Alela, Artful Provocateur

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pokken
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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

I went up to a second propaganda effect due to how weak my version is to early game aggro, and especially fliers -- moat is great but it doesn't stop 5/5 dragons which is a big problem. I run quite a lot of removal enchantments and it's still rarely enough so I try to dig for a propaganda vs a priority, although saving grace is also great.

Spellskite seems even better in your build with all the auras than mine, tbh, but it has been the nuts at protecting Alela, and other critical enchantments like moat/overburden. People are always surprised by how much it craps on random gameplans too.

I ran into an enchantress voltron deck and played a turn 2 spellskite not too long ago and it was a pretty feels bad kinda game, but them's the breaks :P

You're absolutely right in the assessment of mana costs; for my build anyway I need 3 cmc slots to do a whole lot. I run on thin ice and all the snow basics just so I can have a cheaper removal option :P Even with all the talisman/signets it's quite mana greedy for some reason. With options like ethereal armor paying 4 for eidolon feels rough for the same effect despite it leaving a potential fattie behind (although a 4/4 groundpounder or whatever is likely to be mostly useless a high percentage of the time).


edit: Given your aura theme, you might find control magic a good substitute for eidolon. Adds an aura, makes a faerie, and potentially deals with big problem creatures. Kind of propaganda without having to play another non-aura or something as derpy as propaganda. CM has been exceptional for me at turning the tide vs. people's 8/8s.

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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

Honestly, I forgot Eidolon was 4 to cast as an Aura. Good thing I didn't try to cast it for 3 :)

That pushes me further to cutting something else for it. I don't know why, but Control Magic effects just never appealed to me. I am not necessarily locked into the replacement being an aura either. If only I had green so I could run Pernicious Deed. Though, I suppose, I could just run Oblivion Stone...

I do like the swing Control Magic gives though. I might have to think on that.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

I think you're probably fine on sweepers but if you were gonna add another one I'd try to think of something that doesn't kill Alela, maybe winds of rath or something. citywide bust and retribution of the meek have been exceptional for me, but not really aligned with your approach.

Main advantage of those effects (stone/etc/) I guess is that they make dudes, but they make dudes then blow them all up, so not a ton of value there unless you have some kind of protection effect.

What do you think about some light enchantment reanimation? necromancy et al seem pretty good with Alela. angelic renewal has been stellar for me (though I run Sun titan to take advantage of it).

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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

Yeah, "blowing up all the things" has been the main reason O Stone isn't here. I forgot Winds of Rath was a card so I might pick one up to have in case I feel I need it. (On a side note, why doesn't that card have a foil :( ).

When I was going through trying to see if there was a better Control Magic variant (Treachery was the best I found) I did seeAnimate Dead and seriously thought about it. My concern with them is that I don't have anything worth recurring so I would be entirely dependent on my opponents.

I think I might lean towards Sun Titan as a utility creature. I kind of forgot about him, but he lets me get back a lot of stuff. Especially if Alela is destroyed somehow. If I do end up with Sun Titan I am not sure if Renewal is really right for the deck even with that interaction.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

Winds -- yeah, lots of cards really need a foil. I think that one might b eon the reserved list too which is a bummer.

Yeah that's the reason I play Titan primarily is as a way to recur all the critical stax pieces. Tun titan getting back overburden or whatever is just backbreaking a lot of times.

Treachery is of course insane -- I try not to play it much because it's just such an insane power level. I don't think I ever cast it and lost with Aminatou for example. it usually winds up as a +10 or so tempo swing (take something worth >5 mana and then untap 5 lands) even if it's not being optimized for.

I kept it to CM to keep the power level down a little, and even it is pretty good. Great way to deal with problem commanders too.

I found Angelic renewal to be a great thing to curve into Alela -- since for the most part people are not willing to play strong removal on Alela, they will sometimes randomly kill her with a sweeper or something, and since Alela comes out on the same curve as most sweepers it's extra nice. Late game it makes a faerie and then protects alela as well. I don't think I ever was sad to spend 2 mana on it.

It's kinda similar to spellskite in my headspace, proactive protection for Alela -- that doesn't have to equip, just has to be on the battlefield and defends against a lot of targeted removal--angelic is less flexible but does stop many sweepers.

Yea the more I think about it I think the animates would be better than Necromancy (animate/dance) but either of those is probably just dependent on either 1) using it to reanimate Alela, or 2) having a good enemy creature to animate, in order to be good.

Corrupted Conscience might be worth a look as an alternate control magic, but it's a pretty gloves-off kind of card :P

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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

pokken wrote:
4 years ago
Winds -- yeah, lots of cards really need a foil. I think that one might b eon the reserved list too which is a bummer.
It's not...it was printed in C18 :)

As for Treachery, I probably should buy one before the foil price goes up any more. I could have bought one under a year ago for way cheaper (if I remember right) and there might end up being a place for it.
I found Angelic renewal to be a great thing to curve into Alela -- since for the most part people are not willing to play strong removal on Alela, they will sometimes randomly kill her with a sweeper or something, and since Alela comes out on the same curve as most sweepers it's extra nice. Late game it makes a faerie and then protects alela as well. I don't think I ever was sad to spend 2 mana on it.

It's kinda similar to spellskite in my headspace, proactive protection for Alela -- that doesn't have to equip, just has to be on the battlefield and defends against a lot of targeted removal--angelic is less flexible but does stop many sweepers.

Yea the more I think about it I think the animates would be better than Necromancy (animate/dance) but either of those is probably just dependent on either 1) using it to reanimate Alela, or 2) having a good enemy creature to animate, in order to be good.

Corrupted Conscience might be worth a look as an alternate control magic, but it's a pretty gloves-off kind of card :P
Yeah, maybe that is the right way to look at Angelic Renewal in this kind of deck. I do often find that if Alela dies, it does take a bit to cast her again due to the low land count. I might try Animate Dead first just because of that and because it can do a lot of work with opponents' creatures where Renewal is only mine.

I did think of Corrupted Conscience too :) But, yeah, the infect can be a huge target for the creature and/or me.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

WizardMN wrote:
4 years ago
pokken wrote:
4 years ago
Winds -- yeah, lots of cards really need a foil. I think that one might b eon the reserved list too which is a bummer.
It's not...it was printed in C18 :)
woops yeah I mixed up my goofy ass old weird sweepers -- retribution of the meek is the RL one.

I wish they would make a priority foiling all those old cards, it's really pretty annoying. I have two in Ephara (pearl medallion and faerie artisans) and a few on my wish list. And of course the RL cards that will never get foils (drake, tithe). I keep hoping they will print some more riffs on the Tithe ability so maybe I'll get something that replaces it, but drake is never happening I'm sure :P

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Re: renewal/animate
I think animate is worth a try. I've found having access to one of those effects to be very situationally powerful, and it scales your aura things as well which is nice.

I find Alela dies early to splash damage a *lot* because there is almost always a wrath or a deluge or something. She isn't usually drawing targeted removal until it's too late but because I always want her out she's always exposed to sweepers. It's one of the reasons I really like vanishing in yours and I might give a try to teferi's veil in my build someday. I like that Veil protects our tokens now which is very nice.

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Post by MeowZeDung » 4 years ago

Have you considered Sigil of Valor, Angelic Exaltation, or Stoneforge Masterwork? Even something that's usually pretty garbage like All That Glitters or Sunbond could be pretty good here given the higher enchantment count and Alela's lifelink. I feel like they would all be good in an Alela Voltron build. I built an Alela deck for one of my daughter's Christmas gifts, and I can't wait to see it in action, but it's all about swarm rather than voltron so I didn't look to deep down that avenue.
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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

MeowZeDung wrote:
4 years ago
Have you considered Sigil of Valor, Angelic Exaltation, or Stoneforge Masterwork? Even something that's usually pretty garbage like All That Glitters or Sunbond could be pretty good here given the higher enchantment count and Alela's lifelink. I feel like they would all be good in an Alela Voltron build. I built an Alela deck for one of my daughter's Christmas gifts, and I can't wait to see it in action, but it's all about swarm rather than voltron so I didn't look to deep down that avenue.
I like All that Glitters. It seems to fit pretty well into the rest of the deck. I also like Sunbond for its effect, but 4 mana is a lot so I would probably have to pass on that. I will have to pick up an All that Glitters though.

I did end up playing tonight and got steamrolled. I couldn't keep Alela on the board nor did I ever get any real board presence. The only play of note was that an opponent cast a The Eldest Reborn to make me sac Alela. I was at 14 general damage from Zurgo, Helmsmasher and had no blockers. I ripped Moat off the top and was in a good place to stabilize. Until Zurgo cast Anguished Unmaking and killed me. Not a lot happened since Zurgo was way too fast off their Sol Ring turn 1.

Not a lot to say beyond this and I don't really plan on making any changes based on this. It was just a bad game.

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Post by Card Slinger J » 4 years ago

I think for my friends' EDH deck we kinda just went the Faerie Tribal route with Alela by finding ways to recast artifact and enchantment spells over and over. For artifacts the best method is arguably Future Sight / Magus of the Future and Sensei's Divining Top. Enchantment wise, Flickering Ward was already mentioned though there's also Mourning and Viscerid Armor despite being a bit slow at 2 mana to bounce it. If you're having trouble keeping Alela on the battlefield you could try running Cloud Cover.

If board wipes are a problem then I'd suggest running Sephara, Sky's Blade and Etchings of the Chosen. Not sure how to deal with opponents causing you to sacrifice your Commander, maybe run more bounce spells / abilities I guess? This is why I think Cloudstone Curio would be great since it triggers upon spamming Faerie tokens which can also help protect Alela. Running a Flash strategy for her second ability might not be such a bad idea either with Leyline of Anticipation and Sigarda's Aid.

Hope that helps.
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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

I already run Etchings of the Chosen and Sigarda's Aid. I am not sure what to think of either one. I have gotten Etchings down a couple of times and it did pretty much nothing. It is weird since it should be helpful, but temporarily granting indestructible actually ends up playing in a weird space. I am not sure how to describe it. And Aid is one that I have never cast. It seems alright, but it has never actually been in play.

Cloud Cover, being 4 mana, is already a tough sell. I don't really want to bounce Alela as she ends up losing all her enchantments anyway. It might be *better* than being destroyed, but it still isn't all that *good*.

Sephara might be interesting. I should be able to cast her for {W} fairly often, her lifelink is nice, and obviously the indestructible for everything else is pretty good.

In general, I am not really looking to change what I use for protection spells. In the game above, none of these cards would have really helped since it was really just a matter of Zurgo being far too fast to deal with. I don't want to go too far into trying to shore up a part of the deck that isn't a huge weakness as it is. I will keep Sephara in mind if I feel I need more ways to keep Alela protected as she does have pretty good stats and some good abilities.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

Given the tons of chump blockers and lots of instant speed removal I would normally think zurgo is a pretty good matchup for you, so I wouldn't worry too much about it either.

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Post by Card Slinger J » 4 years ago

WizardMN wrote:
4 years ago
I already run Etchings of the Chosen and Sigarda's Aid. I am not sure what to think of either one. I have gotten Etchings down a couple of times and it did pretty much nothing. It is weird since it should be helpful, but temporarily granting indestructible actually ends up playing in a weird space. I am not sure how to describe it. And Aid is one that I have never cast. It seems alright, but it has never actually been in play.
It probably did nothing because you were waiting on your opponent to cast a board wipe when casting a board wipe yourself makes the indestructible worthwhile. Sure it does slow down the game but it's an option that's available.
WizardMN wrote:
4 years ago
Cloud Cover, being 4 mana, is already a tough sell. I don't really want to bounce Alela as she ends up losing all her enchantments anyway. It might be *better* than being destroyed, but it still isn't all that *good*.
You could get all your Auras back with Fumble, Hubris, and Orzhov Charm since they're instant speed. Word of Undoing works as well despite being restricted to white Auras. There's also Remove Enchantments If you're looking for more options for recycling Auras at instant speed to make Faeries with Alela.
WizardMN wrote:
4 years ago
Sephara might be interesting. I should be able to cast her for {W} fairly often, her lifelink is nice, and obviously the indestructible for everything else is pretty good.
She's much cheaper to cast than Avacyn, Angel of Hope and more affordable.
WizardMN wrote:
4 years ago
In general, I am not really looking to change what I use for protection spells. In the game above, none of these cards would have really helped since it was really just a matter of Zurgo being far too fast to deal with. I don't want to go too far into trying to shore up a part of the deck that isn't a huge weakness as it is. I will keep Sephara in mind if I feel I need more ways to keep Alela protected as she does have pretty good stats and some good abilities.
Fair enough.
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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

I played this deck tonight against Karona, the False God, Anje Falkenrath, and Baird, Steward of Argive

I started off with a land, Sol Ring, Spellskite. I was able to hit my land drops and get Alela turn 4 (I was missing a color before this). I to cast my Sage's Reverie on Alela and, next turn, I followed it up with Estrid's Invocation. And, of course, I am only realizing now that I completely ignored the trigger or I could have been flickering the Invocation to get more draws. Oh well.

I was able to get Ephara down around turn 6 but that is the turn the Baird wrathed the board with Hour of Devasation. Not a huge deal, but it set me back a little. I was able to cast Alela again next turn, followed by some Auras the turn after. Ephara kept drawing me cards throughout everything.

SIgarda's Aid also came down which ended up being exceptionally important. Since I was getting out of control again, Baird cast Wrath of God. I had just drawn on their turn from Ephara and I draw Shielded by Faith. Aid allowed me to cast it in response to Wrath which ended up saving Alela. She never left the field again for the rest of the game.

From here, I just kept building her up. She was Indestructible and I got Swiftfoot Boots on her to make her untargetable. From her, the best players could hope for was something like Merciless Eviction which they never got to.

I killed Anje first and then went after Baird next. I was then able to kill Karona with 17 commander damage at once (they had 6 from before). I didn't get to kill Baird with commander damage as they were low enough to just die to the first hit from Alela.

While I haven't been doing much to make changes to it, this is still a fun deck that performs rather well. I am not sure how much I care to put a lot of focus into it (Karador and Ephara are always a higher priority since I want to keep my Primers up to date) but it is still a good deck to pull out at times to offer something different.

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