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Viability of Aluren combo in Highlander?

Started by pyyhttu, 18-01-2008, 02:31:22 PM

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pyyhttu

I've been recently trying to build a solid build around Aluren card, having seen various builds of it in Legacy over the years. I also saw it was on the watch list at Highlandermagic.info (wondering what the hell it's doing there) but thought the deck might have potential. I've never seen _any_ actual HL builds of it anywhere and I'm trying to outline here what a good build should be like.

I share the belief with the Legacy players the deck should be turned into a control-combo deck (not the other way around), utilizing it's combo win condition as a secondary plan in slow paced format like HL. Abusing the synergy of various utility creatures like Crypt Champion/Saffi Eriksdotter and Cavern Harpy/Man-o'-War with any creatures from Essence Warden to Maggot Carrier, the deck gets also it's toolbox approach. The pieces would be fetched using Survival of the Fittest (abusing Recurring Survival in the long run) among other black tutors and green creture tutors. I've toyed with controlling 5C-build containing Imperial Recruiter and FTK (didn't work), ending to bare-bone UGB builds (best results against Sligh).

Tests against with these various Aluren builds against lil' brother's GoblinSligh have shown again, that a simple approach (UGB build) with solid mana base seems to be the right way to go but I need more testing and tweaking of the deck. I'll post my deck at some point if this topic gets going.

I'd like to hear if there are any other takes on this from more experienced players. What kind of builds you've seen if any? Is this deck type even playable in HL?

Mythrandir

vuzdru has some nice decks with survival/recurring and also crypt champion + saffi.. maybe you should ask him, and build the deck from there.

Vazdru

#2
I've tried to build some WGB-Combo Decks like Project X using the Saffi-Champion Combo in a late night session (damn insomnia :P) but it didn't work well (no surprise) so i stopped testing it:

Here the "latest" builds:

First one is a Beat-Down-Combo-Mix (60% Aggro / 40% Combo or whatever) WGB_2.0

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
    1 [A] Savannah
    1 [RAV] Temple Garden
    1 [R] Bayou
    1 [RAV] Overgrown Tomb
    1 [GP] Godless Shrine
    1 [A] Scrubland
    1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
    1 [ON] Flooded Strand
    1 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
    1 [ON] Windswept Heath
    1 [ON] Polluted Delta
    1 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
    4 [A] Plains (2)
    1 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold
    5 [PT] Swamp (2)
    5 [P3] Forest (1)
    1 [UL] Treetop Village
    1 [TE] Reflecting Pool
    1 [AN] City of Brass
    1 [US] Gaea's Cradle
    1 [WL] Gemstone Mine
    1 [LG] Karakas
    1 [TE] Wasteland
    1 [MM] Rishadan Port
    1 [JU] Nantuko Monastery

// Creatures
    1 [PLC] Calciderm
    1 [NE] Blastoderm
    1 [ON] Ravenous Baloth
    1 [TSP] Saffi Eriksdotter
    1 [9E] Llanowar Elves
    1 [IA] Fyndhorn Elves
    1 [UL] Mother of Runes
    1 [PLC] Essence Warden
    1 [RAV] Loxodon Hierarch
    1 [DIS] Crypt Champion
    1 Birds of Paradise
    1 [MI] Wall of Roots
    1 [RAV] Elves of Deep Shadow
    1 [RAV] Dark Confidant
    1 [PLC] Stonecloaker
    1 [FUT] Aven Mindcensor
    1 [GP] Teysa, Orzhov Scion
    1 [TSP] Harmonic Sliver
    1 [LRW] Gaddock Teeg
    1 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
    1 [MR] Troll Ascetic
    1 [UD] Academy Rector
    1 [CHK] Kokusho, the Evening Star
    1 [CHK] Yosei, the Morning Star
    1 [MM] Squee, Goblin Nabob
    1 [LE] Withered Wretch
    1 [CHK] Sakura-Tribe Elder
    1 [EX] Wood Elves
    1 [SH] Wall of Blossoms
    1 [UL] Bone Shredder
    1 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
    1 [JU] Genesis
    1 [AL] Krovikan Horror
    1 [FD] Eternal Witness
    1 [RAV] Watchwolf
    1 [JU] Anurid Brushhopper
    1 [EX] Soul Warden
    1 [ON] Exalted Angel
    1 [PLC] Teneb, the Harvester
    1 [FD] Auriok Champion
    1 [UL] Karmic Guide
    1 [GP] Orzhov Pontiff
    1 [PLC] Whitemane Lion
    1 [OD] Mystic Enforcer
    1 [CS] Adarkar Valkyrie
    1 [BOK] Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni

// Spells
    1 [EX] Recurring Nightmare
    1 [EX] Survival of the Fittest
    1 [6E] Enlightened Tutor
    1 [R] Demonic Tutor
    1 [PS] Eladamri's Call
    1 [GP] Castigate
    1 [RAV] Congregation at Dawn
    1 [US] Duress
    1 [JU] Cabal Therapy
    1 [AP] Pernicious Deed
    1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
    1 [5E] Animate Dead
    1 [IN] Aura Shards
    1 [VI] Necromancy
    1 [TO] Chainer's Edict
    1 [PS] Diabolic Intent
    1 [RAV] Shred Memory
    1 [LRW] Liliana Vess


Second one is more Combo-like with a huge tool-box for Survival; Tooth and Nails also added.

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
    1 [IN] Ancient Spring
    1 [R] Bayou
    1 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
    1 [TSP] Flagstones of Trokair
    1 [ON] Flooded Strand
    5 [IN] Forest (4)
    1 [US] Gaea's Cradle
    1 [IN] Geothermal Crevice
    1 [RAV] Golgari Rot Farm
    1 [MM] High Market
    1 [IN] Irrigation Ditch
    1 [LG] Karakas
    1 [GP] Orzhov Basilica
    3 [IN] Plains (4)
    1 [ON] Polluted Delta
    1 [MM] Rishadan Port
    1 [A] Savannah
    1 [A] Scrubland
    1 [RAV] Selesnya Sanctuary
    1 [IN] Sulfur Vent
    4 [PT] Swamp (3)
    1 [IN] Tinder Farm
    1 [RAV] Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
    1 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold
    1 [TE] Wasteland
    1 [ON] Windswept Heath
    1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
    1 [TSB] Gemstone Mine

// Creatures
    1 [UD] Academy Rector
    1 [GP] Angel of Despair
    1 [RAV] Birds of Paradise
    1 [RAV] Carven Caryatid
    1 [DIS] Crypt Champion
    1 [RAV] Dark Confidant
    1 [MR] Duplicant
    1 [FD] Eternal Witness
    1 [IA] Fyndhorn Elves
    1 [TSP] Harmonic Sliver
    1 [BOK] Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
    1 [CHK] Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
    1 [CHK] Kokusho, the Evening Star
    1 [9E] Llanowar Elves
    1 [RAV] Loxodon Hierarch
    1 [UD] Masticore
    1 [ON] Ravenous Baloth
    1 [UD] Ravenous Rats
    1 [TSP] Saffi Eriksdotter
    1 [CHK] Sakura-Tribe Elder
    1 [DIS] Sky Hussar
    1 [MM] Squee, Goblin Nabob
    1 [AQ] Triskelion
    1 [9E] Viridian Shaman
    1 [SH] Wall of Blossoms
    1 [TSB] Wall of Roots
    1 [LE] Withered Wretch
    1 [PT] Wood Elves
    1 [UD] Yavimaya Elder
    1 [CHK] Yosei, the Morning Star
    1 [EX] Soul Warden
    1 [PLC] Stonecloaker
    1 [CHK] Nezumi Graverobber--Nighteyes the Desecrator
    1 [PLC] Essence Warden

// Spells
    1 [5E] Animate Dead
    1 [TO] Chainer's Edict
    1 [UL] Crop Rotation
    1 [GP] Debtors' Knell
    1 [R] Demonic Tutor
    1 [TE] Diabolic Edict
    1 [PS] Diabolic Intent
    1 [PS] Eladamri's Call
    1 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
    1 [US] Exhume
    1 [RAV] Farseek
    1 [GP] Ghostway
    1 [LRW] Liliana Vess
    1 [JU] Mirari's Wake
    1 [GP] Mortify
    1 [VI] Necromancy
    1 [RAV] Putrefy
    1 [DS] Reap and Sow
    1 [EX] Recurring Nightmare
    1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
    1 [MI] Shallow Grave
    1 [RAV] Shred Memory
    1 [EX] Survival of the Fittest
    1 [4E] Sylvan Library
    1 [MR] Sylvan Scrying
    1 [MR] Tooth and Nail
    1 [GP] Castigate
    1 [JU] Cabal Therapy
    1 [US] Duress

MU

RDW-Burn: 1-2
UBW-Control: 2-1
Tokenmania (Guardian): 0:2
5-Control (Mythrandir) 2:1
B/R-AGGRO: 2:1
5C-Stuffy-Control: 0:2

-> 7:9
Far below the earth
Where the demons hunt the souls of those that sleep
In the city of the Vazdru and the Drin
Where the black flame burns inside the palace fountain.

Mythrandir

the saffi + crypt + soul warden is a pain in the *$$ :P

they werent so bad.. we had great games (me in 5cc) :)

Vazdru

maybe it's worth a second try  ??? ;D

based on the Tooth&Nail-Build i will add aluren and make some changes

but i don't think i will use it in our small tourney
Far below the earth
Where the demons hunt the souls of those that sleep
In the city of the Vazdru and the Drin
Where the black flame burns inside the palace fountain.

pyyhttu

I toyed with this idea more and sufficient to say, Aluren is at the moment way too inconsistent. At least I didn't manage to break it, maybe some will. Anyway, it's clear the deck can't solely rely on combo as with even if one could find Aluren, managed to play it he then would *stil* need to find some utility creatures to keep the combo going, and after that continue feeding it. I noticed this was too many factors against both the MUC and RG.

So what about that control approach? Where as the combo itself is easily disrupted on the long run or hard to pull together before you're dead, the toolbox approach improved the deck a little bit but not much: The best colors for the RecurringSurvival type Aluren (that I chose to represent the "control" type here) would be those U, G and B colors I mentioned.
But after testing I found out against well established RG and MonoU builds that if the shaky manabase wasn't the problem against aggro, then the overload of inefficient plain utility creatures against both control and aggro you kept drawing would be spell your doom as they do very little on their own. That is, they would require either that Aluren, Recurring Nightmare or Survival of the fittest is on the table and most of the time the deck would die before seeing any one of those.

As Aluren can't win the turn it comes into play in Highlander (this is even less probable in control builds) I noticed against aggro that Aluren's "mirror effect" caused opponent to dump his creatures into play at the end of the turn and that kills as well.

So my conclusion would be that Aluren decks for highlander are way too inconsistent and incoherent for now. I finally managed to find one thread tackling this very same issue and believe the last comment here came to the same conclusion (I know little deutsch).

If I didn't know more, I'd suggest Aluren to be removed from the watchlist at highlandermagic.de; now it just eludes players there to build plain bad decks and keep them wondering why the card is even listed there ??? Does anyone know why?

But there's some good in bad: I got this neat idea for a deck (without Aluren ;)) while testing so we'll see if I can make something out of it.

Here are the match results I tested it against:

Aluren vs. RG: 1-3
Aluren vs. MUC: 0-3
...Drop

Here's the final deck I piloted:

Maindeck
1 Aether Vial
1 Aluren
1 Animate Dead
1 Bayou
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bone Shredder
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cavern Harpy
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Chord of Calling
1 City of Brass
1 Cloud of Faeries
1 Corrupt Court Official
1 Court Hussar
1 Crop Rotation
1 Crypt Champion
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Duplicant
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Essence Warden
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fecundity
1 Flooded Strand
10 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Gilded Drake
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Hibernation's End
1 Impulse
1 Intuition
4 Island
1 Liliana Vess
1 Living Death
1 Loaming Shaman
1 Mana Leak
1 Man-o'-War
1 Mesmeric Fiend
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mystic Snake
1 Necromancy
1 Nekrataal
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Putrefy
1 Raven Familiar
1 Ravenous Rats
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Regrowth
1 Saffi Ericsdotter
1 Sage of Epityr
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Shriekmaw
1 Soul Warden
1 Spike Feeder
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Survival of the Fittest
7 Swamp
1 Tainted Pact
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Unearth
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Wall of Roots
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wood Elves
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Worldly Tutor

Final word: It's a complicated deck with play mistakes being common and unfortunately mistakes in this deck is not very forgiving. That should also apply when choosing if it's a "good" deck or not.