I am currently in the process of constructing a deck for Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.
Since her reanimation clause is pretty broad ( >=2 power), there are so many options and unconventional paths you can take the deck. I would be interested to hear what unconventional cards you play in your Alesha deck and how these cards performed for you. Comments on niche interactions and combos are highly appreciated. Also, among the many staples for the deck, I would love to hear which have over/underperformed for you.
Note: "unconventional" would be anything that does not show up as top cards for Alesha on EDHRec. Everyone knows that Master of Cruelties or Karmic Guide are bonkers in Alesha.
Here are some unconventional cards I am interested in to try out in Alesha: Palisade Giant - I have an unexplainable affection for the card ever since it was printed. Its a pretty beefy wall and protects Alesha and the other wee creatures from dying in combat. Evangel of Heliod - This seems very good in a decks that runs at least 20-25 W symbols. Go-wide seems to be one of the most reliable wincondition in Alesha (Cathars' Crusade says Hi). Herald of Leshrac - I personally don't like attacking the other players' mana base but this one is seems sweet in the deck and is not too difficult to deal with. Eidolon of Rhetoric - A way to outvalue your opponents by putting two things on the field each turn (spell + reanimation) compared to only one on your opponents end. This might be especially helpful considering the low overall strength of creatures in the deck. Graveblade Marauder - Seems super synergistic with Alesha and effectively cheats on the 2-power restriction. Raving Dead - Once again, a real threat that deals much more damage than the 2 power would suggest. Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant - Recurable protection for you small attackers, although quite underwhelming when you don't meet the 30 life requirement. Mesmeric Orb - Hands down the best selfmill card in MTG imo, I am really confused as to why this is in so few Alesha lists. Perpetual Timepiece - Another selfmill tool that protects from graveyard hate. Breath of Fury - A risky but very interesting card that enables simply attacking people to death in a single turn. Has anyone ever tried this one out? would be super eager to now how that went! Wake the Dead/Rally the Ancestors - Mass reanimation that seems very good with ETB-effect creatures or things that sacrifice themselves (or both). Retribution of the Meek/Slaughter the Strong - One-sided boardwipes for 3cmc? Yes please!
One of my favorite cards isn't an ETB/LTB creature, but can cause blowouts just the same: Masako the Humorless. Alesha is a red zone deck wants to attack, and flashing in Masako after attacking with a Deathtouch creature or whatnot that they don't want to block, then flashing her in and having it block anyway is just great. She also has potential to put attackers in the graveyard to bring back the next turn with Alesha, while very likely taking out some of an opponent's attackers
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Brago, King Eternal are without a doubt the two most flexible commanders i have. They went through a ton of changes, hence i have some experience with them and love discussing them.
So here are my 2 cents:
Unconventional Creature Choices:
Anathemancer - Depends on your meta, but in a format as infested with strong utility lands, this could ping for a ton. Blind Zealot - If it weren't for Duplicant, Ravenous Chupacabra and Necrotic Sliver i'd propably still play him. Custodi Soulbinders - Can be one fat beatstick. But a vanilla one that requires a ton of mana to flood the board with tokens... Ebonblade Reaper - You can ditch his first clause through reanimation. Entomber Exarch - Two relevant modes. Graveblade Marauder - Always felt he was too slow, but deserves to be mentioned. Grenzo, Havoc Raiser - Deserves his name. Hilarious guy. Goblin Assassin - Could be a lot of fun. Guiltfeeder - Can be devastating. Ignition Team - I would hate to hard cast it. Other than that, he'll propably be big af. Kheru Mind-Eater - Like Nightveil Specter? You'll like this. Lim-Dûl's Paladin - If you're looking to durdle, this is your main man! Minion of the Wastes - Suicidal, yet fun. Noosegraf Mob - Will trigger automatically and sacs itself. Cool dude. Palace Jailer - Card draw and (temporary) removal. If your meta has less flyers this could be very strong. Palisade Giant/Protector of the Crown - Solid effect, but too much mana to hard cast. One is big but doesn't do much, the other is a tad too small to protect itself and monarch status efficiently. Prophetic Flamespeaker - Never tried this one out, but it looks fun. Raving Dead - Nothing random about it, if you put it into play from the graveyard. Soltari Visionary - Does what it does. Thoughtpicker Witch - Didn't make the cut in my deck, but is a strong, manipulative effect. Also see Shimian Specter. Undercity Informer - It's a slow (self-)mill effect, but a solid roleplayer. Wall of Blood - Ever felt like swinging for lethal... with a wall!?
(Hidden) Gems:
Blinding Angel - In this deck it's better than Stonehorn Dignitary, since you're able to get the effect each turn without requiring your commanders' ability for it. Dimir House Guard - Tutor, sac outlet, evasive attacker and comes with protection. Swiss army knife. Filth - This should see more play. Especially if you run an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth! Lieutenant Kirtar - Requires additional mana, but it's a strong effect on a flying body. Restoration Specialist - Allows you to re-use stuff your commander can't get you back. Stinkweed Imp - Dredge 5 on a pseudo-deathtouch flyer! Think about it. Wispmare - As cheap as it gets to evoke and has evasion. Simple and good. Fanatical Devotion - Is value most of the time. The "least" you get out of it is a safe attack with another creature option in your gy. Tortured Existence - Simple design, but a fun tool to exploit. Allows you to cheat on commander tax, if need be. Vampiric Rites - Does require mana, but it draws you cards and gains you life, yay. Tenza, Godo's Maul - Turns your commander into a 6/5, first strike, trample beatstick. If it's important in your meta, makes her Breya, Etherium Sculptor safe. Tragic Arrogance - Sooo good! Completes my board wipe package with Austere Command and Slaughter the Strong. Shizo, Death's Storehouse - Evasion, generates mana of color, comes into play untapped...
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - Playtested her, found her to be way too slow. Archetype of Finality - My deck has gotten a ton better when i started worrying about hardcasting more. 4BB is simply too much for this effect. Disciple of Bolas - "another creature" can be problematic, if the only other one is your commander. Plus, your creatures are small... Hanweir Garrison - While cheap, it's an attack trigger and therefor delayed. Mother of Runes - We all know how awesome mom is, but you can not expect her to stick around more oftenly through your commander, as everyone will chump block her at all cost. Ponyback Brigade - High cmc, no other utility and "just" 3 gobos coming into play. I'd rather gamble wih Evangel of Heliod. Priest of the Blood Rite - Once again, slow. Sun Titan - Can't speak for anyone else, but at least creature-wise a majority of my keypieces are too expensive for the big guy. Faithless Looting - It is strong and with Flashback you're able to do it twice, but from my experience permanent-based options are better, as your commander isn't necessarily fast.
... despite the wall of text i might've forgotten a ton of good and bad stuff.
If you feel like checking out my brew, link is in the signature.
I'm surprised people are as into self-milling as they are. I find it rather unreliable. I like the idea of Perpetual Time piece as a way to protect your graveyard from hate, though I'm using Praetor's Grasp for that purpose: Find their Bog and leave it in exile, but has the added upside of also being usable to find whatever you want.
Admittedly, I'm probably going for a different experience than other Alesha builds, but I find her fatal flaw is that she will tend to have no meaningful interaction during opponents' turns. She needs more creature-based options to function. This pushes towards ETB effects, flickering, and instant speed reanimation.
And then ETB effects that do strong work you can trigger at little cost when you need to. Doomed Necromancer is incredibly flexible in this situation if you have a variety of things to grab in response to a key spell.
As such, I probably run far more top-end that other Alesha builds. Sun Titan in particular happens to be fantastic for me. It gets back both necromancers, both reanimation auras, all of my sac outlets, a few removal effects and lands. Lands are always good. (Sun Titan is also not intentionally part of a few infinite combos.) Among other topend options I like:
These are really powerful cards to reuse every turn and during opponent's turns and it's not really possible without going all in on that plan. I run a lot of looting effects to ditch them when drawn instead of trying to mill into them and to hit land drops and I'm running far more actual reanimation spells than I imagine a typical Alesha deck does, which makes her less necessary if she starts getting hated out.
Other cards I run that I think might get overlooked:
Shieldmage Advocate - Has political value and can give back removal/countermagic at any time if needed but also protects Alesha when she attacks Mindclaw Shaman - Being able to reanimate it at any time and using advocates to give back spells I want to cast (and being able to repeat the same spell) make this a lot stronger than this would be normally. Pulsemage Advocate -> Mindclaw Shaman is a very powerful 0-mana play. False Prophet - I have a strong reliance on sac outlets in my deck which makes this card both reliable and not a liability. And it can be reanimated during an opponent's turn, which is all the more absurd. (And it can be tutored with Dimir House Guard.)
Mistveil Plains - This is actually more critical in this deck than others, even without Sunforger. Sidisi / Runescarred Demon + tuck is the only way to recur instants/sorceries in a reliable way. Anarchist technically exists for sorceries, but it costs a card slot. The tutor creatures already are worth playing, and Mistveil Plains costs no space.
I'm sure Altar of Dementia is played by other players but it has added relevancy to my deck both for fueling my Advocates with bad targets, but also finding targets for Animate Dead, Necromancy, and Sepulchral Primordial. It's also a sac outlet that converts board state into the threat of lethal mill or can semitutor for specific creatures from my own deck. It's also a very notable sac outlet when creature theft comes up since it can sacrifice an opposing Kresh.
This deck has also turned out to be the one deck I'm comfortable playing Fiend Hunter because of the glut of sac outlets and ETB triggers. You can perma exile a creature if you want to or you can set up a free ETB trigger to use later. 0-mana plays that come with powerful spell effects attached are strong deterrents and let you do multiple things when you need to.
Insolent Neonate. The filtering it provides is golden (especially since you can choose what to discard) and it at least has evasion (menace) so it isn't outright terrible if drawn/reanimated later on and has to run into the opponent with an equipped Sunforger or the like.
Sure it's underwhelming in the sense a 1-drop isn't what you want to be bringing back most of the time (and probably won't when in an optimal situation) and that menace saving grace probably isn't sufficient enough, but in the end we can't expect too much for a 1-drop and I think Neonate pulls more than what its mana is worth already.
A card I never had use for until building Alesha, but which has been stupendous in Alesha... Thief of Blood. You never want to hard-cast this one if possible, of course, and occasionally it won't do much, but more often than not it will do incredible stuff. Going against Marath or Ghave or Atraxa, or any superfriends deck? If so, you will find the Thief quite good.
Insolent Neonate. The filtering it provides is golden (especially since you can choose what to discard) and it at least has evasion (menace) so it isn't outright terrible if drawn/reanimated later on and has to run into the opponent with an equipped Sunforger or the like.
Sure it's underwhelming in the sense a 1-drop isn't what you want to be bringing back most of the time (and probably won't when in an optimal situation) and that menace saving grace probably isn't sufficient enough, but in the end we can't expect too much for a 1-drop and I think Neonate pulls more than what its mana is worth already.
It just doesn't seem good enough to me. If you want a 1-drop, there's Bomat Courier which has a lot higher potential. If you're after the card flow, Academy Raider seems better as an evasion-style creature, but it's still one of the worst looters red has access to.
A card I never had use for until building Alesha, but which has been stupendous in Alesha... Thief of Blood. You never want to hard-cast this one if possible, of course, and occasionally it won't do much, but more often than not it will do incredible stuff. Going against Marath or Ghave or Atraxa, or any superfriends deck? If so, you will find the Thief quite good.
I was actually looking at this earlier today. It seems a bit hit or miss, but I like that it will persist with Cauldron of Souls and refresh all of your creatures at the same time, letting you flicker everything again after untapping.
Well, there's Nighthowler, of course. Bestow it first, and then use it later as a beater. Instigator Gang would make your attackers bigger, and if you time it correctly (or combine it with the aforementioned Eidolon of Rhetoric), you can get it to flip. Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a fun way to get juicy cards out of your opponents' decks.
An argument could be made for Magus of the Disk, although I would be careful with this one.
Godo only untaps Sumarai, however if you run Reconnaissance, which you should, then you can get multiple uses from Alesha each turn. Godo, Bandit Warlord can get Avarice Amulet, which can give Alesha vigilance and also card advantage as well. Because you'll equip Alesha, you won't get the draw back of giving it to opponents. Maze of Ith is also a card you can use to get the untap for multiple attacks, plus is just a nice way of saving her in the face of bigger creatures.
Mindless Automaton is great repeatable card draw in both Alesha and Meren. Solid card, in my opinion.
It's way better in Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker!
Tbh, i don't think it's super strong in Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. I'd rather spend the 2 mana i would need to reanimate it on sacrificing something to Vampiric Rites for the card draw and my commander activation on something with a bigger influence on the game.
For a lot of the above non-commander-centric combos, i think they are better off in other decks. Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Athreos, God of Passage and others are likely better commanders for a lot of them. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death comes with both unique colors and deck tech for graveyard shenanigans. It would be a shame to run a generic graveyard stuff list and only see her as a supporting factor to recur combo pieces.
Necro or not, I am still surprised nobody mentioned Sutured Ghoul. I ran 2 separate Alesha lists one upon a time, one with permanent based sac-outlets, and the other with spell based, like Fling. I’ve milled a player to death with Suture Ghoul and Altar of Dementia, and also fling’d one at a player for a kill, easily in the 25 power range.
Phyrexian Revoker is just good in any deck that can easily reset the named card.
I have no idea why Imperial Recruiter is not showing up on the EDHrec list; I would consider it a mandatory inclusion.
Though I personally did not include it, Martyr's Cause is very good.
Hope of Ghirapur can be an interesting addition. It's a bit tricky to use but delaying a boardwipe a turn can be very valuable. It can also halt some turns to decks reliant on artifacts, enchantments or sorcery-speed library-tinkering. It can even fizzle some suspends if you feel like. I have no experience of it in an Alesha build but it works very nicely in Teshar.
I've been running an Alesha deck for years. (You can find my current list here.)
A couple of cards that haven't been mentioned so far as the following:
Shrieking Mogg - Want to make your whole team unblockable or just get in a last lethal hit with Alesha herself? Pull out this screamy goblin friend with Alesha and your opponents won't be able to do much if any blocking.
Millikin is a reliable bit of self-mill and mana acceleration in one. Highly recommended.
Seasoned Pyromancer is new and a bit pricy, but he packs a hell of a punch, especially when we can recur him.
Twilight Prophet adds some much needed card advantage if she survives a turn cycle. Also, who doesn't want to be #blessed?
Speaking of creatures that Alesha can't brink back, the only other two I run in my deck are Iroas, God of Victory and Azra Oddsmaker as they just both provide such insane value.
It's been a while since I sent Alesha out to pasture for parts for other decks, but one of my favorite cards to use was Glory. Protecting the board from Blasphemous Act and being able to block or attack into a certain color proved to be fantastic for me
Stingscourger is my favorite one I haven't seen listed. Can get pretty oppressive and puts himself back in the yard every turn as needed with no support.
The newly previewed Embodiment of Agonies is an absolute house for Alesha and sure to come out swinging darn hard in most any build.
Lim-Dûl's Paladin is another fun card that can give some card advantage as long as it survives until your next turn and is just a weird old card that will make your opponents have to pause to read it.
Since her reanimation clause is pretty broad ( >=2 power), there are so many options and unconventional paths you can take the deck. I would be interested to hear what unconventional cards you play in your Alesha deck and how these cards performed for you. Comments on niche interactions and combos are highly appreciated. Also, among the many staples for the deck, I would love to hear which have over/underperformed for you.
Note: "unconventional" would be anything that does not show up as top cards for Alesha on EDHRec. Everyone knows that Master of Cruelties or Karmic Guide are bonkers in Alesha.
Here are some unconventional cards I am interested in to try out in Alesha:
Palisade Giant - I have an unexplainable affection for the card ever since it was printed. Its a pretty beefy wall and protects Alesha and the other wee creatures from dying in combat.
Evangel of Heliod - This seems very good in a decks that runs at least 20-25 W symbols. Go-wide seems to be one of the most reliable wincondition in Alesha (Cathars' Crusade says Hi).
Herald of Leshrac - I personally don't like attacking the other players' mana base but this one is seems sweet in the deck and is not too difficult to deal with.
Eidolon of Rhetoric - A way to outvalue your opponents by putting two things on the field each turn (spell + reanimation) compared to only one on your opponents end. This might be especially helpful considering the low overall strength of creatures in the deck.
Graveblade Marauder - Seems super synergistic with Alesha and effectively cheats on the 2-power restriction.
Raving Dead - Once again, a real threat that deals much more damage than the 2 power would suggest.
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant - Recurable protection for you small attackers, although quite underwhelming when you don't meet the 30 life requirement.
Mesmeric Orb - Hands down the best selfmill card in MTG imo, I am really confused as to why this is in so few Alesha lists.
Perpetual Timepiece - Another selfmill tool that protects from graveyard hate.
Breath of Fury - A risky but very interesting card that enables simply attacking people to death in a single turn. Has anyone ever tried this one out? would be super eager to now how that went!
Wake the Dead/Rally the Ancestors - Mass reanimation that seems very good with ETB-effect creatures or things that sacrifice themselves (or both).
Retribution of the Meek/Slaughter the Strong - One-sided boardwipes for 3cmc? Yes please!
Looking forwards for some cool suggestions!
UR Mizzix of the Izmagnus ~~~ Build your own win-condition: Finite Spellslinging
UR Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer ~~~ We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic ~~~ A Guide to dying slowly
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose ~~~ Marchesa's undying Marionettes
RGW Mayael the Anima ~~~ All Hail the Big Chungus
GWU Chulane, Teller of Tales ~~~ Permanents Only ETB Shenanigans
BGU Sidisi, Brood Tyrant ~~~ Sidisi's Restless Servants
WUBRG The Ur-Dragon ~~~ Dragons eat your face
You can also look at anything that enters with counters, such as Ignition team, custodi soulbinders, drakestown forgotten, Pentavus and Triskelion.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
(Also known as Xenphire)
So here are my 2 cents:
Unconventional Creature Choices:
Anathemancer - Depends on your meta, but in a format as infested with strong utility lands, this could ping for a ton.
Blind Zealot - If it weren't for Duplicant, Ravenous Chupacabra and Necrotic Sliver i'd propably still play him.
Custodi Soulbinders - Can be one fat beatstick. But a vanilla one that requires a ton of mana to flood the board with tokens...
Ebonblade Reaper - You can ditch his first clause through reanimation.
Entomber Exarch - Two relevant modes.
Graveblade Marauder - Always felt he was too slow, but deserves to be mentioned.
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser - Deserves his name. Hilarious guy.
Goblin Assassin - Could be a lot of fun.
Guiltfeeder - Can be devastating.
Ignition Team - I would hate to hard cast it. Other than that, he'll propably be big af.
Kheru Mind-Eater - Like Nightveil Specter? You'll like this.
Lim-Dûl's Paladin - If you're looking to durdle, this is your main man!
Minion of the Wastes - Suicidal, yet fun.
Noosegraf Mob - Will trigger automatically and sacs itself. Cool dude.
Palace Jailer - Card draw and (temporary) removal. If your meta has less flyers this could be very strong.
Palisade Giant/Protector of the Crown - Solid effect, but too much mana to hard cast. One is big but doesn't do much, the other is a tad too small to protect itself and monarch status efficiently.
Prophetic Flamespeaker - Never tried this one out, but it looks fun.
Raving Dead - Nothing random about it, if you put it into play from the graveyard.
Soltari Visionary - Does what it does.
Thoughtpicker Witch - Didn't make the cut in my deck, but is a strong, manipulative effect. Also see Shimian Specter.
Undercity Informer - It's a slow (self-)mill effect, but a solid roleplayer.
Wall of Blood - Ever felt like swinging for lethal... with a wall!?
(Hidden) Gems:
Blinding Angel - In this deck it's better than Stonehorn Dignitary, since you're able to get the effect each turn without requiring your commanders' ability for it.
Dimir House Guard - Tutor, sac outlet, evasive attacker and comes with protection. Swiss army knife.
Filth - This should see more play. Especially if you run an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth!
Lieutenant Kirtar - Requires additional mana, but it's a strong effect on a flying body.
Restoration Specialist - Allows you to re-use stuff your commander can't get you back.
Stinkweed Imp - Dredge 5 on a pseudo-deathtouch flyer! Think about it.
Wispmare - As cheap as it gets to evoke and has evasion. Simple and good.
Fanatical Devotion - Is value most of the time. The "least" you get out of it is a safe attack with another creature option in your gy.
Tortured Existence - Simple design, but a fun tool to exploit. Allows you to cheat on commander tax, if need be.
Vampiric Rites - Does require mana, but it draws you cards and gains you life, yay.
Tenza, Godo's Maul - Turns your commander into a 6/5, first strike, trample beatstick. If it's important in your meta, makes her Breya, Etherium Sculptor safe.
Tragic Arrogance - Sooo good! Completes my board wipe package with Austere Command and Slaughter the Strong.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse - Evasion, generates mana of color, comes into play untapped...
Obvious Champs:
Anger - Would be reason enough to run graveyard hate, as he single-handedly makes each and every creature of you better.
Ankle Shanker - See above.
Dire Fleet Daredevil - A Snapcaster Mage for your opponents' graveyards? I really need to get one - soon!
Duergar Hedge-Mage - With enough shocklands he's easily enabled.
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden - One could say he's your commanders' partner. Perfect mana-sink.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Unless you're running 100% chaff, this is pure value. And even then you'd propably strike lucky.
Master of Cruelties - You do like winning, do you?
Mentor of the Meek - So obvious, it hurts.
Necrotic Sliver - Costly, but so flexible.
Recruiter of the Guard/Imperial Recruiter - Will be interesting to see the price of the later with the current reprint in Masters 25.
Reveillark - Combined with a Karmic Guide and sac outlet you can wreck your opponents usually.
Siege-Gang Commander - Builds a board, can ping stuff and sac itself.
Yahenni, Undying Partisan - Best combined with board wipes, duh.
Cathars' Crusade - You're running creatures in W? Run this.
Key to the City - Loot, draw and evasion. Perfect.
Strionic Resonator - Moar reanimations or triggered abilities.
Entomb/Buried Alive - Assemble your combos, fast.
Austere Command - With a CMC 3 commander this is just nuts.
Flawed "Staples": (based on EDHrec)
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - Playtested her, found her to be way too slow.
Archetype of Finality - My deck has gotten a ton better when i started worrying about hardcasting more. 4BB is simply too much for this effect.
Disciple of Bolas - "another creature" can be problematic, if the only other one is your commander. Plus, your creatures are small...
Hanweir Garrison - While cheap, it's an attack trigger and therefor delayed.
Mother of Runes - We all know how awesome mom is, but you can not expect her to stick around more oftenly through your commander, as everyone will chump block her at all cost.
Ponyback Brigade - High cmc, no other utility and "just" 3 gobos coming into play. I'd rather gamble wih Evangel of Heliod.
Priest of the Blood Rite - Once again, slow.
Sun Titan - Can't speak for anyone else, but at least creature-wise a majority of my keypieces are too expensive for the big guy.
Faithless Looting - It is strong and with Flashback you're able to do it twice, but from my experience permanent-based options are better, as your commander isn't necessarily fast.
... despite the wall of text i might've forgotten a ton of good and bad stuff.
If you feel like checking out my brew, link is in the signature.
Admittedly, I'm probably going for a different experience than other Alesha builds, but I find her fatal flaw is that she will tend to have no meaningful interaction during opponents' turns. She needs more creature-based options to function. This pushes towards ETB effects, flickering, and instant speed reanimation.
Vedalken Orrery (can be tutored by Dimir House Guard)
Doomed Necromancer
Apprentice Necromancer
Feldon of the Third Path
Pulsemage Advocate
(Karmic Guide, Reveillark)
Necromancy
Cauldron of Souls + sac outlet
Cauldron Haze + sac outlet
And then ETB effects that do strong work you can trigger at little cost when you need to. Doomed Necromancer is incredibly flexible in this situation if you have a variety of things to grab in response to a key spell.
As such, I probably run far more top-end that other Alesha builds. Sun Titan in particular happens to be fantastic for me. It gets back both necromancers, both reanimation auras, all of my sac outlets, a few removal effects and lands. Lands are always good. (Sun Titan is also not intentionally part of a few infinite combos.) Among other topend options I like:
Angel of Serenity
Sepulchral Primordial
Molten Primordial (& Mob Rule with sac outlets)
Ashen Rider
These are really powerful cards to reuse every turn and during opponent's turns and it's not really possible without going all in on that plan. I run a lot of looting effects to ditch them when drawn instead of trying to mill into them and to hit land drops and I'm running far more actual reanimation spells than I imagine a typical Alesha deck does, which makes her less necessary if she starts getting hated out.
Other cards I run that I think might get overlooked:
Shieldmage Advocate - Has political value and can give back removal/countermagic at any time if needed but also protects Alesha when she attacks
Mindclaw Shaman - Being able to reanimate it at any time and using advocates to give back spells I want to cast (and being able to repeat the same spell) make this a lot stronger than this would be normally. Pulsemage Advocate -> Mindclaw Shaman is a very powerful 0-mana play.
False Prophet - I have a strong reliance on sac outlets in my deck which makes this card both reliable and not a liability. And it can be reanimated during an opponent's turn, which is all the more absurd. (And it can be tutored with Dimir House Guard.)
Mistveil Plains - This is actually more critical in this deck than others, even without Sunforger. Sidisi / Runescarred Demon + tuck is the only way to recur instants/sorceries in a reliable way. Anarchist technically exists for sorceries, but it costs a card slot. The tutor creatures already are worth playing, and Mistveil Plains costs no space.
I'm sure Altar of Dementia is played by other players but it has added relevancy to my deck both for fueling my Advocates with bad targets, but also finding targets for Animate Dead, Necromancy, and Sepulchral Primordial. It's also a sac outlet that converts board state into the threat of lethal mill or can semitutor for specific creatures from my own deck. It's also a very notable sac outlet when creature theft comes up since it can sacrifice an opposing Kresh.
This deck has also turned out to be the one deck I'm comfortable playing Fiend Hunter because of the glut of sac outlets and ETB triggers. You can perma exile a creature if you want to or you can set up a free ETB trigger to use later. 0-mana plays that come with powerful spell effects attached are strong deterrents and let you do multiple things when you need to.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
Sure it's underwhelming in the sense a 1-drop isn't what you want to be bringing back most of the time (and probably won't when in an optimal situation) and that menace saving grace probably isn't sufficient enough, but in the end we can't expect too much for a 1-drop and I think Neonate pulls more than what its mana is worth already.
Are you already running Smuggler's Copter, Key to the City, Deal Broker, and Rummaging Goblin? I would probably even rather have scry-based filtering like Treasure Map instead of Neonate.
Neonate only seems worth considering if you're going for some sort of a hyper fast Iona / Grislebrand build.I was actually looking at this earlier today. It seems a bit hit or miss, but I like that it will persist with Cauldron of Souls and refresh all of your creatures at the same time, letting you flicker everything again after untapping.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
Instigator Gang would make your attackers bigger, and if you time it correctly (or combine it with the aforementioned Eidolon of Rhetoric), you can get it to flip.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a fun way to get juicy cards out of your opponents' decks.
An argument could be made for Magus of the Disk, although I would be careful with this one.
It would also be worthwhile to consider Workhorse, Clockwork Dragon, and Triskelavus. I've also wanted an excuse to jam Mindless Automaton in a deck, and Alesha would synergize well with it, I think.
Godo, Bandit Warlord, Combat Celebrant and Aurelia, the Warleader. Now they all have power>2, so this will be the first reason you won't see these on EDHREC, because they have to be cast as normal.
Godo only untaps Sumarai, however if you run Reconnaissance, which you should, then you can get multiple uses from Alesha each turn. Godo, Bandit Warlord can get Avarice Amulet, which can give Alesha vigilance and also card advantage as well. Because you'll equip Alesha, you won't get the draw back of giving it to opponents. Maze of Ith is also a card you can use to get the untap for multiple attacks, plus is just a nice way of saving her in the face of bigger creatures.
I'd recommend Stoneforge Mystic and Sword of Feast and Famine if you run this particular package as well.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
Tbh, i don't think it's super strong in Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. I'd rather spend the 2 mana i would need to reanimate it on sacrificing something to Vampiric Rites for the card draw and my commander activation on something with a bigger influence on the game.
For a lot of the above non-commander-centric combos, i think they are better off in other decks. Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Athreos, God of Passage and others are likely better commanders for a lot of them. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death comes with both unique colors and deck tech for graveyard shenanigans. It would be a shame to run a generic graveyard stuff list and only see her as a supporting factor to recur combo pieces.
Cool card.
There is little more enjoyable than attacking with a 2/2 flying, indestructible Peacekeeper.
Phyrexian Revoker is just good in any deck that can easily reset the named card.
I have no idea why Imperial Recruiter is not showing up on the EDHrec list; I would consider it a mandatory inclusion.
Though I personally did not include it, Martyr's Cause is very good.
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
A couple of cards that haven't been mentioned so far as the following:
Shrieking Mogg - Want to make your whole team unblockable or just get in a last lethal hit with Alesha herself? Pull out this screamy goblin friend with Alesha and your opponents won't be able to do much if any blocking.
Millikin is a reliable bit of self-mill and mana acceleration in one. Highly recommended.
Seasoned Pyromancer is new and a bit pricy, but he packs a hell of a punch, especially when we can recur him.
Twilight Prophet adds some much needed card advantage if she survives a turn cycle. Also, who doesn't want to be #blessed?
If you have a more artifact-focused build like I do, then Akiri, Line-Slinger, Marionette Master, and Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer are all great cards.
Speaking of creatures that Alesha can't brink back, the only other two I run in my deck are Iroas, God of Victory and Azra Oddsmaker as they just both provide such insane value.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
(Also known as Xenphire)
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
The newly previewed Embodiment of Agonies is an absolute house for Alesha and sure to come out swinging darn hard in most any build.
Lim-Dûl's Paladin is another fun card that can give some card advantage as long as it survives until your next turn and is just a weird old card that will make your opponents have to pause to read it.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB