Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim: What do you guys think?
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Dec. 12, 2015, 1:39 a.m. by EDHNUT
I personally think Ayli will be an EDH bomb, which is good news for me, but there isn't too much BW sacrificial stuff in Standard. I don't know too much about the formats outside of EDH, though, so I want to know your thoughts...
(I think she's probably splashable if you're playing Golgari or Sultai...)
She'll be solid at mid-level EDH. B/W has long lacked consistently good choices for commanders. There's a reason people call Oloro, Ageless Ascetic the best B/W commander. She rewards you for doing the things you'd want to do in B/W anyways, so that's cool. Aside from that, she won't be breaking into high-level play. The B/W identity is kinda mediocre. White isn't the best choice for a supporting color and lifegain is really meh in a format dominated by combo-control even if she's an Utter End on a stick.
December 12, 2015 3:09 a.m.
Imma play her alongside my Hangarback Walkers and just lolz as people get Utter Ended left and right.
December 12, 2015 3:13 a.m.
Yeah... I don't think she'll draw too much attention at first... Hangarback Walker is a great idea... Thank you!
December 12, 2015 3:32 a.m.
I'd like to try a cleric tribal or Orzov deck with her. I might try a tiny leaders alongside it too. That's what I've been doing with my Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck. I build it as a tiny leaders deck, and then have cards on the side that let me turn it into a full fledged EDH deck.
December 12, 2015 3:40 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #8
I can't see how she offers anything different than Karlov, other than downsides. Sure she can hit noncreatures but you pay 1 more mana for your commander, you have to not be almost dead, you have to have lots of creatures to sacrifice to get to 50 life AND sacrifice again to activate her ability, and on top of all that, she still requires more mana to target the permanent than Uncle Karl. Total cost: 
and X creatures, where X is how many creatures you need to sacrifice to get to 50 life.
With Karl, you pay one less mana for him, gain life in any way, pay two mana, and the creature is gone. Total cost: .
December 12, 2015 9:11 a.m.
Justin_Bop says... #9
When OGW comes out, I'm actually going to sideboard her in my modern Aristocrats deck. She is good against any big creature (Primeval Titan, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Tarmogoyf, Wurmcoil Engine, etc). My deck lacks an efficient way to remove enemy minions currently so Ayli is perfect for this slot (because she is also a sac outlet for life). I feel that she provides good utility for decks in W/B and my see some fringe play in Modern.
December 12, 2015 9:25 a.m.
canterlotguardian says... #10
I'm already brewing her for EDH. This one.
December 12, 2015 10:08 a.m.
Between her and Karlov, Orzhov tiny leaders will be a house
December 12, 2015 10:27 a.m.
@MagicalHacker
She has deathtouch, she offers sac-themed decks awesome stuff. If you're running a decent life gain deck, you're going to be above 50 life by turn 3-4. Sheoldred, Whispering One brings stuff back. Arashin Cleric isn't too bad at all with Ayli + Sheoldred, Whispering One. If you're playing her as an addition to a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck, she's even better, as you have Pelakka Wurm and Thragtusk available.
I see your point, but I don't think Karlov is necessarily better.
December 12, 2015 8:53 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #13
I don't think being able to sacrifice creatures can be considered enough upside to outweigh the extra mana/loopholes needed for her as commander.
December 12, 2015 9:38 p.m.
I s'pose we'll have to agree to disagree about that. ;)
The main thing that I don't like about Karlov is that he just takes too much time, and he's really easy to just pick off before he does anything, whereas Ayli can impact the board the turn she enters play.
December 12, 2015 11:57 p.m.
I'm with EDHNUT on that one. It's also particularly important to note that Ayli requires a specific threshold for your lifetotal whereas Karlov requires instances of lifegain. Those are two very different things.
December 13, 2015 12:30 a.m.
Not totally sure on the flavour.Not an ally even though she's a kor, but there's not reference to her being a traitor, or follower of eldrazi. Sacrificing creatures suggests she is kind of evil though?Good card, but I don't really like it as I don't really see where it fits story wise.
December 14, 2015 6:56 a.m.
Fair enough, I hadn't really considered the story side of it yet...
December 14, 2015 8:59 a.m.
Well, I mean, when it's impossible for me, as a longstanding player, to determine if a creature is an ally simply based on art alone, then yes, allies have failed. You will NEVER see a creature in MtG and wonder Gee, is that an Angel?
December 14, 2015 7:32 p.m.
Ayli was a follower of Ula. - Definitely not an Ally.
She was in the Uncharted Realms story THE BELIEVERS' PILGRIMAGE
-Fulcrum says... #2
She'll be ridiculous in EDH; I can't wait to build a deck around her. I don't think she'll see play in any other format though.
December 12, 2015 1:42 a.m.