I know you can't run Qasali Pridemage well. I was playing with the Naya list, as I said. It's easier there. It's right that it doesn't trigger the other Allies, but neither does Nature's Claim. Being cheaper is a fact I can't deny though.

Siding cards while maintaining CoCo efficiency is a great benefit in my opinion. You also dig 6 cards deep to find the out you need. That is more than you can do to dig for Claim.

I think Kataki should be a reasonable addition to the deck, especially since you only have 2 Artifact hate cards (that's something that always bothered me when I was testing your list)

When you go up against aggro, it is important to bring in the Ondu Clerics to mess up the tempo some for the other side. I think that's the reason I didn't bring in more artifact hate. Really, I think the hardest thing for us is dealing with their infect outlet. It would be nice to have a sb card for both infect and the artifacts.

I added war's wage to the sideboard, I don't what i would take out atm.

Perhaps a Cathars' Crusade and Mana Confluence?

good idea! I think I'd prefer the mana confluence. and maybe cathars in the sideboard.

Isn't Cathars just too expensive?

Yeah, for that amount of mana I'd rather play Kazuul Warlord, and he rarely sees play due to his cost. Btw I'm also working on a list of Sideboard cards in Modern, hope compiling it helps me see what cards are best suited for Allies' Sideboard. I believe it's a given that Allies can play literally any color combination they want, as there is ample mana fixing available with Harabaz Druid plus the new mana-Ally. Also we don't have to care that much about life loss from Fetches, Shocks or Painlands (Mana Confluence) if we have Ondu Cleric, Lantern Scout and Talus Paladin maindeckable.

Well said.

Since the spoilers of Battle for Zendikar are complete, I'd pay attention for eventual new creatures to be put in this deck.

I would seriously consider to make space for 1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir, 1 Munda, Ambush Leader (if you have a Collected Company in hand he's pretty strong) but most of all 3 (or maybe 4) Kalastria Healer. This card can end the game alone, you don't even need to attack the opponent.

Another pretty good card is Kor Bladewhirl.

I definitely think that Kalatria Healer is not good enough for the deck. The damage he does is minor.

Kalastria healer is fine for the fact that if he is left unchecked, the minor life loss/gain is enough to screw the game tempo. 1 lifegain/loss is 2 life difference. May not seem a lot but it is a huge deal actually. Personally he replaces Oran-Rief Survivalist on my list. On paper it should be workable.

I would rather play Lantern Scout or Ondu Cleric before I play the Healer.

Sure, but don't forget 1 life loss means our job gets easier. The lifegain to sustain our gameplay is one thing, but the key component here is making opponent lose life slowly, turn by turn. Add that insignificant 1-2 life per turn with our allies attacking in, the damage is still considerable

Any +1/+1 Counter Ally would be a better play at any time in my opinion. Since they put out more damage.

I think you guys are talking about two different kinda decks. xxDSJJxx(gah, such an intense username, ;-) ) is leaning more towards the midrange feel/combo. In your particular list I'd replace the druid, mauler, and then the warleader. TBH, Oran rief is your 2nd most solid card. You're usually able to swing in for 4-9 damage with the oranrief by turn 4. Really though, you need to do a lot of playtesting, (like 30-40 games) to get a real feel for it. If you've played a lot with it already, you might be able to tell right away.

I think I would lean more towards having the healer as a 1 of, or maybe in the sideboard. I like the card a lot, but the problem is that in this deck I want it to grow. Now, I agree with xxDSJJxx that the card provides a lot of tempo, so it may make up for the lack of size.(it's not how big the worm is, but how well it wiggles...)

Have you decided on your changes for BFZ yet?

I know I am throwing in the flyer. I might take out one Kabira Evangel since its not something I want right away in my hand. The double black means I will probably have to put one more black source in my deck.

I'm still Pondering (lol) on how to run the mana base. Ally encampment is definitely a 4 of. I'm thinking of running reflecting pool in place of the city of brass. There are some problems with having it though. I won't be able to keep a one land reflecting pool hand with vial in hand. It also limits the mana type availability since it relies on having the 2 different cards on the field. My biggest concern is being able to cast scales consistently, and for that matter, collective company. It may be worth it to run more green sources or even green basic lands.

The new allies return to the ranks I think I will at least run as a one of. My only fear is being able to produce that black color consistently, which will mean some more mana tinkering, but hopefully with the addition of the extra black source aforementioned it should be fine.

I think the healer will probably replace the Ondu Cleric. I like the healer since it is more aggressive, and I always wanted that from the cleric.

I tested Drana (the flyer) a bit already and she seems pretty slow. I haven't had a game yet where her damage got through.

What will you do with your Cavern of Souls ratio if Ally Encampment is a 4-of? Do you leave it at 4? Because that seems like a lot of lands that don't provide colored non-Ally mana.

yeah, that's one of the problems I'm trying to figure out. It may not be as bad as it seems though; CoCo requires a turn 4 green, and if you are not able to cast scales, its not a super big deal. Vial is colorless so its no big deal. Off the top of my head, I think I would want every land that isn't those 8 to provide green and white. So maybe 2 of for thicket? a bunch of fetch lands, probably staying at 5, a temple garden, one reflecting pool and a godless shrine? Then 2 plains and a forest perhaps. Hmmm, I like the way that feels.

As far as her not being up to par.... that could be the case. In a way, she is a worse Umara Raptor. She doesn't get bigger on her own. (Man, that makes me want to run the raptor again, lol...I just might)

Hmm... I'm thinking on paper as mentioned. I know oran-rief is good. Just thinking of the positive side of the new cards that may help.

I'm more into Drana as a finisher in slower games with itself getting bigger as she attacks. Umara raptor needs other ally ETB in order for it to be bigger. Drana on the other hand is more self-sustaining and any other ally will get the buff from her. Personally I really think having her as 2-off somewhere in the 75 would be good, but take her out against faster decks

I think that AEther Vial with Collected Company and Hardened Scales is a bit much - 2 Path to Exile is very light on the interaction POV, and that's gonna come to bite you in the butt, because there are plenty of other aggro decks that are faster than you (therefore, you should pick 2 of the 3). Speaking of speed, I see that you're not running the primary accelerator in Harabaz Druid - you don't have to go for 4, but I'd strongly recommend at least 2. It will let you trim your land count to 20 (since you can pump out mana at a moment's notice), and it opens the door to slapping down a Turn 3 Collected Company, as well as have access to color-fixing, which is always important in a 5C deck that still hopes to cast Kazandu Blademaster.

I have a few more quibbles with regards to the Allies you've chosen (though I have to give you props on some neat tech in Abzan Falconer) - Kalastria Healer's effect is very minor (and its body is weak), and Drana, Liberator of Malakir both fails the Bolt test and fails to have an effect on its own before dying. I'd rather see the aforementioned Harabaz Druid, or Lantern Scout if you feel you need more offense.

As far as the sideboard goes, Return to the Ranks is awesome (but again, would be better with ramp), but I don't feel that Ephemeral Shields or March from the Tomb are good cards. You're also skimping pretty hard on graveyard hate at a point in time where that's pretty important (bugs the hell out of Grixis Control, for one), so I would recommend some Relic of Progenitus. Those are my thoughts for now.

Hey rothgar13, were you the dude who commented on modern nexus? Your thoughts seem similar to what the guy said there.

rothgar13 When I built the deck, I made it after merfolk and boggles. At 20 lands, it is necessary to have AEther Vial. Not to mention it provides color fixing. It also lets you to put more creatures out quicker, allowing for a more consistent turn 4 win.

Hardened Scales provides another way to consistently get to the turn 4 win and get's you out of bolt range. It makes the other creature decks really struggle with blocking also. I had boggles in mind when I put hardened scales in here. With boggles, or any combo, you need quite a bit of redundancy. Initially I didn't like having Bojuka Brigand or Jwari Shapeshifter in there, but they actually fit perfectly in the build. They become an awesome card because of the synnergy.

Harabaz Druid is a bit of tricky card. I've played with it quite a bit and found that I wanted an aggressive creature instead of a 0/1 mana dork. I'd be willing to playtest it as a one of and take out the 21st land. Also, if you look at the mana, there really isn't a problem casting Kazandu Blademaster.

I can take credit for coming up with the tech for Hardened Scales but Abzan Falconer was something I saw the Oklahoma dude trying.

I replaced Ondu Cleric with Kalastria Healer to be more aggressive. I have similar thoughts on this one as with you, and I'd be willing to playtest this evening running two Harabaz Druids this evening on MODO to see how they do.
Drana, Liberator of Malakir does fail that particular test, but I felt that at the modest chance of it hitting as a flyer, and as a one of, is at least worth playtesting.

I definitely agree with you that Return to the Ranks would be much better with ramp, and sells your argument for Harabaz Druid even better.

March from the Tomb may be problematic too and I can see your point. I think I will drop that, as with the lantern person.

I actually have a very high winning rate against graveyard recursion. At least the one with the creatures, but the ones with all the control I can see the usefulness of the card. That may end up going in the side.

Ephemeral Shields is an interesting card, and I think has potential. While at the same time, if I don't have mana open of untapped creatures, it can be a problem. Vines of Vastwood may be better or Emerge Unscathed. The last daily I played in a week or two ago, I mainboarded Return to the Ranks and Spellskite, taking the que from the elves deck and placed 3-1.

As for the Path to Exile, I made the deck after boggles, that only needs a couple of removals, which I find 2 to work pretty good for the type of dedicated agro deck allies is.

Yeah, I'm the same guy who commented on ModernNexus.

I'm a huge fan of Hardened Scales (my own Ally brew runs it), and I can definitely understand the appeal of running both AEther Vial and Collected Company because of all of the acceleration involved, I do think that given the lack of creatures with sneaky effects like bouncing or counters, you can get away with not running Vial, especially if you have ramp. Drana, Liberator of Malakir may be worth a quick test given that you have Hardened Scales, though - if you do run it, I'd appreciate hearing back on how it did.

As far as Ephemeral Shields goes... My main bone to pick with it is that a single-target indestructible isn't all that great. It doesn't same you from bounce or exiling, or help you evade blockers (unlike protection), and it doesn't pull double duty as disruption (unlike counterspells). It can be cast for free, sure, but after about 2-3 turns, holding 1-2 mana open shouldn't be a huge problem for you anyway.

Sweet, thx for taking some time to look at the deck. You're welcome to look at the others. Who knows, maybe it will help you brew some. I got an interesting Kamakaze Allies deck brewing.

I just played against grixis delver and the druid did work! I think I would rather have Return to the Ranks and maybe one Emerge Unscathed in the main in the removal heavy meta on MODO.

Yeah, I think Ephemeral Shields is out unfortunately, and I'm gonna keep messing with druid to see how he does.

So, I'm running 4 Ally Encampments along with 4 Cavern of Souls. This worries me because of the need to cast hardened scales on turn 1-3.

Which you rather have? t1 creature or t1 scale? Personally I would rather have a creature on board even without scales. If you think that scales are more important than creatures, drop encampments to 3 and run 1 more fetchland. Maybe that would help.

I haven't gotten to playtest this version yet. If anything, I could run more Reflecting Pools, but this too has problems. I'm trying the Kalastria Healer over Ondu Cleric in the main to see how it does, but I am not sure.

Ondu Cleric is still stronger in terms of the lifegain. I wouldn't consider a substitution because he will help bring you out of bolt/burn range very quickly. Kalastria healer not to much. I personally would run both the synergistic effect, but since I'm sticking to the aggro route, Kalastria may be sidelined and added later if there is space.

Also, at this point I only have 1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir. I'm not sure how effective she will be, so I will leave it for me play testing.

As mentioned, Drana is a win-con by herself. On the turn she attacks, the boost is massive for the next turn. Think of her like desecration demon. If nothing left to check her, the game is pretty much over.

I will throw in the new March from the Tomb to see how it does as a one of in the side. I also went from 4 Colective Companys to 3, due to my play experience of not being able to get to 4 mana consistently. I may be willing to look into going with 22 lands, but it's still up in the air. Let me know your thoughts!

Personally I have no issues hitting 4 mana with 20-21 lands. The only thing is probably the land colours that will have problem. 22 lands is too much and you might see yourself getting flooded with lands. March from the tomb is a great card. But the irony is that if you have trouble hitting 4 mana already, wouldn't 5 mana be almost impossible?

xxDSJJxx Except that Desecration Demon doesn't die to Bolt. About Cleric, I tested the Healer and really, Ondu Cleric does way more in my opinion, as you said. For your CoCo issues, you could try the Harabaz Druid like rothgar13 said.

rothgar13 I never tried playtesting the Druid, because it seemed weak on the outside, but I can get behind the mana ramp and turn 3 CoCo as well as being able to run less lands and more Return to the Ranks seems very appealing. Does Druid allow to run 20 lands though in the new versions of the deck? I think because of Ally Encampment, we want more lands because it gets sacrificed.