Yesterday, we got our first glimpse at the story behind the upcoming Tarkir: Dragonstorm set. Episode 1 of the set’s story featured a brief recounting of what had taken place on the plane. At the end of the episode, Elspeth’s arrival left us with a cliffhanger, as Narset signals that “something terrible must have happened.”
Just recently, Episode 2 was released which sets the stage for the adventures that await. Additionally, in the middle of the story, a new spoiler appeared. Story spoilers seem to be becoming more commonplace, which is nice to see. This time around, the spoiler isn’t the flashiest, but it is quite flexible.
Rally the Monastery
Rally the Monastery provides you with three distinct modes that can all be useful in a low-to-the-ground aggro deck.
First and foremost, with enough spell support, making two 1/1s with Prowess on your opponent’s end step can be scary. As an instant, Rally the Monastery allows you to rebuild after a Wrath effect and get an attack the turn you untap.
In a board stall, the second mode is quite appealing. Being able to pump multiple creatures with Valiant, such as Heartfire Hero or Emberheart Challenger, can make your attacks much more profitable in the face of large blockers.
Of course, problematic blockers like Phyrexian Obliterator are no match for the card’s final ability. Unfortunately, hitting creatures with power 4 or greater rather than toughness 4 or greater in a Standard format dominated by Zur, Eternal Schemer and Preacher of the Schism is rather awkward.
Potential Homes for Rally the Monastery
Overall, this card has a lot of competition even in a Standard environment. In order for the card to see consistent play, it needs to go in a deck where the first two modes are strong. In midrange or control decks, the 1/1s you create just aren’t that exciting. You’re better off just playing Destroy Evil, which removes a much wider array of cards.
Plus, you need to have a lot of cheap spells in order to reliably cast Rally the Monastery for two mana. As such, Boros Prowess comes to mind as a reasonable place for Rally the Monastery to shine.
In a more burn-heavy Boros deck with Boltwave and Boros Charm, you should have a high density of spells to trigger prowess after making your 1/1s. Rally the Monastery also happens to pair exceptionally well with Plot cards like Slickshot Show-Off, since you can Plot your creature, cast it for free on your next turn, and jam Rally the Monastery at a discount.
In this style of deck, Rally the Monastery doubling as a way to increase your threat count and also push damage with Monastery Swiftspear and Slickshot Show-Off is important. It’s possible a Boros Mice build could utilize Rally the Monastery, too, but those decks tend to be more creature-centric. As such, you’ll have fewer ways to trigger prowess to maximize Rally the Monastery’s first ability.
The last shell that could make some use of the new instant is mono-white token control. The token production synergizes with Caretaker’s Talent. The deck naturally has tons of spells, making it easier for these tokens to close games.
At the same time, Rally the Monastery can be used to kill big threats when applicable. Effectively answering big creature lands like Restless Cottage is crucial, and this card delivers.
It’s possible Rally the Monastery ends up falling short of expectations in Constructed, especially given that Boros Prowess and mono-white tokens aren’t in the best position at the moment. Still, the card is powerful in the right circumstance, so make sure to keep it on your radar as we get closer to Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s release.