Ravnica Allegiance Highlander Playables

What's uuup!

Well, I broke my promise to get this out before the prerelease (I'm a week late), but at least I got it out before Cancon this weekend and GP Sydney next weekend. I'm going to both! Gonna be awesome. I haven't decided on a deck yet, which is NOT IDEAL. Hopefully writing this gives me an idea. Here we gooo...

She only disrupts the opponent, which is surprising. If she isn't disrupting the opponent she's still a bear that can attack, block and wear equipment, and when she's disruptive she's amazing:

• Dig Through Time
• Treasure Cruise
• Summoner's Pact
• Any kind of mana acceleration for casting non-creature spells, e.g. Signets into Wrath or mana dorks into planeswalkers.
• Black Lotus
• Force of Will
• Dread Return
• Bring to Light
• Mizzix's Mastery
• Mind's Desire
• Phyrexian mana
• Daze

I could go on forever. You see my point, there's heaps of things. Lavinia is great and a cheap legend for Mox Amber.

Detention Sphere on legs

Utility for decks with Collected Company, Chord of Calling and Survival of the Fittest.

If Deputy dies before the trigger resolves, the target won't get exiled.

It's 'opponent controls', so no shenanigans with Parallax Wave.

Dovin's clearly working for Bolas. Strange, he didn't seem like such a bad dude in the Kaladesh story.
I only like Dovin with Shape Anew and Reality Scramble, where you want ≤3 CMC artifact tokens and huge artifact monsters in your library. That deck still needs more payoff though.

I can't imagine Dovin ultimating; you lose too much tempo casting him. Your opponent will either deal with your existing dudes or pressure Dovin too much to get to seven loyalty.
Making a thopter each turn is too slow for Highlander. It's ok against control where they're unlikely to attack Dovin but it's not enough damage to kill them before they start drawing cards and overwhelm you.

Another 'power/toughness switcher'. Still need ~five more to make a deck. Now we have this and:

Assault Formation

Doran, the Siege Tower

Treefolk Harbinger

(there are other tutors but they're either pointed or too slow)

That untap ability makes me think of Bloom Tender. All you need is a RB permanent and you have infinite mana.

I would only maindeck her in aggro, which compliments her ultimate. If you can't use her ultimate well, then she's only good against hyper aggro decks where life gain and exiling CMC 1's is good. Having said that, she's fine sideboard.

Relevant CMC 1 cards include Skullclamp (obviously), mana dorks, Kird Apes and Savannah Lions. She may also work against artifact decks with Sol Ring, Candelabra of Tawnos and Voltaic Key.

There aren't many ways of boosting her ultimate artificially; Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver is the only one I like. Otherwise you're relying on natural game play to give her food.

Sideboard only. Can't imagine it in a blue deck because basic Island doesn't cast it. I can see it in the board of a 'Ghost Dad' style deck against aggro. Black would provide discard disruption and the rest of the deck would be token generation and equipment/anthems.

Control decks often include a sacrifice effect to answer certain hard to deal with threats like True-Name Nemesis, Thrun, the Last Troll, Inkwell Leviathan (Tinker) and Carnage Tyrant. A problem with Diabolic Edict is sometimes you won't have enough removal to isolate the problem creature, whereas Consume will mostly hit it.

Diabolic Edict is blank if they have no creature, whereas Consecrate lets you at least cycle.

Having a maindeck answer to Life from the Loam is also nice.

Could be good in the aristocrats deck I suggested last time, involving Hunted Witness and Midnight Reaper.

Teysa costs four, so she's difficult to get back with Rally the Ancestors or Immortal Servitude, but her doubling effect is a quadrupling effect when saccing Hunted Witness for Blood Artist triggers.

It's Judith Lucy!

Another Blood Artist for the aristocrats deck. A rare treat. She also hits creatures and planeswalkers, which is special, although she says 'nontoken'. Watching tokens die isn't thrilling apparently.

Unlike Blood Artist, Judith is a solid card even without death triggers.

Awesome artwork

In contention for best 'win by itself' enchantment. Other contenders include Sandwurm Convergence, Form of the Dragon and Cruel Reality (Yawgmoth's Bargain needs help). You would need some serious ramp to cast these, so you may want to cheat them into play instead, e.g. Replenish, Flash + Academy Rector or Show and Tell.

Great sideboard card against control. Your deck needs to be pretty aggressive otherwise you might lose your ticket to the theatre.
The cards exile face-up, therefore your opponent can better priorities their plays.
Yes, damage causes loss of life.
It says 'play' (flavour win) so you can play the lands you reveal, unlike Vance's Blasting Cannons.
The activated ability is relevant. I can imagine it dealing the last two points.

Great art. Go go Seb Mckinnon.

A very versatile text box, but very narrow casting cost. I only expect this to go in straight Rakdos. A little expensive for the currently popular RB aggro deck, but deals with problem permanents such as Jitte, Tasigur, Gurmag Angler, Vedalken Shackles, Tarmogoyf, Batterskull, etc, so probably worth it.

Not efficient enough naturally, but if you want that CMC of 8, then it could be useful. Gives cascade decks some early interaction and pitches to Blazing Shoal or Sickening Shoal for huge damage with Vial Smasher the Fierce. Bad to reveal off Bob (Dark Confidant) though.

You can make your 4/4 a 7/1 for extra damage, so this isn't blank against combo.

Could go in straight RB aggro. Shares the love around. Might be too expensive for that deck though, considering some builds play Necropotence and Wheel of Fortune.

Goes a long way to animating Mogis, God of Slaughter, who is a nightmare for control decks.

RB aggro gettin' paid! Decent beater that gives reach in board stalls. RB aggro typically runs Gravecrawler, Bloodghast, Bloodsoaked Champion and Dread Wanderer, who keep coming back for more, and now this guy:

Black aggro has serious resilience to removal. Anger of the Gods is so much better than non-exile versions.

Cute with Stormbind, but I don't recommend that.

Super niche, but this would replace Mogg Fanatic in some combo kills. Once upon a time Flash Hulk used to win by looping Mogg Fanatic with Reveillark (Farrrk Reveryark!), Body Double and Viscera Seer/Carrion Feeder. Footlight Fiend would take the red out of the equation. There's always been Bile Urchin but that's less useful to cast and doesn't deal with random cards like Worship or True Believer.

Pod on legs...I mean, tentacles?

Four mana with no protection or ETB trigger means she's risky against Jace, the Mindscupltor, Fatal Push, Snuff Out, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, etc. If you can give her haste, then you'll still get some value against instants, provided you have a creature to sacrifice.

If Vannifar does overcome summoning sickness, then she can win the game. Say you have her, a mana dork and a green fetchland; Crack the fetch for Dryad Arbor, sac that into Quirion Ranger, into Scryb Ranger. Sac your mana-dork into Phantasmal Image copying Scryb Ranger. Sac that into Pestermite, into Breaching Hippocamp, into Kiki-Jiki. Copy Scryb Ranger untapping Vannifar and sac the copy into Deciever Exarch. That's just one example of a chain you can pull off. Basically Vannifar plus two creatures equals win. Obviously you're vulnerable to removal and your deck is full of all these janky creatures AND during the course of the game some of the chain links (*shudders at memory of old GP T.O.*) may have been cast and killed. Despite all those things, Vannifar is very powerful for zero points. That gives you an idea of why Birthing Pod is a point. Note that you can't use Felidar Guardian like you can with Birthing Pod because that will give Vannifar summoning Sickness.

Torch Courier was printed in Guilds of Ravnica. It's janky, but now you can Flash Hulk for Vannifar, Torch Courier, Dryad Arbor and a one-drop for the win.

Decent sideboard card for ramp decks against control because the life gain and card draw is a 'cast' trigger, therefore you still get value against counterspells.

This is an indirect win condition for Food Chain combo since it guarantees you draw into a direct win condition such as Walking Ballista.

Replicate goes infinite with Dualcaster Mage. 2RRUG for infinite dudes at sorcery-speed is not amazing, but both cards are useful on their own, so the combo is free if you're already a Temur instant-speed deck. Naru Meha, Master Wizard doesn't work because she's legendary.
Redupiate can be game winning if you get the right target, e.g. a fetchland or a storm trigger.

I've had Training Grounds on the brain ever since Pack Rat got printed. When this got spoiled I whipped up a janky UG Collected Company Training Grounds deck for Modern with Duskwatch Recruiter and Rhonas the Indomitable. It also had Izzet Guildmage and Manamorphose, which is infinite draw and a mana for each card you draw.
Biomancer's Familiar and Training Grounds are are not enough to build around. However, there are cards like Thran Turbine and Urban Burgeoning, which have huge potential with activated abilities.
Eldrazi Displacer with Eyeless Watcher or Drowner of Secrets is infinite.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang and Walking Ballista are other noteworthy creatures.

I've played Commune with Nature in Highlander infect. Incubation is great when you need a certain kind of creature but there aren't enough printed. Incongruity is gravy; sometimes you really gotta kill something, e.g. Gisela, the Broken Blade, Hermit Druid or Metalworker.

Extremely vulnerable to removal for a three-mana creature. However, it goes infinite with Pemmin's Aura or Freed from the Real. As does the aforementioned Bloom Tender.

Wow, all the Simic art is pretty interchangeable. I miss fully hand-painted artwork.

Ironically Riptide Laboratory doesn't cast this. The GGUU casting cost is 'almost' incompatible with Eldrazi Displacer as well.

Green doesn't play well at instant-speed. However, if you spend your first three turns deploying an army, then you'll have enough pressure that your opponent will be forced to react and Frilled Mystic will hit every time.

Nice with Restoration Angel.

This artwork has more soul. Seb McKinnon shreds.

Perhaps The Kurgan, a.k.a Sultai Control may make a comeback with the addition of these Simic cards. 

Control mirrors typically play out like this: both players hold up counterspells every turn until someone has a large mana advantage or card advantage. No one can tap out early, otherwise their thing gets countered and the other player drops a planeswalker and wins. Growth Spiral lets you develop a mana advantage or 'cycle' without dropping your shields, unlike Explore, which is sorcery.

And of course Growth Spiral can simply be a harder to cast Explore in ramp decks. It's already in my Scapeshift deck, which I listed in my Guilds of Ravnica review.

Hulk Smash

Boggart Ram-Gang sees some play in aggro. This doesn't wither down big blockers like Ram-Gang does, but she's better in other ways:

• 1RG is much easier to cast. 
• Against True-Name Nemesis you can play her as a 4/4 trampler. 
• If they have instant removal, she'll at least get one hit in.

Super strong. Definitely maindeckable. That triggered ability hoses storm and channel. Puts control on a serious clock and is very difficult to deal with. Grixis control is going to be terrified of this card on turn two.

Gives aggro a maindeckable answer to problem permanents like Umezawa's Jitte and Humility.

Nothing exciting (although he's very excited), just a decent beater. 

The new two-drops in Ravnica Allegiance let aggro improve their Mox mana. Not being able to cast certain two-drops like Figure of Destiny, Qasali Pridemage, Strangleroot Geist and Eidolon of the Great Revel off the same mox is annoying.

Looks like Domri has invoked some good 'ol Warcraft fel magic gifted to him by Bolas. I haven't played WoW but I know a helboar when I see one.

Yet another strong anti-control card! At this rate the control decks may need help with their points.

I can see this in a Melira Pod deck where it combos with Kitchen Finks / Murderous Recap but also gives your mana dorks haste for big Skullclamp turns.

Strict upgrade on Colossal Might, which I like in infect and aggro decks, especially ones with double strikers (but not Mirran Crusader). Also kills Baneslayer and Atraxa, Praetor's Voice.

If you have a Sword of Fire and Ice, due to pro red you'll need to have it on another creature; Colossus first and then equip Sword to the Colossus'd creature.

A cute trick you could pull: jump an opponent's creature with Elspeth, Knight Errant, then Collision it down. Not sure when you would do that though :P Maybe against Devoted Druid or Hermit Druid where you fear the combo.

Pretty bad against combo but I can see him in equipment decks. The mana tax makes it hard to respond to equipping. If they have lots of removal they probably need to kill Tithe Taker on sight.

Skullclamp can eat him and his spirit for great value.

Good for human tribal. Makes human tokens for your lords, therefore you still get enough value even if only half your spells are multicolour.

I wouldn't shape my card choices to improve Hero of Precinct One. After all, your opponent might just kill it. I would only play this if I were already mostly multicolour. I might play the following card too:

There's no good multicolour token generators and very few multicolour one-drops (hybrid mana). Everyone loves multicolour cards though, so more multicolour-themed sets are inevitable. Slowly but surely this will become playable.

I've play Honor of the Pure and am very happy with it.

Might be good enough for 'draw go' control decks. I initially compared it unfavourably to Confirm Suspicions but they're different cards since you can cast this without a target.

Could go in a Dream Halls combo, which storms off with draw spells.

I did a Gatherer search expecting to find something that said "Whenever you draw a card, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature" but to my surprise there was nothing. They all only put counters on the creature which enters, e.g. Master Biomancer or on the creature with the ability, e.g. Lorescale Coatl. Same goes for 'whenever you discard a card...". One day they might print a card that does it. Hopefully it's costed high enough to not be broken with Benthic Biomancer. Outside of that non-existent combo, this is too inefficient.

If there's ever a mill deck, this will be good against aggro. There isn't a mill deck yet, it's barely playable in Modern with roughly four times the number of good mill cards (there aren't many old border ones).

What a cute little dude!

Wow, they keep printing these 'instant/sorcery graveyard' payoffs. Last set had Crackling Drake and Arclight Phoenix, joining the ranks of Young Pyromancer, Thing in the Ice, Monastery Mentor, Bedlam Reveler, Enigma Drake, Cryptic Serpent, etc

How cheap does the adapt need to be? It's easy to find a gap in your curve to drop Pteramander in the first three turns, so when you adapt it you'll be able to attack straight away. Activating for three-mana is good. Any cheaper is amazing.

Being one-mana to cast makes this great against counterspells.

Sorcery speed Impulse. Doesn't play well with counterspells, but is decent in combo decks. 

If you only have one to three combo pieces that you're looking for, then I would play a three-mana tutor instead. If you're looking for one of ten different pieces, then Shimmer seems better. I'm picturing it in High Tide combo.

Turning on spectacle shouldn't be too hard in a hyper aggressive deck. At worst you can use a burn spell. Three mana for effectively a 5/4 flample (extra damage from upkeep trigger) is an amazing rate. They could have the Fatal Push, Swords or Abrupt Decay to put you behind, but otherwise he brings the pain.

Flies over aggro's usual problems: Tasigur, True-Name Nemesis, Moat. 

Even against Baleful Strix you get the ping each turn.

Some aggro decks spend a lot of life on Necropotence or Price of Progressing themselves, which can turn on the +1/+1 counters.

Love the art

I can see this with a mana base of fetches, shocks, Hour of Devastation lands, Horizon Canopy and Mana Confluence. Then payoff for having low life, e.g. Death's Shadow, Second Chance and Convalescent Care.

Tezzeret's Gambit gives three counters :)

Kills Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn.

"Not even death can save you from me!"

Another Flaying Tendrils except they can't even sac their black aggro guys in response to bring them back later. Colour requirements aside, I would play this over Radiant Flames.

Best in aggro decks where turning on spectacle is easiest. Also playable in reanimate strategies. Nice to have a discard outlet that's also a body for Recurring Nightmare.

If you're trying to dredge, then rummaging is better than looting. 

Gives some nice value if you're discarding one of the Gutterbones creatures.

Amazing if you're hellbent and casting it for it's spectacle cost. Rix Maadi Reveler is so good that you should try running return-to-hand effects like Rise // Fall, Kolaghan's Command and Liliana, the Last Hope.

Make sure all your cards can be played onto an open board, the same way you would build with Wheel of Fortune: no counterspells and minimal creature-only removal.

Not maindeckable like Harsh Mentor but still a decent sideboard card against Time Vault, Devoted Druid and Viscera Seer combo decks.

Oh skew me

Straight into burn. Nuff' said.

Unique effect and super powerful. It's a triggered ability, so you can float mana before it resolves and untap to effectively double your lands. That's some serious mana, but you can only sink it into instant-speed things.

Enchantments are difficult to tutor for but there are other payoffs for having lots of instant-speed effects: Braid of Fire, Prophet of Kruphix and Seedborn Muse come to mind but they're pretty slow.

Some decks are already full of instants, e.g. most blue control decks. This could let blue control go way over the top of midrange.

Any land-ramp in your deck is amplified. 

If you have lots of activated abilities, you don't even need lots of instants. 

Naturally a good card but if you artificially put a counter on her, that's game-winning mana.

Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, Llanowar Reborn, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Rhythm of the Wild, Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar.

I can imagine casting this EOT to kill your own things and attack with ~five 3/3's. 

Green is not often paired with artifacts but the non-basic land tutors and Ancient Stirrings are really good for finding Mishra's Workshop and Tolarian Academy.

Note that you won't get a 3/3 from a Darksteel Citadel, unfortunately.

OK! That wraps up my list of playables. There were a few close calls, e.g. Priest of Forgotten Gods and Electrodominance, prove me wrong!

Here are my picks for best cards in the set, in no particular order: Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, Cindervines, Growth Spiral, Rix Maadi Reveler, and Wilderness Reclamation.

Hopefully see you at Cancon or GP Sydney!