Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim

Gameplan

Ayli is a sacrifice engine that converts your creatures into life and targeted removal. You build a board, fuel Ayli's first ability to gain life and trigger payoffs, then use the second ability to exile any problematic nonland permanent once you're above 50 life. The deck grinds value through aristocrats synergies before assembling a combo or simply outvaluing the table.

Key Cards

• Sun Titan — Recurs Ayli's fodder and key two-or-less permanents every attack, fueling endless sacrifice value.
• Reveillark — Returns small creatures from the graveyard to fuel repeated sacrifices and enable persistence loops.
• Karmic Guide — Combos with Reveillark and a sac outlet for infinite recursion and aristocrats payoffs.
• Blood Artist — Turns every sacrifice into drain, providing a clear win condition and incidental life gain.
• Bastion of Remembrance — A second, enchantment-based Blood Artist that closes games as creatures die in bulk.
• Ashnod's Altar — Free sacrifice outlet that ramps and enables combo loops without paying Ayli's mana.
• Cathars' Crusade — Snowballs your token-heavy board and pairs with sacrifice fodder for explosive value.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana and free sacrifice outlets (Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Tower, Goblin Bombardment) so Ayli's tax doesn't bottleneck loops. Lean into a compact combo like Reveillark + Karmic Guide + sac outlet + Blood Artist, backed by tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent) to assemble it consistently. Finally, tighten removal and add efficient recursion (Sun Titan, Reanimate, Animate Dead) to recover from board wipes and keep the engine running.