How about Radiant Purge in your sideborad, great against abzan

watch BW lifegain allies planeswalkers

I would cut:

2x Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, 4x Bloodbond Vampire, 2x Outpost Siege

for 3x Fiery Impulse, 3x Painful Truths and 3x Expedition Envoy, just to lower your curve a bit.

Add 2 more Battlefield Forge instead of 2 plains and 2 mountain instead of 1 encampment and 1 swamp.

For the sideboard, 3 Roast and 1 more crackling doom should fill the places currently occupied by ankle shanker and deflecting palm. Virulent plague and erase should be 2 Radiant Flames and 1 Radiant Purge and 1 more Duress perhaps.

This seems very interesting in a good way :)

As sad as it makes me to say, you might as well get rid of the khans and fate cards seeing as they rotate out Feb 8th.

mastermew They don't rotate out until April 8 I thought. And yeah, when they do rotate out I'll need something for grindier games.

My Bad whiterice336 I thought it was off too, must have read it wrong... anyway you're right.

Since you have March from the Tomb, you may be interested in Bone Splinters and Zulaport Cutthroat. Bone Splinters would replace Immolating Glare, the sacrifice would trigger the Cutthroat's drain, and any non tokens sacrificed could be brought back with the Tomb. Maybe trade in the Grim Haruspex for the Cutthroats. Perhaps get a couple Gideon, Ally of Zendikar to replace Sorin, Solemn Visitor once rotation happens. Gideon creates Allies to trigger Kalastria Healer, could be sacrificed for Bone Splinters or for Ayli.

If you do go for Zulaport Cutthroat, Rally the Ancestors might make a good replacement for March from the Tomb since it can bring back all creatures with CMC or less. If you had multiple Cutthroats and Healers, that could be a massive swing.

If you wanted a 1 drop, Stoneforge Acolyte would be the way to go since it can help you find your equipments.

In your side deck, Oblivion Strike might be a good replacement for Utter End, same CMC, less color specific, though its only for creatures.

Add more life gain cards!

Ryjo Zulaport Cutthroat was always a consideration but I'm worried about early aggro and all my creatures lacking combat stats when they first come out. I swapped him out for Immolating Glare but I might switch him back if aggro doesn't seem to be a problem.

sunshine1223 any you'd recommend?

I run March from the Tomb and I have a question, It's seen both ways and is always an argument: On the card is says to return and number of allies with total converted mana cost 8 or less, so is that any that cost less than eight like I believe it is and most people i've met, or is it cmc added up to eight? So for example I could return 4 Kalastria Healer or 2 Bloodbond Vampire or 2 Kalastria Healer and one Bloodbond Vampire

Also Retreat to Hagra is a good card just to put one maybe two in ya know?

DillyMilly March from the Tomb says "total converted mana cost 8 or less". It means creatures whose CMC add up to 8.

Ryjo so which one is it, I'm still confused as to what it means, there's two interpretations of it and I want to know which one it is, sorry i know you just tried to explain it but I need laymen terms cus I haven't been playing too long...

DillyMilly think of it this way: March from the Tomb provides you with 8 'mana' to cast ally cards currently in your graveyard. If you brought back Cliffhaven Vampire, that would cost 4 mana, leaving you with 4 mana. You could then bring back a Drana, Liberator of Malakir, which costs 3 mana, leaving you one mana to bring back Expedition Envoy. Once you select the allies any remaining 'mana' disappears.

Retreat to Hagra, Lantern Scout, Ondu Rising, Tandem Tactics, Stone Haven Medic, Kalitas Traitor of Ghet, etc. Those are some. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar would be nice. Nice job with the Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim!

OKay that's what I was wondering, thanks.

Great stuff! Check out my thoughts and list for a VERY similar concept. Your deck list might be the closest to mine I've found yet. After you read it, let's compare notes, but a lot of things that I would tell you are in the notes on my deck page. BW Vampiric Allies

But some comments more specific to your list:

• I think Retreat to Emeria is too slow and clunky. Yeah the effects are great but I wouldn't give up hitting fast and hard and taking a quick Aggro style win. Multiple win conditions are awesome! I use Oath of Gideon for similar purposes but greater synergy.

• Considered Captain's Claws but Gideon is even better at a very similar role. And 4 equipment seems like way too much in my deck. Can you achieve the same idea in ways that are more flexible but faster? In my brew, I just have 1x Stoneforge Masterwork because when it comes up, it can be a real game finisher, but doesn't take up too much room in my deck. I'll admit it might not even make the final cut. This is Standard - no room for chaff!

• Similar comments on Serene Steward. Sure, great effect, but that's not how I think you want to win -- to slow and clunky, and Drana takes care of this sort of thing for you already.

Good luck, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on mine!

tiltstern Agreed about the Oath of Gideon and Captain's Claws. I also took a bunch of tips from the conversations happening on your wall.

I decided to get rid of all the equipment. I really want to keep the Serene Steward in. I think I'm most nervous about the fact that this deck requires me to have a bunch of individually mediocre creatures in play to work. I'm also not running any card draw. Serene Steward can turn the creatures I've already played into threats as the game goes on. Stoneforge Masterwork might play that role as well. I might test out Vampiric Rites as well.

I think I'm coming to accept what some others have been saying, but caveat emptor, I'm still entirely on paper and haven't played this other than one-handed yet.

Oath of Gideon combos amazingly and I'm running more now. Exact number TBD, but its more than 1. I think Stoneforge Masterwork is probably a win-more, and at Equip 2 it's too slow. Captain's Claws will only be a one-of, but at Equip 1 it's much more manageable, can be deployed immediately for 3 (even possibly for a win!), so it should only be truly dead when you are behind. And it gets silly with Zulaport Cutthroat if they decide they need to chump block; but if they don't, lookout for the Gideon Emblems (which we get without killing Gideon if the Oath is out). Because of all this, I'm willing to try one-of, even though I kind of hate running Equipment in general.

Vampiric Rites is still in my maybeboard, but with Cutthroats being reduced and Kalitas going entirely out of my MB, I'm thinking that sac isn't as much of a dynamic in this deck the way I'm currently going (more aggro).

I'm so glad the conversation on my deck is helping! I'd really like to see this deck make prime-time! Let's keep talking it through, and I really do hope to get to play it soon.

While Rally is a deck, you might want Hallowed Moonlight in your SB. Also, what's your plan against fast/wide aggro? Maybe lifegain in Lantern Scout, but I'm not sure that's enough.

tiltstern Yeah, I'm also still at the paper stage. I'm hoping that Immolating Glare and Ayli slow them down long enough to get my board set up with March from the Tomb allowing me to chump block if I have to

I'd also probably swap Kalitas for the Bloodbond Vampire if they're going wide