Why no Alms Beast?
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 22, 2014, 7:37 a.m. by ChiefBell
Don't laugh - hear me out.
Look at his pros -
- doesn't die to Doom Blade
- doesn't die to Ultimate Price
- can fight (Pit Fight ) Polukranos, World Eater
- puts the same amount of pressure on as Desecration Demon , and is a more reliable blocker
His con -
- If opponent blocks him or you block with him, the opposing creature gets lifelink.
But if we analyse this for a second. Does it really matter? He's going to, at least, trade with the opponent's creature and most of the time he's just going to straight up win a fight. So what if the opponent gains life? - they're still down a creature. Most of the time they still have a 6/6 staring them in the face that they haven't actually dealt with.
The way I see it is that magic is about resources, and number of creatures is one resource. It's perfectly viable for a midrange deck to not immediately worry about the health the opponent has but to worry about clearing the board and solidifying control. This creature certainly does this.
I usually play in a style where I slowly grind down the opponent with a lot of killspells and superior, economical creatures. I feel as if Alms Beast really complements this. He might allow the opponent to stall out but there comes a time when they have nothing on board, and what do they do then?
So, why not?
I absolutely agree but I do play a sort of orzhov control deck which has 4x Hero's Downfall , Ultimate Price , Doom Blade .
I think the point is that he fits into a deck where you have large creatures that sit there being backed up by copious amounts of Bile Blight and Hero's Downfall . It's by no means a fast deck. Although the curve is very low it bides its time and waits until the opponent runs out of things to play.
I've been absolutely destroying RG monstrous, Golgari, and burn decks on Cockatrice with it.
February 22, 2014 8:08 a.m.
I have felt that Alms Beast was powerful for a while now. If I played more black, he'd most likely be in my decks. I'm a sucker for big, cheap guys with "downsides."
Alms Beast did see a tiny bit of play in PTDGM in Rob Castellon's 4-color brew that managed to do surprisingly well. Alongside Erebos, God of the Dead , there just is no downside at all, and that's when things get ridiculous. But I know that's hardly enough to consider it "played." I may be wrong, but I think what it ultimately comes down to is that people would rather play Desecration Demon in that slot. And why is that? Devotion. Almost any deck that desires to play one or the other has some sort of devotion-based strategy to it. And the demon just gets you there easier.
Where things get tricky is Orzhov control. Do you decide to play the big fatty that is harder to deal with, or do you play the big fatty that is easier to deal with (perhaps) but is a more profitable attacker? Alternatively, do you want a creature with a downside of "your opponent gains life" or "your opponent's creatures die and yours gets bigger"?
Additionally, all the upsides you mention for Alms Beast are the same for Desecration Demon , apart from the second.one. So if someone considers the mentioned upsides more influential than that one mentioned downside it's an obvious choice.
All in all, I think Alms Beast should be given more of a chance, but I do also see why Desecration Demon is more-widely played.
February 22, 2014 8:16 a.m.
One last thing: The decks that probably want to be running Alms Beast to its most effective ability would probably just rather rely on Blood Baron of Vizkopa .
February 22, 2014 8:18 a.m.
I've heard about people having problems with Desecration Demon against white weenie because they have plenty of creatures to sac to keep it tapped down.
Whilst Soldier of the Pantheon is a problem for Alms Beast , it's not a problem for Orzhov in general with Last Breath , Doom Blade etc.
I think in this respect he is a semi-serious competitor when considering certain matchups.
The deck that I'm running is REALLY stupid. Its this:
4x - Devour Flesh , Ultimate Price , Doom Blade , High Priest of Penance , Hero's Downfall , Read the Bones , Desecration Demon , Alms Beast , Blood Baron of Vizkopa .
It gets to work super fast in removing EVERYTHING and then starts playing ridiculous 6/6 creatures etc.
Sideboard has Fiendslayer Paladin for use against burn and weenie decks. Deathrite Shaman for use against control decks. Dark Betrayal for use against MBD. Bile Blight for use against white weenie and Pack Rat
February 22, 2014 8:30 a.m.
16 two-drops. 8 three-drops. 8 four-drops. 4 five-drops.
The funny thing is that I uploaded this deck to TappedOut and it was received really poorly by people.
I've started actually playing on Cockatrice and it's absolutely destroying. I will lose to Esper control pretty badly I think. Maybe not if I sideboard in all my creatures and go super aggro.
February 22, 2014 8:34 a.m.
I wouldn't make too much out of the way people on tappedout.net receive a deck LOL. See the infamous Swamps Deck and note that after any deck search, the mode will be almost assuredly be 0 for the scores followed by 1.
DrLitebur says... #2
In an Orzhov control deck, I agree with you. However, if your goal is to smash them in the face quickly, the downside can quickly become your worst enemy if they are able to get even the smallest defense. Think about it...
If you get out that baddy, then they drop a something like a Favored Hoplite , or ever worse, a Soldier of the Pantheon , then you are in very bad trouble. I see white weenie on the rise, and this will hurt the meta that an Alms Beast will be good in.
I like the card, don't get me wrong, but in a beat down deck, the downside can outweigh the upside.
February 22, 2014 7:58 a.m.