won against Naya, U/W Control (admittedly because he had to mull to 4 one game), and Jund.
Here is my current build:
MAINDECK
CREATURES (34)
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Akoum Battlesinger
3 Ondu Cleric
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Oran Rief Survivalist
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Talus Paladin
2 Ranger of Eos
Spells (3)
3 Manabarbs
Land (23)
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Forest
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Plains
2 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
SIDEBOARD
1 Talus Paladin
1 Pithing Needle
2 Naya Charm
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Journey to Nowhere
Maindeck Manabarbs are insane. Typically as an aggro deck, you are ahead on life from fast attacks and your opponent’s fetches, and if not, you have the Clerics and Paladins to give you an edge on life. If your opponent wants to cast answers to your creatures, they take damage. An O-ring on the barbs is an o-ring not cast on your creatures, which lets you get critical mass.
Sideboard, the only new stuff in there is the journey to nowhere, which I stuck in there because I expect to see a lot of polymorphed Emrakuls.
Additionally, maindeck manabarbs is sick against U/W (take 7 for your Martial Coup!) which, as the new boogeyman next to Jund, I expect to see a lot more of.
A thought concerning JTR vs Ranger; I feel that both cards have their merits, but everyone seems to be choosing an all or nothing stance on them. My plan is to try game 1 with one of them and then switch it up for game 2- I’m thinking that game one with rangers switched to JTRs is a bit more of a surprise than the other way around, but at the same time violent outburst may already give that away. I need to do more playtesting to really see which order is better.
My build is similar to the one at the top of the forum, but I feel it could use some more reflection
4x Hada Freeblade
4x Kazandu Blademaster
4x Oran-Rief Survivalist
4x Akoum Battlesinger
4x Kabira Evangel
4x Bloodbraid Elf
2x Talus Paladin
1x Ondu Cleric
1x Kazuul Warlord (If you play this with 6 lands on the field and a hada freeblade in hand, your field gets pumped by 2/2, which can be devastating. His cost is higher than I would have liked, which is why he’s a singleton, but I feel like it’s been useful in the games he’s appeared in.)
2x Ranger of Eos
3x Naya Charm
4x Violent Outburst
4x Plains
2x Mountain
1x Forrest
4x Sunpetal Grove
3x Stirring Wildwood
1x Raging Ravine
Sideboard
4x Devout Lightcaster (For vampire stomping)
3x Dauntless Escort (For you wrath, I lose)
3x Tuktuk Scrapper (For anything with artifacts)
The remaining 5 cards are, admittedly, less important. I’ve seen Kor Firewalker to stand against Red Deck Wins, Paths to Exile for Baneslayer, Goblin Bushwackers… for people who don’t believe that Akoum Battlesinger was good enough, I guess. Anyways, the sideboard options that I think will be the most useful are
1x ondu cleric (Hooray lifegain)
3x Harabaz Druid
1x Kazuul Warlord
The harabaz druids are an idea I’ve had about making the kazuul warlord gambit actually useful- if you can pump your manabase enough to drop him and another ally your field is in good shape. To be honest, the only time I’d try to pull a stunt like this would be if the matchup’s a dead giveaway in my favor, but I don’t really know what else I should side against and this seems like it would be fun.
So, my question is, Kazuul Warlord, potential silly card, or probably a waste of space?
Here is my current deck:
Creatures:
4x Akoum Battlesinger
4x Bloodbraid Elf
1x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Hada Freeblade
2x Harabaz Druid
4x Kabira Evangel
4x Kazandu Blademaster
2x Ondu Cleric
4x Oran-Rief Survivalist
3x Ranger of Eos
Enchantment:
2x Splinter Twin
Instant:
2x Naya Charm
3x Violent Outburst
Land:
4x Ancient Ziggurat
4x Jungle Shrine
6x Plains
3x Forest
4x Mountain
Im not sure about the Splinter Twin but is feel nice and sound awesome
get every turn ally effect!
I’ll write again the last sentence.
I’m not sure about the Splinter Twin but it feels nice and sounds awesome to get every turn an ally effect!
I am thinking that you need to drop splinter twin after your creature has already gotten past summoning sickness, so you can use the Kabira Evangel effect at instant speed to protect it (if you have it out). This way the only “weakness” to a single instant speed removal spell then, is when you cast Splinter Twin (you can then tap it in response to removal to get the comes into play effects on the stack before the removal).
One thing i’ve noticed in my games is the instant speed removal after the ally has come into effect but while the ability is on the stack, which is quite annoying, and which was why I originally had the Join the Ranks then the Violent Outbursts, but I am finding more and more i’ve tapped most of my mana anyway when the instant speed removal is going off anyway, so 3 or 4 mana isn’t available. That’s why I replaced the outbursts with the manabarbs, but I am going to try splinter twins in the spell slot I have available.
My main concern (as is always my concern with enchantments) is the possibility for your opponent to gain card advantage by two-for-one’ing by killing whatever ally you stuck the splinter twin on. Goo, have you been able to protect the creature when you’ve gotten the enchantment out?
Yeah, i have allways dropped splinter twin after my creature has gotten past summoning sickness. Usually the ally with splinter get removed really fast, but for example dropping splinter on the Kabira Evangel has been really success.
Is this right?
I got a Hada Freeblade with 3 counters (so Hada is 3/4) + Splinter Twin.
I tap Hada and i get the token. Ally effect happens.
So has “Hada” token power and toughness 3/4? And does token get a counter? so after all he is 4/5 with haste?
Lyman, I haven’t extensively playtested the warlord, but most of the stuff i’ve read on the net in various places have people saying it’s a “win more” card because you’re liable to be ahead anyway when it comes out. How has it worked out in your games?
Goo, I am not sure, but I interpret it to read put an exact copy of the creature it’s copying into play, counters and all; so in the case of the 3/4 freeblade, I think the copy comes out as a an 0/1 with 3 counters on it as well (without the comes into play effect of being an 0/1 and the 3 counters getting put on the stack). Assuming the two freeblades are the only creatures you have, then the comes into play effect of the freeblade ally copy causes both the original and the copy to get a +1/+1 counter. Both the original and the copy are now 4/5’s. And yes, the copy does have haste.
This sounds far, far nastier than I originally thought…
@Beau
I was wondering why sub the 4th sunpetal for a stirring?
My Decklist
Creatures
4x Hada Freeblade
4x Kazandu
4x Battlesinger
4x Orien rief
4x Evangel
4x Bloodbraid
3x Talus
2x Rangers
2x Harabaz
Spells
3x Naya Charm
Land
4x Ziggurat
4x Shrine
4x Petal
2x Forest
4x Plains
4x Arid Mesa
3x Mountain
1x Ragging Ravine
maybe i missed some posts but im seeing a lot of 4x vengvine in builds at ptqs ive attended why are there none in any of the builds on here?
I’ve decided not to include vengevine in my build because i’d prefer to have a higher critical mass of allies (or creatures that will eventually get me an ally, ie Bloodbraid, Ranger of Eos). This is to ensure that I will always have a lifegain trigger, to help put me ahead when I put down the manabarbs.
I have seen it played and it was amazing, but my preferred method of dealing with a meta full of sweeper effects / control is manabarbs.
@Phil – I wanted a one-of manland; while raging ravine grows, I felt that fliers are a potential weakness of allies not playing Bant colors, so wanted to see if it worked out (Stirring Wildwood has reach). It hasn’t really made that big a difference so I’m probably going to drop manlands entirely and go with another Sunpetal Grove.
@Beau – Yea i notice flyers were a big issue for allies since none have flying in these colors. And the stirring made since. But i was wondering what i can sub for tuk tuk scrappers because in my metagame there arent the many jacerators and open the vaults decks.
@Phil If you’re talking about your sideboard, Pithing Needle is a great catch all card – shuts down planeswalkers, equipment from getting equipped, etc…any ability with a colon between cost and the ability. It has an added bonus of only costing 1 colorless, which means it shouldn’t get affected by ancient ziggurat too much…and agianst U/W Tapout the only card i’ve seen in those decklists to deal with it is Oblivion Ring, which is a 3 of or sideboarded.
Yea I can see how pithing needle would be good right now.
My only problem is that i like the synergy of naya charm to where i dnt want to take it out of mainboard. I like the effect of manabarb against control. But im haveing alot of trouble against mono white control with 3x days, 3x martial coup, and 3x all is dust with alot of removal. I dont know what to do with the all is dust when i can use duntless escourt against the other 2.
Ran into a problem playtesting last night – A splinter twin (or any activation of Kabira Evangel) calling red caused the enchantment to go away…
I have just constructed this deck and im very new to MTG. Havent played it much, but i was wondering at what point do you guys feel like its ok to lose a life to use arid mesa.. or at what point is it not ok? I know it probably depends on the situation, but i didnt know if there was a general rule or not. Like if im holding a mesa and im fine on mana.. I can lay it down, but there’s no point in tapping it to lose a life until i need the mana from the fetch.. right?
Also @Beau. I assume once u get manabarbs down you’re just relying on druids for whatever mana u need mostly?
Thanks in advance and thanks for all the hard work on this deck!
I use fetches whenever I get them, as soon as I get them, to thin my deck of land and to try to increase the percent chance of a relevant draw.
In terms of manabarbs, I usually don’t mind hurting myself if I have a number of lifegain options (whether an attack by talus paladin or activations of the Ondu Cleric). What i’ve found during most games is that i’m already ahead on life or will be ahead on life after a Talus Paladin enabled attack, so don’t mind the life loss. By the time i’m able to drop a manabarbs is usually just before the time my opponent can cast answers (day of judgement, martial coup, etc) so I can attack through whatever creature defenses they have for the rest.
There are definitely matchups where you don’t want the manabarbs, like RDW / Devastating Red / Blightning Deck Wins, and where i’d opt to side in a third Talus Paladin and the Naya Charms.
There are obviously times where you don’t want to crack a fetch, like when it might kill you – maybe you’re at 4 life and you’re playing decks that have lightning bolt, or you’re at 8 life and your opponent can attack through for 7 etc. But in general, they’re there for manafixing and deck thinning.
Sweet thanks for the replies and help. Im still learning the meta where i play, but apparently there’s only really 1-2 people that play Jund out of 25 or so. The rest is some control and vampires are very popular also.
Any strats or must sides for control and vampires? I’m never quite sure what to replace when i put in some sideboard stuff also. Maybe a druid and a pally? I think about swapping out Akoum Battlesinger when i want to put in a different side, (because that seems like one of the worst creatures i have) but i dont want to reduce my ally pumps.
The more I think about it, the more I’m liking Manabarbs main. Manabarbs is great against the Wall of Omens decks, which seems to be pretty good against Allies. Nice tech, Beau.
I was thinking of running one manabarb main board and two naya charm for my spells. I think thatll work out for game one against control if I am able to pull the manabarb early before the coup or days me.
I’m really digging the Naya Allies right now. I can see why mana barbs is awesome but I’m not sure about cutting Violent Outbust. I feel that Harabaz Druid had taken that spot. I also don’t like Harabaz Druid because it makes you want to over extend.
Playing tonight and again soon. We’ll see.
Has anyone considered adding Eldrazi Monuments & Turntimber Ranger maybe? I played my first FNM with this deck…finished top 8, but both times i lost were to an eldrazi monument and me not having any fliers or naya charm to prevent the damage.
That and not drawing my evangels or paladin.
The Splinter Twin, I think I will just forget it because you cant say red when playing splinter twin and kabira evangel.
This is my deck now:
Creatures:
4x Akoum Battlesinger
4x Bloodbraid Elf
1x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Hada Freeblade
3x Harabaz Druid
4x Kabira Evangel
4x Kazandu Blademaster
4x Oran-Rief Survivalist
3x Ranger of Eos
3x Talus Paladin
Other Spells:
3x Violent Outburst
Land:
4x Jungle Shrine
6x Plains
3x Mountain
3x Forest
4x Ancient Ziggurat
3x Sunpetal Grove
Googooballs, thanks for giving your list. Looks solid.
Do you think it’s best to have Manabarbs main or side?
I like having more of a chance agaisnt control. And in many decks, you can simply out race the opponent because your spells are so much cheaper and your lifegain is continuous.
Anyone else think this is a good way to go? Or are the Manabarbs just best left in the side?
It’s good to have found this site as the Manila Grand Prix 2010 is just 2 days away and I am using Naya Allies too! Your inputs have been very helpful. A question though for outburst users. I have played similar decks and builds posted above but the most annoying situation is when I cast outburst just to see Kabira Evangel being cascaded to the bottom of my library during times when I need it the most. Violent Outburst is a great booster for this deck but it doesn’t compliment the sickest card among the Allies.They hate Kabira Evangel a lot! I am thinking of boarding in 2 Naya Charms to increase my chances of evasion during alpha attacks. Your thoughts please. Thank you!
Hey King,
I’m not an Allies player but I did find a list that won a Last Chance Grand Prix Trial in Sendai last week. You might want to check it out:
Main Deck
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
4 Jungle Shrine
2 Mountain
4 Plains
4 Sunpetal Grove
24 lands
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Hada Freeblade
3 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
3 Ranger of Eos
31 creatures
2 Naya Charm
3 Path to Exile
5 other spells
Sideboard
2 Basilisk Collar
3 Cunning Sparkmage
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Ondu Cleric
3 Pithing Needle
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
15 sideboard cards
Link: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/gpsen10/day1#2
Anyways, good luck in Manila!
Dee, thanks for this.
Charms and PTEs will cover for the absence of Talus Paladin’s life gain I assume. I like the idea of the bushwhacker on board as it can swing 8 damage after a board sweep. Eos 4/2, Freeblade 2/2, Bushwhacker 2/1 all with haste.. I think I’ll drop outbursts for now. Bloodbraid Elf and Eos would be sufficient enough as fetches, imo. I’ll board 3 charms and 2 PTEs. Will playtest this later after work and see what happens.
3 hours to go and the GP will start.. I’ve decided to drop the outbursts and replaced them with 2 PTEs and 2 Naya Charms. Hoping to have made the right decision.
How did you do?
I didn’t make it to day 2 but I think I did well. Went 2-0 against a R/W aggro and Jund. Then 2 straight losses against another Jund and a Cruel Control. Should have won against the Jund if I had better draws. Cruel control – bolt, blightning, doomblade, sideboarded by deathmark, pretty hurts. Guess that player prepared for aggro dudes. I’m now at 2-2. I could only afford to lose 2 games to advance to the 2nd day. By the way we had a total of 1,071 players
. I went on 4-2, defeating a MB Vamp and a Mono Green aggro. noble hierarch, joraga treespeaker, leatherback baloth, vengevine overrun. Naya Charm did the trick even though I was overwhelmed by creatures and tokens. on my 7th match, I went against a U/W Control, 3 spreading seas on my multicolored lands an I am dead.. defended by wall of omens with elspeth & gideon, Never drew dauntless escort and eos against DOJ and Martial Coup. After loosing and going 4-3, I dropped to attend to other important matters. Over all, Ally deck is sick, loved playing it seeing my opponents scratching their heads 
Thanks for the mini report. 4-3 is definitely not bad. Glad to see that the metagame is diverse and that Naya Charm helped win you a game
Also, I would recommend boarding at least 2 PTEs. These helped me survive in almost every game. I had 3 onboard.
my list for a san antonio ptq on 7-24-10
got 10th place
4 hada freeblade
4 kazandu blademaster
4 oran rief survivalist
4 akoum battlesinger
4 kabira evangel
4 bloodbraid elf
2 ranger of eos
2 talus paladin
2 harabaz druid
2 vengevine
1 ondu cleric
2 violent outburst
2 naya charm
4 jungle shrine
4 arid mesa
4 ancient ziggurat
3 sunpetal grove
1 rootbound crag
4 plains
2 mountain
1 forest
sideboard
1 tajuru preserver (rgu d-force just got popular)
2 ondu cleric
2 path to exile
2 dauntless escort
2 celestial purge
2 gaea’s revenge
2 pithing needle
2 tuktuk scrapper
1. RG d-force (2-1)
2. UR draw/burn (2-1)
3. Time Sieve (2-0)
4. RDW (2-0)
5. Jund (1-2)
6. Esper Control (1-2)
7. UW control (2-0)
8. Jund (2-0)
9. RGU d-force (2-0)
way too fast for d-force and time sieve. hardest matchups were against control with judgment in it, as it was actually hard to recover from. vengevine works well but never got him working for his main ability, he was there-then exiled lol.
the worst thing to see when playin this deck is baneslayer angel, board in path.
forget man-lands.
ro,
Congrats! Thanks for giving us your list. I just did a deck price tag on it: http://magicgameplan.com/blog/deck-price-tag-m11-naya-allies/
I am currently constructing an ally deck (standard) That is more of a stick and move deck. Mono White that uses spells to protect my creatures from colors. So I can either A protect them from kill spells, or use them to block and take no damage.
I run:
4 hada freeblade
3 talus paladin
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Ondu Cleric
4 join the ranks
4 safe passage
4 brave the elements
4 silence
4 emerge unscathed
21 plains
Any feedback?