Alesha Midrange

Commander / EDH* RBW (Mardu) Reanimator Tokens

Tata

Land (36)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x High Market
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 2x Mountain
• 2x Plains
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Creature (28)

• 1x Anarchist
• 1x Angel of Invention
• 1x Anger
• 1x Dire Fleet Daredevil
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Duergar Hedge-Mage
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Felidar Guardian
• 1x Goblin Cratermaker
• 1x Goblin Matron
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mirror Entity
• 1x Mogg War Marshal
• 1x Necrotic Sliver
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sadistic Hypnotist
• 1x Seasoned Pyromancer
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Siege-Gang Commander
• 1x Sling-Gang Lieutenant
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

Instant (7)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tithe
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Wear / Tear

Commander (1)

Artifact (12)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy

Sorcery (11)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Idyllic Tutor
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Ruinous Ultimatum
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Vindicate

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Chandra, Acolyte of Flame

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I first built this deck because I had assembled ABUR duals for Mardu. It started as a challenge to build something I would not normally play, since I'm not a fan of decks without blue or green. After just one or two games, however, I quickly realized that Alesha is a ton of fun. There are many ways to build for her, and I've opted for a more tokens-heavy strategy.

I don't like the incremental value philosophy of aristocrats, so I've gone for a more midrange approach to leveraging tokens and small creatures. Skullclamp is a key and conventional piece of the puzzle. Classics like Purphoros, God of the Forge are deadly. However, certain special cards come from left-field to perform some extremely heavy lifting. For example, Sling-Gang Lieutenant puts in an enormous amount of work in the lategame.

Tutoring for Buried Alive and getting Anger, Karmic Guide, and Rune-Scarred Demon is the basic strategy of the deck. It is the best thing that you can do. It is a fairly linear strategy, and I suppose you could criticize it for that, but all it really does is establish a toolbox/value-engine with Rune-Scarred Demon and the explosion of power on the board that comes with reanimating it with Karmic Guide.

The early game can be spent pressuring opponents' life-totals. It is very possible to snipe off slower decks in the early game, but I've learned not to invest too deeply into the aggro strategy, since any significant amount of lifegain is usually enough to stop it. For example, if I have Demonic Tutor in hand but no real action going on just yet, I will not burn it on Purphoros, God of the Forge if I suspect any amount of lifegain is forthcoming. Gaining even 10 life puts the breaks on how this deck tries to kill people in the first six or so turns of the game. Instead, in this scenario, I would grab Buried Alive or some other value engine, and set my sights on a late-game win. This ability to quickly switch between fast and slow strategies is one of the most powerful and fun things about Alesha.

Winning is usually achieved through overwhelming value after a mid-game of constant grindy disruption. When I win, I am often attacking with 6 or 7 creatures for 15 - 20 a turn, destroying permanents, creating tokens, making my opponents discard their hands, and drawing tons of cards. More immediate victories come from resolving Purphoros, God of the Forge to kill off opponents that were weakened in the early stages of the game or from a resolved Living Death with a sacrifice outlet on the field.

You may notice the odd omission of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. That's intentional. This deck is already very consistent and feared in my playgroup. I am not interested in making it degenerate. I am interested in playing interactive Magic and killing my opponents the old-fashioned way.

Winconditions: Reveillark + Karmic Guide + a sac outlet of some kind, Mirror Entity, Purphoros, God of the Forge, Sadistic Hypnotist, Goblin Bombardment, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Living Death, Ruinous Ultimatum

Kill List: The Scarab God, Grismold, the Dreadsower, Greven, Predator Captain, Kaalia of the Vast, Rasputin Dreamweaver, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, Admiral Beckett Brass, Kenrith, the Returned King, Ghired, Conclave Exile, Akiri, Line-Slinger, Silas Renn, Seeker Adept, Nekusar, the Mindrazer, Karn, Silver Golem, Atla Palani, Nest Tender, Emmara, Soul of the Accord, K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, Elsha of the Infinite, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Alela, Artful Provocateur, Shattergang Brothers, Kess, Dissident Mage, Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, Feather, the Redeemed, The Ur-Dragon, Heartless Hidetsugu, Child of Alara, Selenia, Dark Angel, Roon of the Hidden Realm, Ayara, First of Locthwain, Grothama, All-Devouring, Rakdos, Lord of Riots

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 51 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.02
Tokens	Elemental 1/1 R, Goblin 1/1 R, Servo 1/1 C