Abzan Allies Budget (standard)

[Sgtlightbrite]

Abzan Allies

The early game is to go aggro with Allies. Gather the pack fills the graveyard and then Rally the Ancestors and/or March from the Tomb return them. Kalestria Healer should trigger some large life swings.

Still figuring out the best combination of allies and sideboard. The sideboard are just a few basic thoughts and nothing set. This whole deck will get revised a lot. I want suggestions. Thanks.

[Sgtlightbrite]

After some testing I cut down to 22 lands. I was wondering if it's worth it to run a Smoldering Marsh and a Lumbering Falls along with 2 Wooded Foothills. This would permit me to run Unified Front and get the max tokens. Synergizes well with Kalastria Healer. Thoughts?

[Drunk Cynic]

At first glance, note that Zulaport Cutthroat doesn't care when things get exiled because of Rally the Ancestors.

[Sgtlightbrite]

Thanks for the input. I've thought about that very thing with Rally. It's main function is to trigger a Kalastria Healer for a 4-5 point life swing to close out a game. It also helps for a big swing with Veteran Warleader. With max abilities.

As for the Zulaport Cutthroat, I've considered cutting them down in the main board and adding a few to the side board for match ups that run board wipes.

[Sgtlightbrite]

Decided to make this more budget friendly.

[Shirrian]

You could look into including Collected Company even though it's not that budget friendly it's a beast in the deck (31 creatures and all 3 mana or lower).

[Sgtlightbrite]

Totally agree. I plan to add Collected Company to my version, but I felt like keeping this one more budget friendly for now.

Sideboard thoughts: I'm thinking a couple copies of Despise Are needed. The deck is bad against fliers and not many ways to interact with them, especially Dragonlord Ojutai. Viable option?

[Sgtlightbrite]

Added Evolutionary Leap. I feel like it's the most budget friendly option for accelerating the creature cycle. Anyone have a lot of experience using Evolutionary Leap? Is my curve low enough to consistently cycle creatures after turn 4?

[Shirrian]

As a way to mess with control decks (with fliers) you could always try display of dominance. Its great VS ojutai and great in the match up. I would advice to play Drana, Liberator of Malakir -> she's great VS aggro, pumps the team and is yet another ally. Beastcaller Savant seems poor in the deck. You 'ramp' from 2 to 3 and your curve ends at 3 (as far as creatures are concerned). I would look into replacing it.

[Sgtlightbrite]

I like Display of Dominance. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Sgtlightbrite]

+1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir. -1 Veteran War Leader.

Not sure if Drana should be more than a 1 or 2 in the deck due to the Legendary status.

[Sgtlightbrite]

I've seen other builds similar to mine that run a 4 Drana, Liberator of Malakir. Can anyone explain how running more than 2 gets better. I see the power level but you can't get more than one on the battlefield at a time. Just wonder if I'm missing something?

[Shirrian]

Drama, Liberator of Malakir is most likely the best creaturen in the deck. It's a card that can win the game on it's own if legt unchecked. Therefore the odds of it being removed are suite high. Therefore you want to have at least 1 every game and a backup isn't too bad either. That's why you want 3-4 imho.