After months of tireless work and research, I'm finally ready to begin my focus on actual decks themselves. I've been looking forward to doing this for quite some time, but I've had a bit of a hard time deciding where exactly to start. However, recently coming out of shock from the new Commander 2017 products, I'm finding myself still to have a bit of "Tribal Fever." With that said, I also wanted to pick something flavorful and fun, with the hopes of sparking imagination. There's no reason you can't play well, and still not add a bit of your favorite elements of lore.
My friends and I have always had a soft spot for Zendikar, and the originality around it. The Eldrazi, hedrons, and allies, I can't get enough. With Ulamog's Crusher being such a potent PDH staple, I felt like paying homage to the other end of that battle, and building around Allies.
However, here's the bummer; there isn't a 5 color ally in the format yet, so I had to pick something else to have 5 color legality. I used this as an opportunity to run one of my favorite 5 color commanders, Dragonsoul Knight. This fella will give you those 5 colors, as well as be a great weapon on demand. Don't feel inclined to cast this immediately, unless you're in a pinch. Activating its ability will be when you get the full value. Save it for later on in the game.
Let's talk about the fun part; Allies. Many of these creatures have a unique ETB mechanic called Rally, which triggers off whenever another ally enters the battlefield. These abilities differ from creature to creature, but are always quite useful.
Take a look below at these noteworthy mentions. The term "Rally" wasn't coined until the Battle for Zendikar block, but you will see the mechanic still applies. Below are only a few great examples of what you will have at your disposal.
The goal is to try to play an ally almost every turn. As you can see above, Ondu Cleric's effect will compound based off how many allies are on the field. Other triggers will boost your creatures with attack points or abilities for the turn. This trigger is where the power of the deck comes from.
The remainder of the deck is a set support, with card draw, ramp, and removal. As a 5 color deck, it's not easy to get the engine going. A lot of resources will be consumed by building the mana base you need. If your engine is slow, don't panic. This is why the choice of commander is so great. Although having a 5 color identity, only requiring one color and the rest generic to cast will at least give you a safety net to buy you some time.
I want to make note of a few instants added to support the Rally mechanic. In the event that you could benefit from several triggers in one turn (which is quite likely), instants to let you blink cards have been added.
Two very neat instants, Cloudshift and Ghostly Flicker are awesome tools for this deck, where it gives you an additional ally trigger in a turn. This deck is not only fun, but easy to learn, as the concept is so simple. To get a full view of what this deck has to offer, take a look at the full deck below, via TappedOut.
Do you agree with the full tech? Do you have any things that you would change? Try your deck and let us know how it goes. This is simply one way to play the deck, and I encourage you to try anything out. Fun comes from expression, so feel free to try out your own ideas.
-Kyle
@PDH_Homebase
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