Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is a thematic deck built for fun and to be powerful. The deck focuses heavily on powerful ETB/LTB abilities, sacrificing and recursion to win in multiple ways.
This is not a fast, fat creature beatdown deck and if you try to play it that way you'll lose horribly! It's more of a "finesse" deck. It wins by abusing etb/ltb abilities through sacrifice and recursion strategies, along with tons of synergy and lots of backbreaking little "mini-combos". Utilizing all this gives it a big advantage in long wars of attrition, and there are several ways for the deck to combo out and win out of nowhere.
I'm continually surprised at all the backbreaking combos/synergies that pop up in games. It's very resilient, even to graveyard hate. Probably the most powerful thing about it is the sheer number of different ways/angles it can win from. There's no "best way" to play against it as there's always a new threat swinging from a different angle getting dropped. There are many other ways for it to win other than what's listed, but these are the most common.
1) Attrition Beatdown - By constantly sacrificing and recurring creatures with powerful ETB abilities and with things like Grave Pact to further profit from it, you're left with a strong board position and a devastated, defenseless opponent. The basic formula is ETB/LTB Baddie + Recursion Engine + Sac Outlet. Fill in those with any of the many cards from the deck that fit. This is the most common form of win condition.
2) Lark/Guide Combo - Reveillark and Karmic guide infinite recursion loop to kill the table with Blasting Station, infinite mana with Ashnod's Altar to power out a Profane Command or Exsanguinate, infinite removal/power for Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter. Do you like swinging on an empty board with a 500/500 Lifelinking Vampire?
3) Yosei Lock - Continually recurring and sacrificing Yosei creates a lockdown state against a single player. With Corpse Dance, it's possible to lock down an entire table. With a "godhand", it's possible to lock a single player out on turn 3.
4) Big Finishing Spells - A late game Profane Command or Exsanguinate will often end one or more players game.
One of the strongest strategies of the deck is to set up an ongoing sac/recursion engine with one of it's etb/ltb baddies to win a war of attrition. This can be accomplished easily with one card in each of 3 categories, they are all somewhat interchangeable, and become even stronger with Grave Pact, Martyr's Bond, or Butcher of Malakir in play.
The Sac Outlet:
Ayli, Eternal PilgrimVish Kal, Blood ArbiterPhyrexian TowerHigh MarketBlasting StationAshnod's AltarSpawning Pit
The Recursion Engine:
Debtors' KnellSheoldred, Whispering OneNezumi GraverobberMimic VatNim DeathmantleCorpse Dance (with buyback)Karmic Guide on Mimic Vat or Nim Deathmantle
The ETB/LTB Creature:
Yosei, the Morning StarAshen RiderArchon of JusticeMangara of Corondor (if you're using Corpse Dance to give her haste for her ability)
The Yosei Lock:
Yosei, the Morning Star offers several ways to effectively lock out a single player rather easily, and he can even lock out a whole table with enough mana available.
Here are several ways you can accomplish it:Yosei + any sac outlet +Sheoldred, Whispering One or Debtors' Knell = Lock out a single player every turn.
Mimic Vat - Sac him, tap down player, imprint him on the vat, repeat every turn. The token still works like the real Yosei.Mimic Vat with Karmic Guide imprinted or Reveillark imprinted and Karmic in the gy will do the same.
Nim Deathmantle - Sac him, tap down player and pay 4 to return him to play. Repeat next turn. 8 locks out two players, 12 locks out 3 players, etc.
Corpse Dance -Sac, tap, Corpse Dance with buyback repeat. If you can produce 9 mana and have Ashnods out, you can lock out 3 players for one turn. 11 mana locks out 3 players for good.
Using Corpse Dance:Corpse Dance is a one card recursion engine if you've got a sac outlet in place and enough mana for the buyback cost. Ashnod's Altar or Phyrexian Tower as the sac outlet make playing it multiple times in a turn very doable.
Corpse Dance (w/buyback) + Sac Outlet +:Reveillark or Karmic Guide = Super RecursionAshen Rider or Archon of Justice or Mangara of Corondor = Destroy any permanent every turn.
Yosei, the Morning Star = Lock down as many players as you can afford to.Wurmcoil Engine = Big Hasty Deathtouching, Lifelinking suicide beater that leaves behind two (or more) tokens to keep.
Merciless Executioner = A sweep if you have the mana for multiples.Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - His own sac outlet....Just SIIICK!
Endless possibilities!
As an added bonus, Corpse Dance is an "Instant" rather than "Sorcery" like most recursion, so it can reanimate an emergency blocker or in response to graveyard hate to save a creature you don't want to lose forever (then sac it back after hate resolves).
Lark/Guide Combo!!:
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Continuing Sac Outlet = An infinite loop of Lark and Guide entering/leaving the battlefield. The third piece of the combo can have varying effects:
Blasting Station = Kill the table
Altar of Dementia = Mill the table (iffy due to Eldrazi creatures)
Ashnod's Altar = Infinite Mana for an Exsanguinate or Profane Command
Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter = Infinite creature kill and infinitely large vampire.
You can also follow the 1,000 Lark/Guide recursions with a Bitter Ordeal and exile everyones library.
If you're not familiar with how the Lark/Guide combo works, I'll explain it here as best I can:
Here is how you manage an infinite loop of Karmic Guide and Reveillark with Blasting Station as your sac outlet (henceforth known as Guide, Lark, and BS), by manipulating the stack.
With Guide in the graveyard, doesn't matter how she got there, she self sacs if you don't pay her echo.
You BS sac (or evoke) Lark, which returns Guide to play. When Guide comes into play, 2 triggers happen...Trigger 1 = Return Lark to playTrigger 2 = Untap BSYou control both triggers, so you get to decide what order they go on the stack. Stack them just like that.
Trigger 2 comes off the stack first and untaps BS. With Trigger 1 still on the stack, BS sac Guide. Now let Trigger 1 resolve and Lark comes into play untapping BS again.
That puts you back where you started. With Guide in the gy, Lark in play, and an untapped Blasting Station (and an opponent -2 life).
You can also do it with Lark in the graveyard and Guide in hand. You'll figure it out.
Karmic Guide/Deathmantle:
Karmic Guide + Nim Deathmantle - KG kills itself every upkeep, pay 4, get KG and another creature back every upkeep.
Mangara of Corondor Trick:
Mangara of Corondor can be repeatedly used as a Vindicate as long as you have a sac outlet. You activate her ability, and with that on the stack, sac her. She goes to gy instead of being exiled, so you can now reanimate her and use her again next turn.
Mangara + Corpse Dance + Sac Outlet = Vindicating Machinegun as long as your mana holds out. If the sac outlet is Ashnod's Altar, the mana goes farther.
Mimic Vat Shenanigans:
Mimic Vat has the potential to do a great deal of harm in this deck. Besides swinging with hasty, suicidal vat tokens, many add their etb/ltb ability to the mix. Some good targets:
Ashen Rider = Exile two target permanents every turn.
Archon of Justice + Sac Outlet = Destroy Target Permanent every turn.
Merciless Executioner = All players sac a creature every turn
Karmic Guide = Recur creature every turn
Wurmcoil Engine + Sac Outlet = You keep the 2 tokens every turn.
Grave Titan = You keep the 4 tokens every turn.
Sun Titan = Recur a 3 or less cmc permanent every turn.
Yosei, the Morning Star + Sac Outlet = Soft lock of a single opponent.
Twighlight Shepherd = Get back every permanent of yours that ever goes to the graveyard.
Necrotic Sliver = Vindicate every turn.
Puppeteer Clique Tricks:
Puppeteer Clique + Ashnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle = Massive hasty alpha strike with every creature from every other graveyard.
Here's how it works:Sac Clique to Altar (2 mana in pool), persist brings it back.Sac it again (4 in pool), use the 4 mana to bring it back with deathmantle, not persist. You control both triggers so you get to stack it however you want. Now you've got clique and two opponent reanimated hasty creatures. Do that as many times as you want, swing.
Clique + Corpse Dance - You can reanimate Clique (+ another creature) with Corpse Dance and never have to remove Clique from the game. Sac him to whatever outlet, he persists and comes back (+ another creature) as a completely new creature, so Corpse Dance can't find him at eot.
The Ghost Council/Vat Protection Trick:
If you have a creature on Mimic Vat and someone tries to kill the vat, you can lose an important creature like Yosei to the exile zone when you need him in the graveyard. A way to protect yourself from the exile is:
Killing or Sacrificing any creature in response to the "kill vat" spell. Imprint the new creature on the vat which returns your important one to your graveyard. This can also be accomplished by (Thanks to Kyusurugi):Saccing Ghost Council to himself.Allow him to go to the graveyard.Imprint him on the vat.When the vat sends him to exile, choose to place him back in the command zone.
Twilight Shepherd Shenanigans:
Twilight Shepherd, besides being pretty useful on his own:
Destroy all lands with Armageddon or Desolation Angel (if you run them), then cast or sac the Shepherd to get all your lands back to hand leaving you in a very advantageous position.
Shepherd is obviously very powerful with Damnation/Austere Command/ Wrath of God type sweepers.
Shepherd + Hex Parasite + Sac Outlet = Get back everything that ever goes to your graveyard.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed Shenanigans:
If you're lucky enough to own a Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed, he can be used in several powerful ways, again, this becomes considerably more powerful if you have a Grave Pact effect in play.
Xiahou + Nim Deathmantle or Mimic Vat or Corpse Dance = Return black card to hand every turn.
Xiahou + Profane Command = Every turn you cast Profane to drain life and recur Xiahou, then sac Xiahou to get the Profane back.
Skullclamp, The Insane Draw/Removal Engine:
Skullclamp is particularly useful in the deck. It turns Bloodghast into a "draw two cards" creature every time you drop a land or another creature you control (including Mimic Vat tokens) is put in the graveyard while equipped, again becoming exponentially more powerful with a Grave Pact or Butcher of Malakir on your board. Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed also wears the clamp very well.
