Make Mine Magic
- bonzaientertainmen
- Aug 18
- 9 min read
Welcome to my new series, Make Mine Magic, where I look at a new pushed Universes Beyond Card and make an argument to build around a piece of MTG IP instead. The idea came to me with the Spider-Man Spoilers. Stan Lee had certain mantras that permeated his business: “Excelsior”, “Brand X,” and most relevant to this article, “Make Mine Marvel.” What better way to express my displeasure with deviating from Magic IP in the game than a play on words? So, a new series was born.
Do you want to know what's even funnier? I'm not even leading this series off with a Spider-Man card. We just got hit with Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and Avatar the Last Airbender all in quick succession, so I have a target rich environment. It just so happens Ally is one of my favorite creature types, and I have an Ally deck in my personal collection. My argument to you is simple: you should play General Tazri instead of Avatar Aang//Aang, Master of Elements.
Let's start with the new hotness. Avatar Aang is a 4/4 Human Avatar Ally that happens to cost RGWU (seems fitting). He has flying, which is beneficial with Firebending because the evasion makes it more likely Avatar Aang will survive combat. Whenever you “bend,” Aang lets you draw a card. There's a big hurdle here: if you firebend, waterbend, earthbend, and airbend all in the same turn, the card transforms. Aang, Master of Elements retains flying, pumps himself up to a 6/6, and loses the Human creature type. He's a great cost saver, knocking out WUBRG from all your casting costs. If you ever find yourself in need of 4 life, 4 cards, 4 +1/+1 counters, and/or 4 damage to each opponent at the beginning of your turn, you can transform him back. Hopefully, you draw 3 cards that let you bend so you can transform him back that turn.
That description was huge, and the card does a lot if you jump through a lot of hoops. Is the payoff worth it for all that work? Not really. There are easier ways to draw cards and do direct damage. The potential to free cast is the real draw. At 4+ mana and 4 cards to get all of the bending done, I'm better off playing Omniscience. If I go the bending route, I'm going to have to include synergistic effects from the new set. That takes spaces away from older Allies and really feels parasitic, forcing me to play a block constructed style deck. Will there even be enough good bending cards that happen to be Allies for a commander deck? That's tough to say, but I'll lean towards no since there are so many quality Allies that predate this set.
Whereas Aang is more roundabout with his payoffs, Tazri goes straight to the point. Once she hits the battlefield, this human Ally lets me tutor up another Ally and put it into my hand. Allies are known for their great ETB effects that trigger every other Ally you happen to control. I'm already setting myself up for a 2nd triggering event. Something as simple as Hada Freeblade can be a great follow up if you can draw cards, deal damage, and pump your board a second time in the same turn.
If we put the General up against Aang, she does have some downsides. She's not evasive, she doesn't make mana upon attack, and her stat line is only 3/4 to his 4/4. Tazri does cost 5 mana compared to Avatar Aang's CMC of 4, but she only has 1 pip where he needs 4 specific colors. Ease to cast edges out cost in this case.
General Tazri has one other thing going for her: the activated ability. For WUBRG, my allies can get up to +5/+5 for each activation. She is really leading you on a path to play more allies, regardless of the set they come from. I've activated the ability more than once in a turn, and when your go wide strategy puts an additional 10 power on each creature, opponents aren't walking away from that combat. When I play a creature type focused deck, I want to load up on that creature type. Tazri will reward that deckbuilding urge, where Aang will dilute the Ally theme in favor of more bending cards so as to enable the transformation. For a 5 color Ally deck, Tazri is the way to go. When you see my Ally deck, you'll see the strength and synergy they offer.
A good ally deck can feel like the best kind of good stuff deck. They snowball quickly and reward you for protecting your board. I'm going to show off some finishers, some value cards, and then key enablers to make this point. The most notorious finisher in the deck is Hagra Diabolist. He's pricey at 5 mana and guarantees 1 life lost from an opponent if I play him onto an empty board. The more allies I have on the field, the more life lost. The most meaningful part though, is that he triggers again when each subsequent Ally enters the battlefield. With a few blink spells or more allies to cast, I can soften up someone's life total or straight up eliminate him. Kalastria Healer does this on a different scale. This 2 drop drains each opponent for 1 on each trigger and goes a step further by giving me a life per trigger. That really adds up over time. Zulaport Cutthroat is a classic Blood Artist effect. At 2 mana he only triggers when my creatures die, but he simultaneously gains me life like Kalastria Healer.
In addition to direct damage/life loss that I can inflict on an opponent, Allies allow me to grow my board to crazy heights and sneak through damage and/or attackers. Tajuru Warcaller is Ally Overrun. I can achieve a similar effect with 2 other creatures. Kazuul Warlord gives each Ally I control a +1/+1 counter. That will have a longer lasting effect than the Warcaller. With Ondu Champion, I can get the Trample. Funny enough, Kazuul Warlord and Ondu Champion are both Minotaur Warrior Allies. I removed Murasa Pyromancer a couple of iterations ago, but it was good at clearing the field for me, burning out opposing creatures with every Ally I played.
People talk a lot about value in EDH and it really comes in many forms. Some people prioritize mana generation while others care about cards drawn. That's only the surface. Allies bring a lot of value. I already mentioned Kazuul Warlord and how he puts counters on all my creatures. I also have Sea Gate Loremaster because it can draw a ridiculous number of cards in a turn. I've had Ondu Cleric in the deck for years because he resets games for me. A creature heavy deck means I'm attacking often and leaving myself open to opposing attackers. Gaining 6 or 7 life with each creature I play negates most of my losses in the turn cycle.
My enablers are spread out, more so than in other decks. My best Allies trigger off other Allies entering the battlefield. How can I make those ETBs happen? Blink, token making, and recursion are classic ways to get those triggers. Unified Front is a 4 mana Sorcery with Converge. For each color of mana used in casting this spell, I get to create a 1/1 Ally token. Chromatic Lantern especially makes that easy, but I can't remember a time I've gotten 3 creatures out of the deal. Captain's Claws gives a creature a minimal power boost, but upon attack, it creates a 1/1 Ally Token that happens to be attacking. I have triggers on my main phase, and I get triggers on my combat phase. Palace Siege, since I always choose Khans, returns a creature from my graveyard to my hand every turn. Cauldron Haze is board wipe protection at face value. I cast this to save my board and then get to retrigger my Allies when they all come back from the graveyard. The -1/-1 counters are easily overcome.
My favorite way to make more tokens is Reflections of Littjara. This little blue enchantment takes each creature I cast and makes a token copy of it. If you thought Hagra Diabolist or Kalastria Healer were dangerous before, having 2 or more of them at the same time means I cut my time to win in half.
The other way to keep the triggers flowing is with creature tutors. I already mentioned that General Tazri tutors up a creature when it enters the battlefield. Threats Undetected is a newer card for the deck, but it has had positive results. When I get my 4 creatures, my opponents have a tendency to put the most expensive creatures back into my library believing they're the most dangerous. More often than not, cheap chaff is king in getting the deck moving, as I can cast 2 or 3 spells in a turn to load up on triggers and board presence. Lifecrafter's Bestiary has fallen out of favor in a lot of EDH tables over the years, but it is king here. The Scry is always beneficial in setting up my turn, but more importantly, I can pay a tax of 1 green mana on each creature to draw a card. With over 30 creatures in the deck, I really get to draw an impactful number of cards through the course of a game.
There is one secret the deck is hiding. The deck does really well with combat and rebuilding, but sometimes that wasn't enough. I wanted a decisive way to win that didn't require creatures or combat. The answer was in my land base. I didn't have a lot of impactful multicolored lands available and those I did have I felt would make a greater impact in decks with fewer colors. I thought it was better to have 5 or 6 decks with good mana bases and 1 bad option instead of 6 or 7 decks all with a muddy mana base. So the deck took on Maze's End.
I never really won with Maze's End in the beginning. I was more excited that it was just there. There were only the 10 Ravnica Gates after all. I slowly added more and more support. The first one was Tempt with Discovery since it doesn't specify basic lands. Now, I'm also including Navigation Orb, as it provides extra flexibility of an untapped basic now to fix my colors, or more gates. The best is actually Reshape the Earth. 9 mana is a stupid amount for a ramp spell, so I don't think of it as a ramp spell. It's actually a game winning spell. Worst case scenario, if I don't have Maze's End in play yet, I'll grab that and 9 gates and wait a turn to activate the maze and win. That's a tense time, but my board presence really comes through.
Baldur's Gate was great for this deck. It brought several additional gates, which I happily added. There were some real standouts, though. The aptly named Baldur's Gate ramps me as long as I have 4 or more gates on the field. Heap Gate lets me filter my mana if needed, which can be valuable in a 5 color deck. More importantly, I can store some mana in the form of treasures. This is great at getting me to 9 mana for Reshape the Earth.
Here's where my deck is now
Kabira Evangel | Gideon, Ally of Zendizar | |
Angelic Captain | ||
Akiri, Line-Slinger | Retreat to Emeria | |
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder | Darksteel Ignot | |
Mina and Denn, Wildborn | Mardu Banner | Etchings of the Chosen |
Drana's Emissary | Abzan Banner | March from the Tomb |
Agadeem Occultist | Jeskai Banner | |
Abzan Charm | ||
Beastcaller Savant | Gild | |
Drana, Liberator of Malakir | Displace | Hallowed Burial |
Coralhelm Guide | Whip of Erebos | Golgari Charm |
Preordain | Crackling Doom | |
Munda's Vanguard | Lead the Stampede | |
Talus Paladin | Path of the World Tree | |
Hero of Goma Fada | Temple of Silence | |
Resolute Blademaster | Cliffgate | Temple of Mystery |
Lantern Scout | Black Dragon Gate | Temple of Triumph |
Munda, Ambush Leader | Thran Portal | Temple of Malice |
Makindi Patrol | Temple of Abandon | |
Orzhov Guildgate | Bountiful Promenade | |
Gruul Guildgate | Plaza of Harmony | |
Firemantle Mage | Azorious Guildgate | |
Kor Entanglers | Izzet Guildgate | Thespian's Stage |
Dimir Guildgate | Command Tower | |
Selesnya Guildgate | Dromar's Cavern | |
Bala Ged Thief | Golgari Guildgate | Darigaaz's Caldera |
Rakdos Guildgate | Treva's Ruins | |
Seascape Aerialist | Simic Guildgate | Plains x2 |
Kazandu Blademaster | Boros Guildgate | Mountain |
Kazuul Warlord | Swamp x2 | Forest x2 |
Veteran Warleader | Gateway Plaza |
General Tazri is definitely the better Ally commander. The tutor effect alone is worth the win since Rally is so contingent on more allies entering the battlefield. With Aang, you're going to have to make some compromises to fit in all the bending styles in order to flip him. There are some older cards that are actually better with Aang than with Tazri. Sylvan Advocate pumps up land creatures, which will work well with earthbending. Tazri isn't concerned with animating lands.
There's one more thing I want to mention about allies before I close, and that's the combo potential. Turntimber Ranger is a central figure here. He may only be a 2/2 Ally, but when he or another Ally enters the battlefield, he makes a 2/2 wolf. The combo comes from having a static ability that makes all creatures default to Ally. Maskwood Nexus, Conspiracy, or Arcane Adaptation would all do the trick. That makes infinite Allies and gives infinite ETBs. Just couple those cards with a Hagra Diabolist, Kalastria Healer, or even an Impact Tremors or similar card and you'll knock out all your opponents at once.
Welcome to a new era of articles thanks to Universes Beyond. Please let me know what you think of the new format. I have affiliate links with Mana Pool and TCG Player to help fund these off the wall strategies. It's what makes all this possible,
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