You didn't need life anyway...

Standard GhostPond

SCORE: 20 | 32 COMMENTS | 4664 VIEWS | IN 10 FOLDERS


Night117hawk says... #1

Another change that may be viable actually based on input from a commenter earlier would be to put Gideon back in instead of the sorin's....I know I had recommended the opposite earlier but the combo of getting rally triggers now has me foaming at the mouth.

November 17, 2015 11:22 p.m.

GhostPond says... #2

Thankyou all for the comments I will create some other decks and try these out. Ill add in anything that really stands out and I do need to start considering for what needs to come out and what needs to go in for the next set.

November 18, 2015 1:08 a.m.

thejadejedi says... #3

I love the idea for your deck. It's not too far off from where I wanted to go with my WB Ally deck.

That being said you have too much Green Mana in your landbase. After 3 playtests, I found every game I wanted more black mana. I would remove 1 Forest, 2 Canopy Vista and add in more black mana. Heck since a lot of your black mana needs are Allies, maybe even try adding in Ally Encampment. They can also help againist people using Stasis Snare on your cutthroats, and even give you an extra ETB rally (hello 3 drain triggers).

I notice you only have 3 Drana's Emissarys in here. I highly reccomend making room for a 4th because if unanswered she gives 1 drain every turn. In a standoff, that can be 6+ life eeking by for them.

Have you considered Wingmate Roc for the sideboard? I know he doesn't drain life but getting two 3/4 flyers can be fantastic against Mantis Rider, trade 1-1 with nearly any dragon, and when it attacks, you gain lots of life.

Just because Ive found it working so well in my deck, what about 2-3 Ob Nixilis Reignited? He destroy's a creature and then each turn he isn't answered, you draw a card. If they get another threat 2 turns later that needs to die, he can often kill them too! The card advantage he supplies is just too good.

Have you considered either of the Retreats? Retreat to Emeria puts in 1/1 allies, which trigger for the healer and for the cutthroat. And Retreat to Hagra allows a free drain for every land, and it can keep your opponants from attacking or blocking with their big dudes if you have an uncracked fetchland or two just waiting to trigger deathtouch. Not a bad idea.

I'm a massive fan of Utter End as it hits anything that can threaten you. Creature? Done. Plainswalker? Yep. Enchantment or Artifact? That too. It just hits anything. I mainboard 4.

Have you considered Bloodbond Vampire? With only 1 healer on the board he etb as a 4/4 and anytime you gain life (aka, all the time) he grows. Also, he is insane with Brutal Hordechief, every creature that swings gives him a +1/+1 counter.


Time to deal with the sideboard for a moment. Erase, what are you expecting to see that will hose your deck so much? I guess other than Tainted Remedy there isnt much, and only black can play it (I get laughed a lot at because that IS in my sideboard). Felidar Cub might be a good swap since it's death can trigger your cutthroat. (Or Utter End would work)

Speaking of Tainted Remedy, lifegain on your opponant's side really makes your deck stall. The game goes long and from what Ive seen, that not really something you want. Have 1-2 Tainted Remedy in the sb can really shut down your opponant's lifegain.

Mastery of the Unseen, that is your call. Your deck is all about etb. So who knows there. But it works well for getting around control.

Felidar Sovereign might be good against burn and such. 6 toughness survives anything in this meta and the fact that is has Viligance means it will always be around to threaten blocking. Its added win-con is just a bonus.


Hope that was helpful. If you would like to check out my deck it is: The Allied Defensive. Have any questions? Just ask :)

November 18, 2015 2:50 p.m.

GhostPond says... #4

Thankyou thejadejedi I will consider these and I am starting to think about taking the green out and making it just black and white. I have done allot of playtesting and I can see where you are coming from.

November 19, 2015 11:30 p.m.

Kolanskyman says... #5

How are you supposed to consistently hit four mana with only 22 lands?

November 19, 2015 11:40 p.m.

GhostPond says... #6

Have you tried it.... it always works.

November 19, 2015 11:42 p.m.

thejadejedi says... #7

How well has March from the Tomb worked in the mainboard? It's areally good card, but about half of the time, decks are well equiped to handle this card. A lot of removal is exile based, there is a popular exile counterspell, and abazan has Anafenza. I found that many decks exile too much for March to be often worth it.

Along those same lines, what about Zulaport cutthroat? Are you finding enough value from them to be effective? Are you liking the way they turn out? Or are they just too little for the card slot?

Im not saying that you need to remove Green, in fact, I think it makes you that much stronger...but you definitely have way too many green sources. With your fetchlands and duallands, you can survive on less lands (2duals, 1forest and the pain lands...maybe), and don't understimate the power of the combat trick of triggering Rally after blocking. I know your deck doesn't always have it, but the effects can still be good. All in all, green is just so good for your deck. Siege Rhino is still being called the most powerful card in standard and is has good reason to be called such. It does so much and I think the best part about it is Trample. Anything that can't kill it, is not really worth blocking it. He is a big guy, that must be answered. I would keep green: with 4 fetchlands, 2 duals, 1 forest and the 3 Llanowar Wastes that you already have, you should be good most games with green. With the lands you are removing, I would slide in Caves of Koilos to ensure that you get your main color mana as needed. You can also cut slack on plains because your 4 fetchlands are allowing you to get all the white mana you Will need. All in all with land numbers, I think you are good since 22 will get you to 4x4 on a regular basis.

While combat tricks are always good to have, I think in this standard, they are hard to pull off. I see a ton of Dispel, Negate, and Stubborn Denial. (Not to mention other more basic counterspells). If your meta doesnt run much here, leave that stuff in for sure! But as far as your sideboard, having 6 items strictly designed to force you into making unfavorable attacks or blocks so you can flip the setting with one spell, just seems kinda like poor planning if you meta is heavy on the control aspect. It's like turning their Negate into a powerful kill spell that ALSO makes you discard a card. Thats a lose-lose situation.

Also, sideboard idea...Feed the Clan is one of the best sideboards against fast aggro decks that try to one-shot you to death. I know you have a good ammount of lifegain, but if they are burning hard, it will save a life for sure.

Well, thats about all I got. Nice deck still. Cant wait to see how it evolves :)

November 25, 2015 3:45 a.m.

Please login to comment