Aluren has long been a fringe combo deck in Legacy, but it has been largely unexplored. When a version makes Top 8, especially a version with some cool stuff, I take notice.
Imperial Recruiter not only plays well with Aluren, but also with Painter’s Servant. Either you find the Painter’s Servant itself or you get a Trinket Mage to find the singleton Grindstone.
This deck has zero Force of Wills despite having blue cards. The blue card count is a very low thirteen, plus several of those blue cards are part of the combo. Instead, this deck defends itself with discard like Thoughtseize and Cabal Therapy.
Three Brainstorms is not the amount I’d recommend, especially in a combo deck with a bunch of cards you’d like to shuffle back into your deck. The Breeding Pool can also be optimized, but it’s way less egregious than three Brainstorms.
Overall, this deck doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I do think it’s awesome.
Creatures (20)
- 1 Eternal Witness
- 1 Trinket Mage
- 4 Imperial Recruiter
- 1 Cavern Harpy
- 1 Dream Stalker
- 2 Painter's Servant
- 1 Parasitic Strix
- 4 Baleful Strix
- 4 Deathrite Shaman
- 1 Reclamation Sage