Happy that my deck is of use to you.
Of the four you mentioned I think Wispmare and Dimir House Guard can be quite good in Alesha. Wispmare is definitely a good removal option for extra protection against enchantments, although it is more narrow than most of the removal options I chose to play. Dimir House Guard is a tutor for some key cards like Sneak Attack and is an infinite sac outlet which is always useful so it can definitely be quite good. Inner-flame Acolyte I feel is a bit weak. On its own without Alesha it's not that great and even when you have Alesha online you probably have better targets to recur. The same with Netherborn Phalanx , transmuting it is okay, although 6 cmc doesn't really have that many good targets aside from Sun Titan and Elspeth, Sun's Champion . But recurring it with Alesha just isn't as powerful as some of the other things you could be recurring. I haven't tested any of the four so if you test them please let me know how they work out.
Was just reminded of this card in another thread: Pyreheart Wolf. I started thinking that maybe it is a better replacement of Iroas in this deck:
Pros of Iroas, God of Victory :
Indestructible
Is an enchantment so it can be found by enchantment tutors and is invulnerable to removal.
Also provides protection from combat damage (not just evasion)
Pros of Pyreheart Wolf :
Creature so it can be found by Recruiter and has synergies with all the other cards in the deck.
Can be returns by Alesha
Even without Alesha is double use unless hit by exile removal
Is one cheaper than Iroas
Was just reminded of this card in another thread: Pyreheart Wolf. I started thinking that maybe it is a better replacement of Iroas in this deck:
Pros of Iroas, God of Victory :
Indestructible
Is an enchantment so it can be found by enchantment tutors and is invulnerable to removal.
Also provides protection from combat damage (not just evasion)
Pros of Pyreheart Wolf :
Creature so it can be found by Recruiter and has synergies with all the other cards in the deck.
Can be returns by Alesha
Even without Alesha is double use unless hit by exile removal
Is one cheaper than Iroas
What do you think, is this a good swap?
I'd keep Iroas.
As good as Pyreheart Wolf is, his ability is useless the turn he's played/reanimated or the turn he undies, as he doesn't have haste. Iroas's abilities are in effect the instant he hits the battlefield and the indestructibility is a nice addition too.
Loyal Retainers is okay. It can bring back Kiki-Jiki, Iroas, or Grenzo in my decklist but it's a bit of a dead draw unless one of those 3 cards is in the graveyard and Grenzo isn't even crucial enough to bring back with the Retainers as Alesha can recur him. I like the infinite combo with Kiki-Jiki but it lacks synergy with other cards in the deck.
my initial impression of the card was that it was complete garbage (Standard format) but playing with it in a aggressive shell with cards like Hellrider in a B/R zombie aggro deck, it's insanely strong.
Not sure if that actually says anything about its power in EDH deck, but I can say that from my experience it was probably the best card in that BR aggro deck.
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"With great power comes the risk of getting yourself killed"
"I've been all over this world. I even remember some of those places"
"The more victims he kills, the more likely he is to get the right one"
"Music means nothing until brought to life by an imaginative, sympathetic player. It is the function of the interpreter to refract the message of the composer through the prism of his own mind. Otherwise a robot could do the same"
I had considered it previously in my Kaalia deck but not since the change to Alesha. I think it's actually a really good idea and I will probably replace either Body Snatcher or Unburial Rites with it. The combo is quite easy to set up through Kiki-Jiki and Imperial Recruiter which is quite a big advantage as the other combos work with creatures that can't be found with Recruiter. In addition it recurs Iroas, Purphoros, Grenzo, Teysa, of which especially the first one is very valuable because it actually allows you to return Purphoros to play in the Karmic GuideReveillark combo.
I think these interactions give it enough synergy with the list to warrant inclusion, and Body Snatcher was in any case one of the weaker cards in the list by not allowing you to reuse it.
Shrieking Mogg is pretty cool with a sac outlet, swing all, target the Mogg and hit in unblocked. Repeatable with sac outlet.
I had never heard of this card so thanks for suggesting it. In my list I think having just Iroas is enough protection, but if your deck/meta are focused on creature combat this is the best way to push damage through with Alesha. I like it better than Ankle Shanker because it does something if returned.
Was just reminded of this card in another thread: Pyreheart Wolf. I started thinking that maybe it is a better replacement of Iroas in this deck:
Pros of Iroas, God of Victory :
Indestructible
Is an enchantment so it can be found by enchantment tutors and is invulnerable to removal.
Also provides protection from combat damage (not just evasion)
Pros of Pyreheart Wolf :
Creature so it can be found by Recruiter and has synergies with all the other cards in the deck.
Can be returns by Alesha
Even without Alesha is double use unless hit by exile removal
Is one cheaper than Iroas
What do you think, is this a good swap?
I think this is a poor swap. Granted Pyreheart wolf has undying you have to be attacking with it in order to gain the effect. Iroas effect is always there as long as he is on the battlefield, not to mention the indestructibility is also helpful. I would 100% keep Iroas.
I never thought about the addition of Loyal Retainers. I think this is another great combo this deck can have, I also can bring back Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in my list. I am definetly going to be adding this card, I'll let you guys know if I have any issues with it.
Shrieking Mogg is pretty cool with a sac outlet, swing all, target the Mogg and hit in unblocked. Repeatable with sac outlet.
I suggested this card in another thread for Alesha, it has a VERY powerful effect, however it is only good if you are reanimating it with Alesha. Other that that it has performed very poor and I just recently took it out of my decklist.
I think it really depends on your meta. If mass removal is less common the board will likely be more clogged and this can really help you push through damage. If mass removal is common then it's ability gets progressively worse. On another note:
+ Loyal Retainers
- Body Snatcher
As Black Vise suggested Retainers is another way to combo off and can be set up solely through Recruiter, which is great. Body Snatcher wasn't bad but wasn't that great either, especially because you could only use it once.
So Sidisi, Grand Vizier was spoilered today. Oh how I wish it only had two power instead of four. That said, it can still be useful. It tutors for any card for five mana and deposits itself into the graveyard (self-sacrifice to exploit) as the base case. Obviously this isn't that great, but manageable. It can also sac another creature, a token perhaps and leave you with a 4/6 death touch as well. Since exploit is on ETB, it does work very well with Sneak Attack and reanimation effects. And being on a creature is obviously a big advantage. What do you think, does it warrant a spot?
She's going in My Marchesa deck, but I think only because I know I have a good shot at using her two or more times or dropping her with Sneak Attack Without those benefits, its an awkward tutor.
From the spoilers so far I really like Kolaghan's Command. It will generally be a 2 for 1 for only three mana at instant speed which is definitely strong. What I like most though is that in addition to removing a troublesome artifact or utility creature it can actually help you combo off. Obviously the recursion can help you do that but another interaction I was just considering was if you have Loyal Retainers in graveyard and Kiki-Jiki in hand you could play this end of turn, targeting yourself to discard Kiki-Jiki and returning Retainers to your hand. This also works with other combos as well. I'm not sure yet if the cut should be Hushwing Gryff or Unburial Rites but it seems like a great card for this deck.
Now that the full set has been spoiled, I can safely say I'm a bit disappointed with the amount of useable exploit and dash cards for the deck. I had hoped exploit and dash would bring some interesting cards to the table but neither really delivered as most of the effects were overcosted. Here are my thoughts on some of the cards though: Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit : on it's own it seems quite reasonable in a deck with many creatures entering the battlefield. Bolster isn't that powerful but can definitely be useful. I think it's greatest potential lies in combining with Murderous Redcap for infinite damage with a sac outlet. The things the combo has going for it as that both cards are quite useable on their own (Redcap also performing well in Guide/Lark combo) and both pieces can be found with Imperial Recruiter. Not sure if it will make the cut, but I'm willing to give this combo a try in the list. Secure the Wastes: I like this card and although it doesn't make the cut in my list, if your list is less combo focused it becomes very solid. I'd consider Lingering souls to be better though so I would add that first. Dutiful Attendant: It's not bad, but it has too little value for inclusion. Qarsi Sadist: it's obviously a card that you will only use for combo applications. In combos such as Guide/Lark it will win you the game and it also works for Angel of Glory's Rise as it is a human. There are better options though. Sidisi, Undead Vizier: at first I was quite excited about this card, and it's definitely cool. The problem though is that a five mana tutor is too much and the 4/6 body relatively useless for our purposes. If it was 2 power or at 4 mana it would have had a good case for inclusion, but now it's too slow and has too little synergies to make it worth it. Impact Tremors - this is mostly half of a Purphoros and it is playable in that context. That said Purphoros is really a threat while one life just had less of an impact. I don't think the deck needs another of these effects that is harder to tutor for and less impactful but this can differ per list. Kolaghan's Command - I'm excited about this card as all its modes are relevant and it fits the decks purpose very well. I'm not yet sure what I will cut in my list but I'm quite sure this will make its way in. Swift Warkite - if only this said 3 power instead of cmc 3, making it more broadly useful. As is I think it's too expensive to warrant the 6 cmc.
All in all not a bad haul with one combo creature, one great utility spell and some borderline playables.
What do you think? Any cards you're looking at adding?
No particular reason, just that it seemed easy to do this way. If you explain how I can make the formatting more suitable for transposition to cockatrice and why it's not currently suitable I'm quite willing to do so.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit has been pretty good so far, also curving nicely into Alesha to give her some additional firepower. Murderous redcap is a good card for winning with Reveillark combo's, while also combining with Anafenza for infinite damage. This is also another combo at the great two power level, meaning both parts can be found with Imperial Recruiter and both can be recurred by Alesha. Finally Kolaghan's Command has a great amount of utility, earning it a spot in the deck. It can kill troublesome artifacts such as Torpor Orb that stop you from comboing or it can similarly kill annoying creatures like Hushwing Gryff. Providing self-discard and a disentomb effect only adds to its utility, making all of its modes good. Hushwing Gryff was the weakest hate card due to it also hurting your own deck, thus it finds its way out of the deck. Brutal Hordechief wasn't bad, but Alesha curves better and provides another synergistic combo in the deck. It seemed like the weakest card, and thus the easiest cut. Same with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden who though pretty good, doesn't achieve sufficient creature density here to make his ability worth the mana investment. In my Marchesa list he is much more valuable, but there the number of creatures is closer to 50 and his counters make him instantly recurrable with Marchesa.
I have a question regarding the comboes. Can you explain how the combo works ? I'm not quite understanding it, especially the Animate Dead+Sun Titan+Guide combo. Thanks
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"With great power comes the risk of getting yourself killed"
"I've been all over this world. I even remember some of those places"
"The more victims he kills, the more likely he is to get the right one"
"Music means nothing until brought to life by an imaginative, sympathetic player. It is the function of the interpreter to refract the message of the composer through the prism of his own mind. Otherwise a robot could do the same"
Let's say you have karmic guide and animate dead in your graveyard with an infinite sacrifice outlet in play and Sun Titan in hand.
1. You cast Sun Titan.
2. ETB ability triggers, you target Animate Dead and sacrifice Sun Titan in response to its ability.
3. Animate Dead enters play returning Karmic Guide . Because Karmic Guide has protection from black Animate Dead goes to the graveyard, Animate Dead's delayed trigger goes on the stack, as does Karmic Guide's ETB trigger, targeting Sun Titan.
4. Sacrifice the Karmic Guide, then the delayed trigger will resolve, doing nothing, followed by Guide's trigger, returning Sun Titan to play. By targeting Animate Dead with the ETB ability you can now infinitely loop steps 2-4 to win.
If you have Animate Dead in hand and Karmic Guide / Sun Titan in your graveyard you can start from step 3 in the above sequence. Il you have Karmic Guide in hand and the other two in the graveyard you can cast Karmic Guide, sacrifice it in response to its ETB ability targeting Sun Titan and then starting from step 1.
Sun Titan and Fiend Hunter also combo.
You have Sun Titan in play and Fiend Hunter in your graveyard and an infinite sacrifice outlet.
1. You cast Sun Titan , ETB ability goes on the stack targeting Fiend Hunter.
2. Fiend Hunter enters plays, ETB ability triggers, targeting Sun Titan. Sun Titan is exiled.
3. Once Sun Titan is exiled you then sacrifice the Fiend Hunter. The return trigger will then go on the stack, returning Sun Titan to the battlefield.
You can then repeat steps 1-3 infinitely. If you have Fiend Hunter in hand and Sun Titan in play, you can also combo similarly, then starting with step 2.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Fiend Hunter also work very similarly.
1. You have both in play, then you tap Kiki-Jiki to make a copy of the Fiend Hunter.
2. Fiend Hunter enters the battlefield and his ability triggers, you target Kiki-Jiki.
3. You let the trigger resolve, Kiki-Jiki is exiled.
4. Sacrifice the Fiend Hunter copy, thereby returning Kiki-Jiki to the battlefield.
Just repeat the steps to go infinite.
There's some more explanation on the other combos in the original post. I hope this helps, if you want me to explain any of the other combos let me know.
I have made a number of changes to my list (mostly by deciding to just share the pool of BR cards I own between my 3 decks - which has also gotten me to play more Alesha). My manabase has changed due to some recent trades, but I'm working on getting the missing lands into the deck ASAP. Initial thoughts are we don't have the card advantage to support some of the card-disadvantage 0cmc artifacts like Chrome Mox and Mox Diamond, so I'm considering running either 2cmc in their place, creature-based ramp (Weathered Wayfarer, Knight of the White Orchid, Solemn Simulacrum), or just more draw cards.
One noticeable problem in my list is the lack of creatures (which was also a problem with my initial draft). I'll post back in with a revision change from the above list when I make those changes, there are a whole bunch of things I'd like to see in the deck (Leonin Relic-Warder in particular).
Played some games with Alesha last night, preemptively cutting Mox Opal, Chrome Mox, and Mox Diamond for Weathered Wayfarer, Solemn Simulacrum, and Master of Cruelties (Who has proven to be either awesome or awful in the past, so I'm giving him another try to increase creature count). My first game the table got blown out to a protected, natural t3 power artifact/staff of domination into Oona decking. Game 2 I durdled for pretty much the whole game. My hand was a stack of control spells (Wear//Tear, Imp's Mischief, and I think REB), a skullclamp, Alesha, and a Fiend Hunter. I didn't draw any creatures or draw spells for several turns, at which point it was too late.
Cards I'm going to make room for: Dark Confidant, Discipline of Bolas
I agree that the card disadvantage ramp cards aren't worth it, we're not anxious enough to want to ramp quickly that they're worth including. Personally though I don't really like the 2 cmc options either, and I think you can gain a lot just by cutting them and adding in 3-4 lands. I would really recommend using the Knight of the White Orchid and Weathered Wayfarer, both are amazing. In general if you have effects which are similarly effective on a creature compared to a noncreature spell, you want to include the creature.
Some cards I would consider cutting aside from the artifact ramp package are the rituals, they don't really ramp into much and you could use creature based options instead such as Basal Thrull / Basal Sliver which are synergistic with Alesha. I also think Disciple of Bolas doesn't have much power in a deck where most of the creatures are 3 or less power, I would consider cutting it ad well. It can also be worthwhile to replace some of your draw options with more creature based options. Some good ones you could include are Grim Haruspex, Mentor of the Meek, Humble Defector, and even some things that synergize well with the deck such as Outpost Siege.
But yeah, definitely try to get more creatures in there, you'll see the different parts of the deck synergize much better, even if the individual cards can sometimes be weaker. Let me know what changes you end up making.
I like Disciple of Bolas because he can be reanimated off of Alesha, and has good syergy with Skullclamp. Humble Defector is awesome, I'm going to add that once I get more sac outlets in the deck. Grim Haruspex is interesting, I'll have to start watching how often my creatures are dying before I include it. Right now I don't think I have enough creatures or sac outlets to support it well, but that's changing. Dark Ritual is going to stay, but I'm going to cut Mind Stone, Cabal Ritual, Orzhov Signet, and the Talisman for: Tormenting Voice, Knight of the White Orchid, Mentor of the Meek, and Disciple of Bolas.
Prophetic Flamespeaker is a good card, but I don't think it fits that well here. For one, we don't actually have that much synergies with double strike to power him up, and as a net two power creature he's probably not going to power through many creatures. If you do get through, casting two different cards can be quite difficult, particularly if you reanimated him with Alesha. All in all I think it doesn't fit that well in the combo version. If you're looking for extra draw there are better options.
In more aggro versions with greater synergies with double strike he can be quite amazing however.
In my own list, I've gotten really interested in creatures that throw themselves into the graveyard. What do you think/have you tested?
Inner-flame Acolyte
Dimir House Guard
Wispmare
Netherborn Phalanx
Happy that my deck is of use to you.
Of the four you mentioned I think Wispmare and Dimir House Guard can be quite good in Alesha. Wispmare is definitely a good removal option for extra protection against enchantments, although it is more narrow than most of the removal options I chose to play. Dimir House Guard is a tutor for some key cards like Sneak Attack and is an infinite sac outlet which is always useful so it can definitely be quite good. Inner-flame Acolyte I feel is a bit weak. On its own without Alesha it's not that great and even when you have Alesha online you probably have better targets to recur. The same with Netherborn Phalanx , transmuting it is okay, although 6 cmc doesn't really have that many good targets aside from Sun Titan and Elspeth, Sun's Champion . But recurring it with Alesha just isn't as powerful as some of the other things you could be recurring. I haven't tested any of the four so if you test them please let me know how they work out.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
Pros of Iroas, God of Victory :
Indestructible
Is an enchantment so it can be found by enchantment tutors and is invulnerable to removal.
Also provides protection from combat damage (not just evasion)
Pros of Pyreheart Wolf :
Creature so it can be found by Recruiter and has synergies with all the other cards in the deck.
Can be returns by Alesha
Even without Alesha is double use unless hit by exile removal
Is one cheaper than Iroas
What do you think, is this a good swap?
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
I'd keep Iroas.
As good as Pyreheart Wolf is, his ability is useless the turn he's played/reanimated or the turn he undies, as he doesn't have haste. Iroas's abilities are in effect the instant he hits the battlefield and the indestructibility is a nice addition too.
Loyal Retainers is okay. It can bring back Kiki-Jiki, Iroas, or Grenzo in my decklist but it's a bit of a dead draw unless one of those 3 cards is in the graveyard and Grenzo isn't even crucial enough to bring back with the Retainers as Alesha can recur him. I like the infinite combo with Kiki-Jiki but it lacks synergy with other cards in the deck.
my initial impression of the card was that it was complete garbage (Standard format) but playing with it in a aggressive shell with cards like Hellrider in a B/R zombie aggro deck, it's insanely strong.
Not sure if that actually says anything about its power in EDH deck, but I can say that from my experience it was probably the best card in that BR aggro deck.
"I've been all over this world. I even remember some of those places"
"The more victims he kills, the more likely he is to get the right one"
"Music means nothing until brought to life by an imaginative, sympathetic player. It is the function of the interpreter to refract the message of the composer through the prism of his own mind. Otherwise a robot could do the same"
I had considered it previously in my Kaalia deck but not since the change to Alesha. I think it's actually a really good idea and I will probably replace either Body Snatcher or Unburial Rites with it. The combo is quite easy to set up through Kiki-Jiki and Imperial Recruiter which is quite a big advantage as the other combos work with creatures that can't be found with Recruiter. In addition it recurs Iroas, Purphoros, Grenzo, Teysa, of which especially the first one is very valuable because it actually allows you to return Purphoros to play in the
Karmic Guide Reveillark combo.
I think these interactions give it enough synergy with the list to warrant inclusion, and Body Snatcher was in any case one of the weaker cards in the list by not allowing you to reuse it.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
I had never heard of this card so thanks for suggesting it. In my list I think having just Iroas is enough protection, but if your deck/meta are focused on creature combat this is the best way to push damage through with Alesha. I like it better than Ankle Shanker because it does something if returned.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
I think this is a poor swap. Granted Pyreheart wolf has undying you have to be attacking with it in order to gain the effect. Iroas effect is always there as long as he is on the battlefield, not to mention the indestructibility is also helpful. I would 100% keep Iroas.
I never thought about the addition of Loyal Retainers. I think this is another great combo this deck can have, I also can bring back Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in my list. I am definetly going to be adding this card, I'll let you guys know if I have any issues with it.
I suggested this card in another thread for Alesha, it has a VERY powerful effect, however it is only good if you are reanimating it with Alesha. Other that that it has performed very poor and I just recently took it out of my decklist.
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
I think it really depends on your meta. If mass removal is less common the board will likely be more clogged and this can really help you push through damage. If mass removal is common then it's ability gets progressively worse. On another note:
+ Loyal Retainers
- Body Snatcher
As Black Vise suggested Retainers is another way to combo off and can be set up solely through Recruiter, which is great. Body Snatcher wasn't bad but wasn't that great either, especially because you could only use it once.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit : on it's own it seems quite reasonable in a deck with many creatures entering the battlefield. Bolster isn't that powerful but can definitely be useful. I think it's greatest potential lies in combining with Murderous Redcap for infinite damage with a sac outlet. The things the combo has going for it as that both cards are quite useable on their own (Redcap also performing well in Guide/Lark combo) and both pieces can be found with Imperial Recruiter. Not sure if it will make the cut, but I'm willing to give this combo a try in the list.
Secure the Wastes: I like this card and although it doesn't make the cut in my list, if your list is less combo focused it becomes very solid. I'd consider Lingering souls to be better though so I would add that first.
Dutiful Attendant: It's not bad, but it has too little value for inclusion.
Qarsi Sadist: it's obviously a card that you will only use for combo applications. In combos such as Guide/Lark it will win you the game and it also works for Angel of Glory's Rise as it is a human. There are better options though.
Sidisi, Undead Vizier: at first I was quite excited about this card, and it's definitely cool. The problem though is that a five mana tutor is too much and the 4/6 body relatively useless for our purposes. If it was 2 power or at 4 mana it would have had a good case for inclusion, but now it's too slow and has too little synergies to make it worth it.
Impact Tremors - this is mostly half of a Purphoros and it is playable in that context. That said Purphoros is really a threat while one life just had less of an impact. I don't think the deck needs another of these effects that is harder to tutor for and less impactful but this can differ per list.
Kolaghan's Command - I'm excited about this card as all its modes are relevant and it fits the decks purpose very well. I'm not yet sure what I will cut in my list but I'm quite sure this will make its way in.
Swift Warkite - if only this said 3 power instead of cmc 3, making it more broadly useful. As is I think it's too expensive to warrant the 6 cmc.
All in all not a bad haul with one combo creature, one great utility spell and some borderline playables.
What do you think? Any cards you're looking at adding?
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BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
Do you want to make a fraction of the effort capitacom did in maintaining this thread?
+ Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
+ Kolaghan’s Command
+ Murderous Redcap
- Brutal Hordechief
- Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
- Hushwing Gryff
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit has been pretty good so far, also curving nicely into Alesha to give her some additional firepower. Murderous redcap is a good card for winning with Reveillark combo's, while also combining with Anafenza for infinite damage. This is also another combo at the great two power level, meaning both parts can be found with Imperial Recruiter and both can be recurred by Alesha. Finally Kolaghan's Command has a great amount of utility, earning it a spot in the deck. It can kill troublesome artifacts such as Torpor Orb that stop you from comboing or it can similarly kill annoying creatures like Hushwing Gryff. Providing self-discard and a disentomb effect only adds to its utility, making all of its modes good.
Hushwing Gryff was the weakest hate card due to it also hurting your own deck, thus it finds its way out of the deck. Brutal Hordechief wasn't bad, but Alesha curves better and provides another synergistic combo in the deck. It seemed like the weakest card, and thus the easiest cut. Same with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden who though pretty good, doesn't achieve sufficient creature density here to make his ability worth the mana investment. In my Marchesa list he is much more valuable, but there the number of creatures is closer to 50 and his counters make him instantly recurrable with Marchesa.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
"I've been all over this world. I even remember some of those places"
"The more victims he kills, the more likely he is to get the right one"
"Music means nothing until brought to life by an imaginative, sympathetic player. It is the function of the interpreter to refract the message of the composer through the prism of his own mind. Otherwise a robot could do the same"
1. You cast Sun Titan.
2. ETB ability triggers, you target Animate Dead and sacrifice Sun Titan in response to its ability.
3. Animate Dead enters play returning Karmic Guide . Because Karmic Guide has protection from black Animate Dead goes to the graveyard, Animate Dead's delayed trigger goes on the stack, as does Karmic Guide's ETB trigger, targeting Sun Titan.
4. Sacrifice the Karmic Guide, then the delayed trigger will resolve, doing nothing, followed by Guide's trigger, returning Sun Titan to play. By targeting Animate Dead with the ETB ability you can now infinitely loop steps 2-4 to win.
If you have Animate Dead in hand and Karmic Guide / Sun Titan in your graveyard you can start from step 3 in the above sequence. Il you have Karmic Guide in hand and the other two in the graveyard you can cast Karmic Guide, sacrifice it in response to its ETB ability targeting Sun Titan and then starting from step 1.
Sun Titan and Fiend Hunter also combo.
You have Sun Titan in play and Fiend Hunter in your graveyard and an infinite sacrifice outlet.
1. You cast Sun Titan , ETB ability goes on the stack targeting Fiend Hunter.
2. Fiend Hunter enters plays, ETB ability triggers, targeting Sun Titan. Sun Titan is exiled.
3. Once Sun Titan is exiled you then sacrifice the Fiend Hunter. The return trigger will then go on the stack, returning Sun Titan to the battlefield.
You can then repeat steps 1-3 infinitely. If you have Fiend Hunter in hand and Sun Titan in play, you can also combo similarly, then starting with step 2.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Fiend Hunter also work very similarly.
1. You have both in play, then you tap Kiki-Jiki to make a copy of the Fiend Hunter.
2. Fiend Hunter enters the battlefield and his ability triggers, you target Kiki-Jiki.
3. You let the trigger resolve, Kiki-Jiki is exiled.
4. Sacrifice the Fiend Hunter copy, thereby returning Kiki-Jiki to the battlefield.
Just repeat the steps to go infinite.
There's some more explanation on the other combos in the original post. I hope this helps, if you want me to explain any of the other combos let me know.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
I have made a number of changes to my list (mostly by deciding to just share the pool of BR cards I own between my 3 decks - which has also gotten me to play more Alesha). My manabase has changed due to some recent trades, but I'm working on getting the missing lands into the deck ASAP. Initial thoughts are we don't have the card advantage to support some of the card-disadvantage 0cmc artifacts like Chrome Mox and Mox Diamond, so I'm considering running either 2cmc in their place, creature-based ramp (Weathered Wayfarer, Knight of the White Orchid, Solemn Simulacrum), or just more draw cards.
One noticeable problem in my list is the lack of creatures (which was also a problem with my initial draft). I'll post back in with a revision change from the above list when I make those changes, there are a whole bunch of things I'd like to see in the deck (Leonin Relic-Warder in particular).
Relaxed EDH: BROlivia VampiresRB
#FreeBraids
Cards I'm going to make room for: Dark Confidant, Discipline of Bolas
Relaxed EDH: BROlivia VampiresRB
#FreeBraids
Some cards I would consider cutting aside from the artifact ramp package are the rituals, they don't really ramp into much and you could use creature based options instead such as Basal Thrull / Basal Sliver which are synergistic with Alesha. I also think Disciple of Bolas doesn't have much power in a deck where most of the creatures are 3 or less power, I would consider cutting it ad well. It can also be worthwhile to replace some of your draw options with more creature based options. Some good ones you could include are Grim Haruspex, Mentor of the Meek, Humble Defector, and even some things that synergize well with the deck such as Outpost Siege.
But yeah, definitely try to get more creatures in there, you'll see the different parts of the deck synergize much better, even if the individual cards can sometimes be weaker. Let me know what changes you end up making.
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
What are your thoughts on Prophetic Flamespeaker?
Relaxed EDH: BROlivia VampiresRB
#FreeBraids
In more aggro versions with greater synergies with double strike he can be quite amazing however.
What do you find yourself using Dark Ritual for?
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC