I've heard about a deck like that.

I think someone on mtgsalv mentioned a Excavator self mill strategy.

Hi guys, I just finished reviewing All the Ally cards in BFZ. Head over to my blog page to see it! Oh, if you like what you see in the blog, be it this article or in previous content, Please help support using patreon!

Is there really not much from BFZ that seems interesting to you?

aubman02 Thought of such a list recently, but I don't think I posted anything about it. Nevertheless, some cards to consider for such a strategy would be Tracker's Instincts, Commune with the Gods, Grisly Salvage, Scout the Borders, Rally the Ancestors, Jwari Shapeshifter, Phantasmal Image, Ondu Cleric, Rite of Replication, Doubling Chant, Mimic Vat, Agadeem Occultist, Bala Ged Thief, possibly Unburial Rites + Angel of Glory's Rise. Going for the latter combo makes it more risky but allows shenanigans with the more expensive Allies like Murasa Pyromancer. One would likely have to include some grave-hate MB in order to not lose to gravebased decks. Scavenging Ooze and Rest in Peace come to mind, Leyline of the Void might work as well.

All in all this sounds like a fun way to win, if it is fast enough. After all you first have to get out an Excavator, then get yourself milled for quite some cards (as typically at most half of them are Allies), have a card that allows for Reanimation, have enough mana to cast it, etc etc. Certainly needs some finetuning. For colors, I'd guess GWUB makes sense? At least GWU is a given, Black obviously has quite some support for the strategy.

Hi can you please check out my post BFZ budget ally deck

your feedback is welcome!

I'm testing out Ready / Willing. It interests me.

It is interesting. Not sure if I really like it though. For the willing side, I might be more inclined to just run Vault of the Archangel. The ready side is good though. Indestructible allows your allies to dodge removal and the psuedo vigilance is great. Although with new Gideon, Rootborn Defenses might be better (although I doubt it). Another option would be Dauntless Escort as it is CoCo-able.

Dauntless is also much more predictable. Unless I get lucky and hit it off coco which in the end costs 1 more mana

Updated my list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/graypelt/

I am going to try mono white ally deck which uses Mirror Entity to boost low cmc allies and Mentor of the Meek for card draw

I got a few more games in with my 4-Color Allies (Abzan Allies (with red splash)) and have to say that I don't like Drana. The games where I only had 1 black mana or Ally-land were numerous and I couldn't cast her when I had her. I could change my manabase, but it worked well recently, except the basic swamp was annoying sometimes.

I will obviously still test her because I didn't I didn't trigger her ability even once yet.

What I can say though is that Suppression Field is awesome! Really shuts down some decks. I only brought it in against Zombie Infestation Smallpox Control yet, but there it really shined. It stops Harabaz Druid and fetchlands, but we can play around that.

ComradeJim270 no not really. I'm in love with Drana though. The other Allies are okay, but some of them are really bad. But nevertheless, I do have some new cards added into my list.

My POV of the review is to have the cards that are synergistic or viable in my deck shell, which is an aggro deck. That's why some of the cards, although good, didn't make a mark on me.

what do you guys think of Crib Swap have you playtested this card? Not only that it removes opponents creature but it also triggers allies and whats more if opponent doesnt have creatures you can cast it on your creature (for example harabaz druid if you have enouch mana and he is useless) to instantly trigger ETB 2 times.

ehuez I don't see how Crib Swap triggers Allies. It doesn't "enter the battlefield" like the Ally triggers require it to do. (for reference: Kazandu Blademaster)

Yes, we can exile our own creature and trigger the Allies off of the 1/1 Shapeshifter token, but I don't think that warrants exiling a creature and 3 mana. Would rather play Cloudshift for the trigger part and Path to Exile for the removal part.

@xxDSJJxx: Makes sense, a lot of them feel too weak or too slow for Modern. Interested to see if that does not turn out to be the case on all of them.

Here are my thoughts on your rankings of the Allies. I've written down those I disagree with and where I think they should go.

RAISE

Halimar Excavator: Mid --> High
He's a must-4 of in the Ally mill build, and I could even see him as the frontpiece in heavier control variants. Don't underestimate this little guy.

Expedition Envoy: Low --> Mid
From what I've been testing, this is the most solid one-drop Allies can get outside of Hada Freeblade, and the deck really needs to be able to apply pressure early. Testing at 2, may move to 3

Bojuka Brigand: Low --> Mid
The Abzan aggro decks need more bears, particularly those that interact with Hardened Scales. Testing at 3.

LOWER

Umara Raptor: High --> Mid
Not really worth it unless you're playing Bant, and even then I don't think you'd need more than 2 at most.

Chameleon Colossus: High --> Mid
With Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Collected Company now the centerpieces of the deck, I want to keep my Ally curve at 3 mana and under. I thus cannot think of a single 4+ drop Ally that is outright better for you than either, outside of Hagra Diabolist in a weird Esper Rally the Ancestors/Jwari Shapeshifter deck.

Halimar Tidecaller: Mid --> Low
No awaken cards in Modern that I can see are playable, and where am I going to be animating lands?

Agadeem Occultist: Mid --> Low
Cool effect, but I just don't know how often it'd be relevant or how often you'd be able to get it off. You're also never guaranteed to actually get good stuff off of him.

Changeling Berserker: Mid --> Low
See comments on Chameleon Colossus.

Highland Berserker: Mid --> Low
Kor Bladewhirl functionally obsolesces him.

Kazuul Warlord: Mid --> Low
See comments on Chameleon Colossus.

Zada, Hedron Grinder: Mid --> Low
Cool creature, but doesn't synergize with any of the Allies in ways we want to.

Tajuru Archer: Mid --> Low
Not enough threatening flying stuff I would see regularly to consider this, and at that point, +1/+1 counter builds would play Abzan Falconer first.

Serene Steward: Mid --> Low
Kalastria Nightwatch: ??? --> Low
Nimana Sell-Sword: ??? --> Low
Nirkana Assassin: Mid --> Low
These all just suck.

NEW

As for those not reviewed yet? I think Munda, Ambush Leader and Veteran Warleader should sit at Mid and everything else at Low. Drana's Emissary sits somewhere in between there, but I don't think she's good enough to warrant play. I'm also excited to see your thoughts on March from the Tomb.

Hope my ramblings have helped!

Also, to explain my interpretation of the rankings:

• High: If you're in the colors, this Ally is a staple. You should have a very good reason for not running it at least 1 of them.
• Mid: A good Ally, albeit one that doesn't fit into every build using its colors. It should still at least be considered.
• Low: Not worth running in any build using the colors.

Rinne, your assessment is close to my interpretation, however I'm ranking mostly on the viability as a card, not just its placement in ally specific decks (Which is my reasoning on Zada, Hedron Grinder and Halimar Tidecaller. Some of the black ones were just mistakes, they were meant to be low, I just haven't proof read this yet.

Halimar Excavator is mid because you can run blue decks without him. He's my favorite ally, but if you want to include him, you need to make sure your deck can use mill advantageously, which takes more slots. Basically High tier means they can go into almost any deck, or at least a sideboard (Umara Raptor) in any deck with that color. Mid means they can be good, but need to be in a deck built for them specifically. Low means never play them ever. I disagree with a lot of your assessments, but most of them have merit. That's the issue with lists like this, they're bound to be subjective in some way, and I'm definitely biased (I think protection from black is a great ability, which is why Chameleon Colossus is High, though he could just as easily be mid). (On the note of Expedition Envoy however, play Champion of the Parish for early pressure, and AEther Vial or Hardened Scales if you need more in the 1-drop slot.

Also, read my update for the multicolor allies.

Thanks for the feedback!

Ah, now I understand more of the rationale behind your rankings. I'm at least glad you see the reasoning behind my arguments.

Still gonna push for Expedition Envoy at Mid, though. Champion of the Parish not being an Ally really hurts in the late game, and with more and more good Allies not being humans (namely Drana, Ondu Cleric and the tokens from Gideon), I didn't see him trigger enough in testing to keep him. Envoy at least has value in triggering rally lategame, so she's never truly a dead drop.

And I don't see the multicolor update listed anywhere. ):

...oh, I can't read. Guess we have to wait a bit longer for rankings on the multicolor. Can't wait still!

And +1 for such a good guide. Forgot to do so earlier. P:

Bojuka Brigand imho is a high tier black ally. The "can't block" clause almost never matters. He is essential to any black ally deck that is running Hardened Scales

Nef That's why he's mid tier, he fits in that deck. The other high tier allies (and I'm going to be reviewing them to make sure I'm staying consistent) are flexible. You can put them in any deck with those colors and they'll do well. Bojuka Brigand is useless on defense, which makes him mid tier.

1 or 2 things that would polish up the appearance of the primer: Would be really cool if you could put the color-banners in WUBRG order, polishes it up a bit, as well as maybe updating the banners to have the most important Allies in these colors, so Black: Drana, Red: Battlesinger.

You lack a line break in front of Mirror Mockery in blue support.

Also, in case you need/want some inspiration and didn't see it yet, I compiled all sorts of support cards over here.

In terms of support cards, I think the following deserve some mention:

Mentor of the Meek can be decent in slower matchups, but still is not that good as a topdeck when we are in dire need for an Ally trigger. Potential is definitely there though.

Rally the Ancestors in case all you need is some more triggers rather than board position (or only need that to chump-block).

Unified Front for decks that solely care about triggers, with one Ally like Excavator or Ondu Cleric, you easily get 12 or 20 life gained/cards milled. Still at sorcery speed, but imo this can be a decent budget-variant to Collected Company (if you consistently get converge-4).

Tezzeret's Gambit can do some insane stuff in a Hardened Scales-deck.

Call to the Kindred can do work if you aren't afraid of getting 2-for-1-ed. Rather put it at not as good as they seem though, together with Infinite Reflection. Not sure where to put Polymorphous Rush, Deadeye Navigator or Leyline of Anticipation.

I've seen a deck idea involving self-mill and then Unburial Rites into Restoration Angel rather than simply Return to the Ranks. Maybe worth it pondering about that.

Lead the Stampede definitely deserves a mention as a hand-filler.

You already mentioned Tracker's Instincts and Commune with the Gods, but didn't include them in the support section. It is to note though that these only provide card quality rather than advantage. Grisly Salvage ought to be mentioned as well.

Colorless and multicolor cards deserve some consideration too, AEther Vial (together with Mimic Vat) could deserve a section on its own explaining the multitude of uses and whether to move the counters up to three. A paragraph on utility lands such as Alchemist's Refuge, Gavony Township, Vault of the Archangel, Slayers' Stronghold, Kessig Wolf Run. Mutavault can serve as an Ally for various effects, but likely destabilizes the manabase too much.

Multicolor cards I like to consider are Dromoka's Command, Atarka's Command in a very aggressive deck, Boros Charm, maybe maybe Beck, Kiora, Master of the Depths as well as Domri Rade, Venser, the Sojourner and Xenagos, the Reveler can be decent. Legion's Initiative and March from the Tomb can do some work as well.

I play tested this RW ally deck I found out that it needs some decent card draw. Have you tested these cards which came up on my mindSkullclamp Mask of Memory Infiltration Lens Mentor of the Meek Browbeat? If so can you help me decide which card draw should I use?