Also,
⬇️ Firja, Judge of Valor; Syr Konrad, the Grim; Expedition Map ⬆️ Bone Shredder; Corpse Knight; Fellwar Stone
For added speed and consistency
January 18, 2024 11:55 p.m.
⬇1x Zulaport Cutthroat; 1x Wayfarer's Bauble; 1x Unmarked Grave ⬆1x Ponyback Brigade; 1x Kor Cartographer; 1x Graceful Restoration
Adding more ETB triggers for more consistency (hopefully). Changed tutor for recursion since my pod doesn't really do tutoring.
January 19, 2024 1:18 p.m.
king-saproling says... #5
Looks good. Personally I would make these swaps:
Witch's Mark -> Bounty Agent
Savai Crystal -> Custodi Soulcaller
Bitter Reunion -> Gravelighter
Cathartic Reunion -> Priest of Forgotten Gods
Seize the Spoils -> Vulturous Aven
Thrill of Possibility -> Voldaren Bloodcaster
Flip
Faithless Looting -> Cathar Commando
Commander's Sphere -> Goldhound
Mardu Banner -> Pitiless Plunderer
Key to the City -> Lightning Coils
January 26, 2024 11:40 a.m.
@king-saproling thanks for the suggestions! I think I’ll try some of them, like Goldhound and Gravelighter, but it seems that most of them do not bring in the kind of sinnergy I’m looking for here.
I won’t part with Key to the City because it helps to keep the commander alive and feed the graveyard mostly every game.
Pitiless Plunderer would be great, but it’s quite pricey here where I live.
January 28, 2024 11:15 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #7
Hi there, I saw your comment on the front page feed that you were looking for some help with your deck. Alesha was one of my first favorites, but I recycled her a couple of years ago to build Isshin.
In looking at your deck and some of the stuff in your Maybe Board, I have a few suggestions:
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Generally speaking, I think you can trim down your creature base a bit more to give you a bit more room for lands, another mana rock or two, and other spells that can help your overall strategy.
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Some of the creatures I think you can safely cut are: Ponyback Brigade (you have other token creators that aren't 3 color intensive, also kinda underwhelming), Vulturous Aven (there are other similar effects on cheaper spells, at cost of not being repeatable), and Mirkwood Bats (mostly because you currently have ~10 or fewer token creating effects in deck, so not a lot of support).
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As mentioned for the Vulturous Aven swap, but Deadly Dispute, Costly Plunder, & Plumb the Forbidden are all excellent options. Plumb the Forbidden is one I've enjoyed in my aggro decks as a response to board wipes.
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Fanatical Devotion is a budget option that pulls some weight in Alesha as a protection effect & repeatable "free" sac outlet.
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Scapegoat can also be a cheap board protection effect, & means for you to return ETB creatures to hand for reuse.
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Reconnaissance - I first started playing this card in Alesha before using it in some of my current aggro decks. Helps with pulling Alesha or other creatures out of combat after they've dealt damage, since creatures are considered attacking until combat ends. This EDHREc article goes in more detail.
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Snarling Gorehound - Is a newer card & can help Alesha get some repeated Surveil to sculpt her graveyard.
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I'd recommend replacing Coldsteel Heart with something like Talisman of Conviction or Fellwar Stone. I see you recently swapped out Fellwar Stone for Coldsteel Heart, but you're losing a bit of mana velocity with that ETB tapped on Coldsteel.
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In looking at your mana, I think you can probably swap Castle Embereth with another Mountain, mostly because 6 of your 33 lands have the Mountain type. On that note, I think you could safely replace some of your lands that enter tapped with more Basics until you can your hands on something like Luxury Suite or Spectator Seating. Exotic Orchard can also be helpful.
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You can also maybe swap out Junkyard Genius for something like Goblin War Drums, if you're looking for a more reliable Menace anthem.
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I know she's in your Maybe Board, but I think Loran of the Third Path can be a potential swap with Boneshredder. The political draw she has can be really helpful.
Hope these suggestions were helpful. I'd be down to chat about additional swaps if you're up for it. Best of luck, Alesha is a lot of fun
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February 6, 2024 1:52 p.m.
Crow_Umbra THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I’ll consider all your recommendations with care. I have already seen some of these cards, but they flew over my mind since I was so focused in finding reanimatable creatures with similar effects.
By the way, Ponyback was included mostly as redundancy for Siege-Gang Commander (4 ETB triggers at once!) but I agree that it is kind of clunky. The Talismans were not included only because I couldn’t find any for a reasonable price.
February 6, 2024 4:14 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #9
Happy to help luizfpa! Have you had a chance to play your deck irl in its current iteration? Was there anything that felt clunky to you?
I played Alesha for a couple of years in a few different iterations: ETB tokens/Aristocrats, Menace Matters Aggro, and finally more combo-focused. The cool thing about Alesha is that you can take her so many different directions. I don't think I've seen any Alesha builds that look alike. The more you play her, the more you'll be able to tune her toolbox aspects to your playgroup(s).
If you're ever interested in running a more dedicated reanimator package to supplement Alesha, Reanimate, Animate Dead, & Necromancy all were reprinted in the new Revenant Recon Dimir precon.
February 6, 2024 5:08 p.m.
Crow_Umbra, I've never played this iteration IRL. I'm waiting to finish it after the holidays (I'm in Brazil and carnival is next week lol) and play a bit with it. I'm also gonna buy some MKM cards, since they should be easy to find by then.
I'm looking forward for this reprinted reanimator pack, but to rehash my other deck, Judith Aristocrats EDH. It's a Judith, the Scourge Diva deck based on sacrifice and attrition. This version on Tappedout is not the version I'm currently using, mind you, I put it here to help me parse my ideas for upgrade. Anyway, fell free to coment there as well!
February 6, 2024 7:46 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #11
Solid updates! Olá da Califórnia! Eu gostaria de estar no Carnaval em vez de estar trabalhando na próxima semana haha.
My last couple suggestions for this deck:
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If you're looking for a board wipe alternative to Dusk / Dawn, I'd recommend Slaughter the Strong or Retribution of the Meek. Dusk is kinda awkward since it still kills Alesha, & Dawn is also kinda clunky because it returns all your stuff to hand, except Alesha.
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If you need a mass reanimation spell, I'd recommend Living Death since it can also double as a board wipe, or Lich-Knights' Conquest which is kinda like a more surgical, but narrow Living Death. Lich-Knight's Conquest might be a bit harder to pull off in this deck, since you run some but not a lot of creature token creation.
I'll take a look at your Judith deck a bit later & see if there are any suggestions I can think of. Other than that, your revisions here are looking good!
luizfpa says... #1
⬇️ Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit; Vindicate ⬆️ Vizier of Deferment; Stroke of Midnight
Trying to add consistency on a budget.
January 18, 2024 11:05 p.m.