rsanz

What about Smash to Smithereens and Ancient Grudge? Both I think are better options than Shatter.

I can't decide between keeping Oxidize for the speed, or putting in Tel-Jilad Justice for the scry. Scry is helpful, but destroying lands as quickly as possible is more important for this deck, I think. there is always Ancient Stirrings for card seeking.

Hey Ded -

Overall, I am generally a fan of your decks. They are usually well thought-out and interesting.

But this one, I think, is just too slow. I play my land destruction deck regularly, and if you cannot consistently start killing their lands by turn 3, then it's going to be too late. The opponent will have already had a chance to start establishing their board by turn 4. I think you need to find a way to speed things up with something like Llanwar Elves.

You need to start destroying lands by turn 3, latest.

And I would also highly recommend Ancient Stirrings for land draw/Liquimetal searching.

I'm only trying to help since I play a deck similar to this (except Legacy) very often, and I've playtested it a lot. Consistency and speed are the two biggest hurdles.

I definitely agree. Pyroclasm needs to be AT THE VERY LEAST sideboard. Take it from someone who plays a non-standard version of this deck regularly. Pyroclasm is a life-saver. You need it.

Yes, but returning a Kazandu or Hada to my hand causes me to lose all the +1/+1 counters on them, rather than blocking the spell and having them stay on the field.

I really like the Neurok Stealthsuit because of its ability to be equipped as an instant, and it's reuseable.

What do you guys think of Neurok Stealthsuit or Alexi's Cloak in place of Distortion Strike? Any opinions on that?

I definitely agree. I just don't see this deck being way too slow for standard play. That's why I scrapped the idea of standard for that deck and made it legacy. It's the only way that the deck stands a chance.

Consistency is a major problem for this type of deck. Take a look at my R/G Liquimetal destroy deck for ideas on how to make this combo work more consistently.

Hey, thanks man. Best part is that it's not insanely expensive. It costs right around $50.

Might well take it all the way and make it an EDH while you're at it. :p

No Fliers? Kor Skyhunter fits two roles: blink for your Allies and Flying defense.

Sweet, I'm glad it's a good idea because I just ordered 2x Serra Ascendant online, along with 2x Mimic Vat. :D

I'm excited to playtest this new and improved version of the deck. My buddies are going to hate it, much like they hate my Liquimetal land destruction deck. :)

How do you all feel about adding Serra Ascendant in place of Kor Skyfisher? In my playtests this past weekend, I was well over 30 life by turn 3 in every game. Could be a heavy hitter along with Hada and Kazandu...

I really think Venser the Sojourner would be a much better suited planeswalker for this deck than Ajani Goldmane. But...I don't want to spend $30 on two cards. I hardly ever get to play planeswalkers anyways, even when I do have them in a deck.

Precisely. ;) DOJ is probably one of this deck's biggest threats. Ghostway is in there to counter DOJ, and if not DOJ drops, it's a great finisher for the Halimar Excavator.

It's also an an auto max. counter generator for Kazandu Blademaster and Hada Freeblade. For example, say you have 4 Allies out but no beaters yet. You finally draw one on turn 5, but when you cast him he's only got one measly counter on him. Play a Ghostway, and he'll return to play with as many counters as you had Allies in play before the Ghostway. Insta buff!

Ghostway is extremely versatile, and perfect for an Ally deck. The only reason I have 3x is because most online singles dealers are generally sold-out of Ghostway and I could only get 3 last time I ordered.

I had Umara Raptor in the deck, but then decided to go with Kor Skyfisher. I like the effect of putting one of the cheap allies like Ondu Cleric or Halimar Excavator back into my hand and immediately recasting it mid-game to pump my beaters.

I also like having the opportunity to return Jwari Shapeshifter to my hand and recast it targeting a different ally once, say, I have plenty of life and no longer need a 4th Ondu Cleric and I'd rather have another beater.

It's not that I'll need all 4 of them, I just want to give myself the highest percentage chance to draw it.

You know what, I agree. Rite of Replication is tough to pull off without Harabaz Druid and Im reluctant to splash Green. I like the format of this deck, and I generally don't like playing 3-color decks.

-1 Rite of Repliction
+1 Kabira Evangel

I think that those are great suggestions. I like Kor Skyfisher over Umara Raptor since Hada and Kazandu will be my main beaters. I mainly added Umara Raptor because I was concerned with having the ability to block flyers, not necessarily to attack with a flyer because I've got Kabira Evangel and Distortion Strike to make my walkers unblockable.

I also like Cloud Cover mostly because it gives you the OPTION to return the permanent to your hand. And yes, returning Kazandu or Hada to my hand would remove all counters, but so would having them killed by removal. That's what Ghostway is for, anyway. Instant max. counters. I like it. I'll have to find a way to fit it in!