Ally Tribe. An underrated contender in Modern

Recently, I have been more active in the Tappedout forums discussing in the topic of the Ally tribe in their Primer build.

My Modern 5c Ally Blitz deck: Collected Alliance

Just to let you know, I have been playing this deck in my local game stores' events and I can quite consistently go 2-1 overall. Sometimes I can go 2-0 with the last game split with the opponent. I usually give the win so I won't count.

Since on the topic of allies, I realised there are no articles discussing the power level, finance and playability of the different allies from the original Zendikar block. Hence, I have decided to come up with this article discussing their play viability in constructed and which ally card potentially has a chance to see a spike when BFZ block comes out and suddenly, modern is a viable card.

Currently, there are 31 Allies in the gatherer list, including the new . I'll be strictly reviewing the Ally creature cards in the Original Zendikar Block. So things like Changelings or other spells that produces ally creatures won't be included. Without further-ado, let's begin!

	Agadeem Occultist Modern Playability: Low - Medium.  Decent mana cost, but the mechanic is slow isn't impact-ful enough to turn or win games. It's best in EDH or casual play. P/T is also very low. Finance It won't see anything more than $1.00 when BFZ rolls around. It's very hard to abuse the card without a good board-state. But, hey if you are having a decent board state, why are you still needing this card? Sure Modern has a lot of cards costing 1-3 mana as the most probable CMC. But, it's not that viable to just keep taking things which doesn't help the ally board-state. Who knows, unless you are playing it as a control deck, then it may help. May. Until we can make use of this card in a decent control deck, I'm leaning for it to be a bulk rare.
	Akoum Battlesinger Modern Playability: Medium - High.  Decent mana cost to its ability. It is only good in an aggressive shell. Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. Still, 2 mana for 2/1 most of the time is okay, but not back-breaking. It's a decent card that gives a small anthem effect which is often overlooked, but it is still quite good for 2 mana.
	Bala Ged Thief Modern Playability: Low Bad casting cost to its mechanic. It works well in multiple triggers, but other than that, it's not as good as it seems. Finance It won't see any play in modern. Bulk rare. Skip
	Bojuka Brigand Modern Playability: Medium Decent mana cost to its ability. It is only good in an aggressive shell. Only drawback is that it cannot block Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. It is good for what it does, but it has serious competition with at least 4 other cards with the same CMC ability. It won't have a crazy spike in any way.
	Graypelt Hunter Modern Playability: Low  Decent finisher for an ally, not counting other support cards. It's slightly high mana cost to its decent 3/3 body is good enough for a strong finisher if left unchecked. Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good.
	Hada Free Blade Modern Playability: High.  Best used in an aggressive shell. But, its extremely low cmc to its effect makes it ideal for a Ally-tribe-only Tarmogoyf. It scales very well as more allys comes into play Finance There is a good chance this can break the $2.00 mark if ally deck does breakout in modern. It's extremely low cost for a scaling ability that makes it strong in late game. It's currently the only 1-mana ally card. So, it will see fit in most ally decks requiring a cheap 1-drop to fill the curve.
	Hagra Diabolist Modern Playability: Low  High mana cost for its potentially abusive ability. Resolving this for 2 turns can actually close games. But, the drawback is its weak P/T. Finance It screams to be broken in a deck, but its high mana cost at 5 and weak body makes it not an ideal pick in Modern.
	Halimar Excavator Modern Playability: Low  It is good for casual games. If it is seriously to be considered for modern play, a lot of effort is required to make it work. Trust me I have tried it. Finance Best in casual play. Not ideal for modern. Skip.
	Harabaz Druid Modern Playability: Medium - High  Decent mana ramp for ally deck. It's crazily good in late game and by itself can give you a deep mana sink which you can easily empty your hand. It's weak P/T and summoning sickness are the only drawback for this otherwise awesome mana dork. Finance At the point of writing this article, it spiked to $1.80 before breaking to $4.00. I'm guessing it's a hype thing, but it does have potential to break the $5 mark if it really breaks out in modern. If all else fails, it should settle back to around $1-$2. But, now it's still too early to tell. It is one of the cards that has potential for a third spike.
	Highland Beserker Modern Playability: Low It is good in an aggressive shell. But it does not give much other than First Strike. While the ability is good and does help prevent or changes blocking/attacking strategies, the card itself has a relatively low P/T. It's decent, but not that good overall as it has serious competition with Akoum Battlesinger. Finance It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good at all.
	Joraga Bard Modern Playability: Low  Similar to Highland Beserker, it's good to give all Vigilance but it honestly doesn't help in the boardstate as much as we all think. It's definitely better than First Strike in most cases, but 4 mana for it is not exactly appealing. Finance It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good at all.
	Jwari Shapeshifter Modern Playability: Medium.  The Phantasmal Image of the ally tribe. It's good in what it does and when it works. But, there are times which this card fails miserably. Finance Currently, it's holding at around $1.00 after a small spike at the point of writing. It has the potential to go up to $2-$3. But, I'm not counting on it to be anything more than $3. Phantasmal Image is potentially strictly better choice in most cases.
	Kabira Evangel Modern Playability: High.  One of the best 3-drop we have in the tribe. Gives everyone protection basically just win games Finance Currently, it's holding at around $0.50 after a small spike at the point of writing. It has the potential to go up to $3-$4 if the deck breaks out. It will be a 4-off in most variants of decks playing Ally.
	Kazandu Blademaster Modern Playability: High Low mana cost for 3 abilites is a steal. It's mostly a 2 mana for 2/2, First Strike, Vigilance. It's the best 2-drop for aggressive shells and will scale quickly if left unchecked. Finance Similar to Hada Freeblade, this is in my radar to potentially break the $2 mark if Ally decks become a thing. It scales and curve very well with Hada freeblade in the same deck.
	Kazuul Warlord Modern Playability: Low It is good in an aggressive or a midrange shell as a finisher. Its relatively low P/T and lack of trample are the things limiting it to be a first-pick in constructed. But, solely based on the ally creature pool, this has massive potential to be a late-game anthem. Only issue is that once we look at other support cards, this falls flat. Finance It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good at all. It will still be a bulk rare, but likely to hover around $1.
	Makindi Shieldmate Modern Playability: Low  Great if you want a good blocker. But in Modern format, we need more than just shields. Finance Not ideal for modern. Skip.
	Murasa Pyromancer Modern Playability: Low  Terrible mana cost to P/T ratio. Decent ability however, but the biggest drawback is that it only hits creatures. Finance If this hits players and if it is 4 mana cost, it can be a serious contender. But, in most cases, Hagra Diabolist is strictly better to win most games.
	Nimana Sell-Sword Modern Playability: Low  Tough competition with 3-4 other cards doing the same thing for much cheaper rate. Bust. Finance Not ideal for modern. Skip.
	Ondu Cleric Modern Playability: Medium  Decent mana cost to its ability. It is only good to prolong matches. But, solely itself, it's very easily removed. I personally won a lot of games thanks to this card. It's stupidly good when it works, but it will fall flat if it doesn't. Actually, the worst is spending 2 mana to get 1 life. That's not actually that bad in some cases. Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good at all.
	Oran-Rief Survivalist Modern Playability: Medium.  Decent mana cost for what it does. A less powerful Hada Freeblade and Kazandu Blademaster. But it is still decent. Finance It is a good card, but we won't see spikes from this card.
	Sea Gate Loremaster Modern Playability: Low It's actually crazy good if you have the right board. But, in most cases, it's just aiming to be removed before you get to draw. Finance Bulk rare status. It won't really be a serious contender unless a control version of ally deck comes out.
	Seascape Aerialist Modern Playability: Low  Over First Strike and Vigilance, this actually does help win games. Only thing is the mana cost and low P/T. Finance It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good at all.
	Stonework Puma Modern Playability: None  Trust me when I say no deck will play this. Finance It's a bad card. Like really bad. Bust.
	Tajuru Archer Modern Playability: Low  Opposite of Murasa Pyromancer. This instead has a relatively lower cost, but it hits only flying creatures. It's not something that we need in most games. For most cases, the best is still to direct the damage to players. Even in possible control shells, we would have other stuff to use to deal with the creatures instead. Finance Not really a good card. Bust
	Talus Paladin Modern Playability: Medium Decent P/T body and ability for its mana cost. It can work as a finisher and this card can grow stupidly big if left unchecked. Lifelink for all here is just a cherry on top in late game. It won't win games immediately, but it can change games. Finance It has potential to be a good curve-ender. But, the decks will mostly play 1-2 off if its being played. Likely to be still in bulk rare though.
	Tuktuk Grunts Modern Playability: Low  A little high mana cost for what it does. Akoum Battlesinger is better. But, this grows overtime. But at that turn, I rather be doing other things. Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good.
	Tuktuk Scrapper Modern Playability: Low  Decent ability against the meta. It's an affinity hate that deals damage to player? Yes please. Finance 1-off in sideboard at most due to meta. Hence, don't expect it to spike. Also, it's 4-mana so its still relatively expensive still.
	Turntimber Ranger Modern Playability: Medium  A bit on the high end of the mana curve. But, this has potential to be broken with infinite combos. However, at the moment now the combo is a little too clunky Finance If there is a chance for the combo to be broken and abused, then it will see a price increase. However for now, it will still be in the bulk rare price.
	Umara Raptor Modern Playability: Low - Medium  Decent mana cost to its ability. It is only good in an aggressive shell. It's a good 3-mana drop with decent scaling. But, it could be better. Finance It is a common card, so there is a maximum ceiling to what it can hit. It's not a bad card, but neither is it actually good.
	Vastwood Animist Modern Playability: Low Low P/T, weak ability overall. No. It's not a good card to Consider. Finance It is not decent nor even playable in constructed.

Long story short, keep a lookout for the white ally cards, as well as Harabaz Druid. It also makes sense when we see the first 3 spoilers for support in the ally tribe:

Do you see where this is going? The best bet is that if Modern Ally is a real thing, the base shell of the deck will be in Green/White colours. That's the main reason for looking and keeping track of the green and white cards as priority. 

Also, as mentioned, Hada Freeblade, Kazandu Blademaster, Harabaz Druid and Kabira Evangel are good cards for the casting cost and abilities. Hence, these are the cards that I will be taking a closer look.

Looking at the recent BFZ spoilers, it seems that that the new creatures won't really be getting the +1/+1 counters as to the old counterparts from Zendikar. The mechanic have now officially been named Rally. But, we would see better ability support from the new Allies.

Vetaran Warleader is the closest that we have for a strong 3-drop for ally in replacement for some of the older allies with the older mechanic, and Gideon looks promising as an ally support Planeswalker. Hero of Goma Fada is too expensive for modern play though. I'll review them more if they happen to be in my top 10 picks in a future BFZ First Look article.