Liliana and Alesha, transgendered healing
Standard forum
Posted on July 8, 2015, 3:38 p.m. by wonder_llama
I think Magic Origins is what Alesha, Who Smiles at Death needed to finally find her home.... right beside Liliana, Heretical Healer Flip.
These two work great together, and have the potential to put their mark on standard. Alesha is able to bring liliana back time and time again, which lets us play aggressively with the new flipwalker. Not only that, if we build our deck the right way, alesha can help Negate the negative effects that Liliana, Defiant Necromancer Flip's discard ability can do. Discard any 2 power creature (Goblin Rabblemaster, Seeker of the Way, Monastery Mentor, Soulfire Grand Master...) to Liliana and just bring it back to the battlefield with alesha! A great way to give psuedo haste to your creatures.
A new running mate perfectly made for these two is Priest of the Blood Rite. Pitch this guy to liliana and bring him and his nasty demon friend back with alesha. The 5/5 demon will be great in standard... look out for it. Kolaghan's Command is another card that synergizes well with the other cards mentioned. My personal choice would be to add in Butcher of the Horde and Sidisi, Undead Vizier for extra sac outlets for Liliana, Heretical Healer Flip.
What do you guys think? Could Alesha, Who Smiles at Death be a contender in standard?
wonder_llama says... #3
Kolaghan's Command can be nuts with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death sometimes. Alesha's first strike is often overlooked. People assume a 5 toughness creature like Siege Rhino or Tasigur, the Golden Fang can safely block Alesha, but a Kolaghan's Command before combat can be brutal! Kill their creature, keep yours and force them to discard a card. Not a bad turn
July 8, 2015 3:57 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #4
There is synergy between those cards but the payoff is minor and not big enough to have a heavy influence on Standard. Also setting up this "engine" will come at huge cost to your tempo making it unlikely that is feasible to execute in a time relevant manner.
July 8, 2015 4:16 p.m.
wonder_llama says... #5
Thanks for the comment Rasta_Viking29, but I think I disagree. I'm trying it out in mardu colors and trying to play a grindy game. 3 or 4 Thoughtseize, 3 Hero's Downfall, 4 Crackling Doom, 3 Kolaghan's Command. With this package, the deck can afford to sit back and rip apart the opponents hand, or just kill whatever they manage to land on the field. If the opponent tries to 1 for 1 with removal, I'm ok with that... I plan to bring them back anyway with alesha, k command, or liliana. This deck won't have card advantage in the sense of drawing cards, but it will be able to get multiple uses out of a single creature
July 8, 2015 4:28 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #6
I doubt that it'll win any big competitions, but I love the synergy.
July 8, 2015 4:33 p.m.
wonder_llama an immediate problem with what you've listed is Hero's Downfall, Crackling Doom,and Kolaghan's Command are all 3 drops just like Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. If you plan to include things like Goblin Rabblemaster, Liliana, Heretical Healer Flip and Monastery Mentor in their like you mentioned in the original post and the deck is just going to be really crowded with 3 drops.
That's going to lead to slow and inefficient opening hands and you'll rarely be able to maximize the use of your mana because almost every turn you'll only be able to cast one spell per turn. And if you and your opponents are both going 1 for 1 casting things and they're staying on curve then your creatures quickly get outclassed by theirs. I know there are 2 drops you mentioned including as well, but when 2/3rds of your non-land cards are 3 CMC that's whats going to end up in your hand the most often.
The deck idea is intriguing,(as I've liked this concept since I saw Alesha), but it's going to take a lot more work. One of Alesha's biggest drawbacks is that she herself is a 3 drop without haste. This means when your on the draw she's attacking into your opponents 4 drops which are almost always going to be bigger. So anytime your on the draw, you immediately start out at a disadvantage if your building the deck to maximize on her ability because this makes activating her ability and being able to attack safely next to impossible. So, the trick is going to be keeping the deck running smooth so that your playing on curve while being able to take advantage of her ability.
July 8, 2015 5:17 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #8
Alesha works well with Kytheon, Hero of Akros Flip as well. Not sure if combining all 3 into a functional build would work. Would be interesting to see though.
July 8, 2015 5:38 p.m.
sirvezathebrave says... #9
Would Generator Servant be able to solve the haste problem? I could see that helping.
July 8, 2015 7:09 p.m.
I guess that is a possibility. That would make her cost 
, so you could potentially bring it back when you attack if you have the right mana available. Like I said earlier, based on what the OP had listed off the deck will require a lot of work so it definitely has potential to make it. A turn 2 Generator Servant opens up other possibilities too, like hard casting the Priest of the Blood Rite he mentioned on turn 3. It would only give the priest haste and not the demon, but this is just one option there are others I'm sure. With some work it really could be what the deck needs, but then again it might be kinda gimmicky if the deck has to have a turn 2 servant in order to have a chance. There probably needs to be some other ways to give her haste as well so that she can have it more consistently.
July 8, 2015 9:07 p.m.
wonder_llama says... #11
you're right abenz419, the deck is clogged at the 3 cmc spot. I have since dropped a few Hero's Downfall and added a few Lightning Strikes into the package. As for Generator Servant, I'm not sure that is the direction this deck wants to go. The deck may have smaller, aggressive creatures, but it doesn't play like a normal aggro deck. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death doesn't have haste, but that's ok. Many times she will come in on turn three and turn four she plays defense with mana up to Kolaghan's Command or Lightning Strike opposing creature. Her first strike is great, and what i just mentioned takes out everything up to Siege Rhino and Tasigur, the Golden Fang while leaving her on the field.
Keeping the board clear early game with removal and aggressive blocking and forcing discards will lead to a strong late game with bringing back creatures time and time again. I may be totally wrong with this idea, but the testing is going well so far :)
July 9, 2015 10:37 a.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #12
Bloodsoaked Champion + Collateral Damage Great for getting her flipped. Attack first though so you can buy him back after sacrificing him.
CharlesMandore says... #2
Could be, yes. Your case is compelling to me and should be tested out.
July 8, 2015 3:44 p.m.