Ally Like Me: Strategy Guide

Sapphire/Steel Ally tribal midrange. The deck runs 20 Ally characters across four 4-of slots (Razoul, Rajah, Magic Carpet, both Genies) and stacks payoffs that all read "your Ally characters" on top of them. The engine isn't a combo — it's density. By turn 4 you have 2-3 Allies in play, and every payoff (tutor, draw, free play, heal) scales with that count.

The three tribal payoffs — these are why the deck exists:

• Jasmine - Steady Strategist (4c, Shift 2): tutors the top 3 for an Ally on quest. Sticky 2/5 body, fuels tempo.
• Aladdin - Research Assistant (4c): on quest, may play a 3-cost-or-less Ally for FREE. Also gives +1 ¤ to every Ally while exerted. The single most-game-warping card in the deck.
• Aladdin - Vigilant Guard (6c): 1/9 Bodyguard. Every Ally quest heals him up to 2. He becomes unkillable once 2-3 Allies are questing alongside him.

The lore math. Genie - Cramped in the Lamp is 2-ink 2-lore. Rajah and Magic Carpet are 4-ink and 3-ink for 2 lore each. The 5-cost Jasmines both quest for 2. By T5 with three 2-lore Allies on board plus a Research Assistant trigger, you're at 6+ lore/turn AND playing free cards.

Matchup role: controller with a tempo spine. You out-WP every aggro deck (1/9 Bodyguard, 3/7 Jasmine Fearless), out-tempo midrange via free plays off Research Assistant, and rely on disruption cards (One Jump Ahead, A Whole New World) against true control. Don't try to race — race plans die to your own 6-cost finisher's arrival timing.

Two-option keep — pick your engine half, then build toward it.

• Option 1 — Density curve (default): Jasmine - Resourceful Infiltrator OR Aladdin - Resolute Swordsman (1c) + Genie - Cramped in the Lamp OR Razoul - Palace Guard (2c) + a 3-cost (any of Jasmine-Disguised / Aladdin-Brave-Rescuer / Genie-Satisfied-Dragon / Magic Carpet) + an inkable. Curve out 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 with at least one Ally landing by T2 so the engine payoffs have fuel by T4.
• Option 2 — Payoff keep: Genie - Cramped in the Lamp (2c Ally) + Aladdin - Research Assistant in hand + an inkable. Set up the free-play turn for T4: Research Assistant lands, quests T5, and triggers a free 3-cost Ally drop the same turn.

Always keep if drawn:

• Aladdin - Research Assistant — the engine. Free-play trigger is the deck's tempo ceiling. Inf-only, 3-of redundancy.
• Genie - Cramped in the Lamp — your only 2-ink 2-lore body. Best lore-rate Ally in the deck and your T2 anchor.
• Razoul - Palace Guard — 2-ink Ally with a 3 ¤ swing while undamaged. Curves with Genie-Cramped to put 2 Allies on board by end of T2.

OTP vs OTD:

• OTP: prefer Option 1. You curve harder; questing a 1-drop on T2 plus a 2-cost Ally landing on T2 builds the Ally count one turn faster.
• OTD: prefer Option 2 + keep One Jump Ahead (2c song). The draw-step extra card papers over a slower opener, and One Jump Ahead's ink-acceleration covers the 4-cost engine drop a turn early.

Never keep blind: Aladdin - Vigilant Guard (6c, dead until T5+), A Whole New World (5c symmetric reset — useless on an empty board), Jasmine - Inspired Researcher (5c, dies in hand without setup). Two 5+ cost cards in opener = no T1-T3 plays = engine is two turns late.

Ideal T1-T3 line: Aladdin-Resolute T1 → Genie-Cramped quests T2 (1 lore) + Razoul lands → Aladdin-Brave-Rescuer T3 (3/3 body, banishes their first item on quest). End of T3: three bodies, two Allies, 1 lore on board, Ally density set up for T4 Research Assistant.

Openers — play turn 1, quest from turn 2:

• Jasmine - Resourceful Infiltrator: 1c Sapphire 1/2 1-lore. JUST WHAT YOU NEED — on play, give another character Resist +1 until your next turn. Cast on a 1-3 WP body about to be challenged. Note Resist +1 only reduces damage by 1, not nullifies; it's not a save against 4+ STR challengers.
• Aladdin - Resolute Swordsman: 1c Steel 1/3 1-lore. Vanilla body. 3 WP survives most 1-cost challengers and 2-cost challenger pings. Curve filler.

2-ink Allies — the foundation of your tribal count:

• Genie - Cramped in the Lamp: 2c Sapphire 2/2 2-lore Ally. Best lore-rate body in the deck and an Ally for every payoff. Always play if in hand on T2. Dies to 2-cost challengers, so prefer dropping on T2 only if you have a 1-cost protector or are OTP.
• Razoul - Palace Guard: 2c Steel 1/3 1-lore Ally. LOOKY HERE — +2 ¤ while undamaged (effective 3/3). Quest for 1, then if challenged becomes a 3-strength trader. Keep him uninjured to preserve the swing.

3-ink core — most of your Ally density and tempo lands here:

• Jasmine - Disguised: 3c Sapphire 3/3 2-lore. Vanilla but premium stat-line: 2 lore at 3 ink is above-rate (0.67 lore/ink). Quest engine, not an Ally. Inf-only.
• Aladdin - Brave Rescuer: 3c Steel 3/3 1-lore. CRASHING THROUGH — on quest, may banish chosen item. The Shift cost (discard a location) is dead in this deck — zero locations — so treat him as flat 3/3/1 with item-removal upside on every quest. Inf-only.
• Genie - Satisfied Dragon: 3c Steel 3/4 1-lore Ally. BUG CATCHER — gains Evasive during your turn. Quests safely past Evasive blockers; can challenge Evasive characters because of the ability. Note BUG CATCHER's Evasive expires on opp's turn, so he's a normal 3/4 on defense.
• Magic Carpet - Phantom Rug: 3c Steel 2/4 2-lore Ally + Illusion. Vanish protects him from action-targeting (Pirate's Life, Be Prepared). SPECTRAL FORCE buffs other Illusions — zero other Illusions in deck, so the second ability is BLANK here. Treat as a 3/4/2 with Vanish protection.

4-ink engines — these are the payoffs:

• Jasmine - Steady Strategist: 4c Sapphire/Steel 2/5 1-lore. Shift 2 onto any Jasmine (Resourceful, Disguised). ALWAYS PLANNING — on quest, look at top 3, reveal an Ally and put in hand. Cheap Shift onto a 1-2 cost Jasmine for tempo. 2/5 absorbs combat; questing fuels the next turn's plays.
• Aladdin - Research Assistant: 4c Steel 2/4 2-lore. HELPING HAND — on quest, may play an Ally with cost 3 or less for FREE. PUT IN THE EFFORT — while exerted, your Allies get +1 ¤. Sequence: drop T4, quest T5, free-play a Genie-Satisfied-Dragon. While he's exerted (every turn he quests) your board swings harder. The deck's single highest-impact card. Inf-only (non-inkable).
• Rajah - Royal Protector: 4c Steel 3/4 2-lore Ally. STEADY GAZE — while you have no cards in hand, characters with cost 4 or less can't challenge him. Pair with A Whole New World (discard your hand) for a turn of near-immunity. Otherwise a flat 3/4/2 Ally for the tribal count. Inf-only.

5-ink finishers:

• Jasmine - Inspired Researcher: 5c Sapphire/Steel 3/5 2-lore (non-inkable). EXTRA ASSISTANCE — on quest, if you have NO cards in hand, draw a card for each Ally you have in play. Use A Whole New World (discard hand, both players draw 7, then dump hand again via plays) OR natural empty-hand turns to set up the draw cascade. Worst-case she's a 3/5/2 body, best-case she draws 3-4 cards in one quest.
• Jasmine - Fearless Princess: 5c Steel 3/7 2-lore. TAKE THE LEAP — gains Evasive during your turn. NOW'S MY CHANCE — discard a card to give +3 ¤ this turn. Triple threat: quests through Evasive blockers, has 7 WP, and discard-fuels her own swing turn. Pair with A Whole New World dump-and-redraw to enable the discard cost cheaply.

6-ink anchor:

• Aladdin - Vigilant Guard: 6c Sapphire/Steel 1/9 1-lore. Bodyguard + SAFE PASSAGE (when an Ally quests, may remove up to 2 damage from him). Lands T6, soaks every challenge, regenerates as long as Allies keep questing. The matchup-winning card vs aggro: 1/9 Bodyguard means their 2-cost challengers can't get to your questers. He doesn't kill anything (1 STR), but his job is absorbing, not dealing damage.

Songs and disruption:

• One Jump Ahead: 2c Sapphire song. Put top card of deck into your inkwell facedown + exerted. Sung free by any 2+ cost character. Ramps you 1 ink ahead AND counts the ink as exerted on arrival (no immediate use this turn, but uses normally from next turn onward). Use it on T2-T3 to leap from 4 ink to 5 ink for a T4 Research Assistant.
• A Whole New World: 5c Steel song. Each player discards their hand and draws 7. Sung free by any 5+ cost character (Jasmine-Inspired, Jasmine-Fearless, Aladdin-Vigilant Shift target). Symmetric, but YOU choose timing: cast when your hand is dead and theirs has 4-7 saved answers. Also sets up Rajah's STEADY GAZE (no cards in hand on cast, before draw step refills) and Jasmine-Inspired-Researcher's draw-per-Ally. The deck's signature swing card. Floor of 7 fresh cards — never resolve on a topped-off hand or you waste the reset.

vs. Amethyst/Sapphire Evasive (Even): Watch for: Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe, Hades - Looking for a Deal Your high-WP shell (1/9 Bodyguard, 3/7 Jasmine-Fearless, 3/5 Jasmine-Inspired) walls their quester pressure, and Genie - Satisfied Dragon's BUG CATCHER Evasive lets you challenge Dumbo directly. Race plan doesn't work here — their lore-per-turn from Hades eclipses yours — so out-grind via A Whole New World when their hand is full of answers. Lose if they assemble Hades + 2 Evasive questers by T5.

vs. Amber/Emerald Aggro (Favorable): Watch for: Tramp - Street-Smart Dog, Grandmother Willow - Ancient Advisor Best matchup. Their 1-2 WP flood can't profitably challenge your 3+ WP Ally wall. Razoul at 3/3 (LOOKY HERE), Genie-Satisfied at 3/4, and Aladdin-Vigilant-Guard at 1/9 Bodyguard turn every attack into wasted tempo. Aladdin - Research Assistant's free-play on T5 (drop a 3-cost Genie or Magic Carpet for 0 ink) closes the gap before their flood matures. Quest, don't challenge — let them break themselves on your wall.

vs. Amethyst/Steel Challengers (Unfavorable): Watch for: Strength of a Raging Fire, Beast - Snowfield Troublemaker Your tribal payoffs care about Ally COUNT, not Ally power — so a single Strength of a Raging Fire (deals 2 damage to all chars) wipes Razoul, Genie-Cramped, and Aladdin-Resolute simultaneously, gutting your density. Keep your 4-WP+ chars alive: Magic Carpet's Vanish dodges Be Prepared but NOT Raging Fire (board damage isn't a "chosen" target). Race to Research Assistant + Vigilant Guard before they assemble 5 bodies for max-damage Raging Fire.

vs. Amber/Steel Steelsong (Favorable): Watch for: Angel - Experiment 624, He Hurled His Thunderbolt Songs are slower than direct tempo, and Resist +2 on their attackers doesn't matter when you're not attacking. He Hurled His Thunderbolt clears 2 of your 2-3 WP bodies, but Aladdin-Vigilant-Guard (9 WP), Jasmine-Fearless (7 WP), and Rajah (4 WP) survive. Your free-play tempo from Research Assistant out-paces their song-curve plan. A Whole New World is also a one-sided wipe of their queued songs — they discard mid-setup.

vs. Ruby/Sapphire Control (Unfavorable): Watch for: Maui - Hero to All, A Pirate's Life Their Maui hard-removes Aladdin-Vigilant-Guard for clean tempo; A Pirate's Life targets your Allies one at a time (but Magic Carpet's Vanish punishes them for picking him). Sapphire draw refills their answer pile faster than you replace bodies. Apply pressure before T7 — Research Assistant + free-play chain on T5-T6, then A Whole New World on T7 to dump their saved answers AND reload your hand for Rajah's STEADY GAZE turn. Don't bait single-target removal with isolated Allies.

vs. Mirror (Sapphire/Steel Ally tribal) (Even): Watch for: Aladdin - Research Assistant, A Whole New World Whoever lands Research Assistant first wins the tempo race — his free-play chain is +1 net card per turn until he dies. Save One Jump Ahead for the turn before your T4 RA drop to leap-frog them by an ink. A Whole New World is a coin-flip — both players reset to 7, and whoever has the wider Ally board after wins. Don't cast it without 3+ Allies already in play (Inspired-Researcher payoff turn).

Against board-wipe meta (Strength of a Raging Fire, Grab Your Sword, board-damage actions): -2 Razoul - Palace Guard / +2 Magic Carpet - Phantom Rug. Problem: 1/3 Razoul dies to 2-damage wipes that Magic Carpet (4 WP) survives. Trades 2 mana for a 4-WP Ally that holds up under board damage.

Against control-heavy meta (Maui, Pirate's Life, single-target removal): -1 A Whole New World / +1 Jasmine - Steady Strategist. Problem: A Whole New World symmetric reload is bad when their hand is the resource. Steady Strategist's Shift-2 cost + Ally-tutor-on-quest is pure card-advantage with no opp benefit.

Against fast aggro (1-2 ink flood decks): -1 Aladdin - Resolute Swordsman / +1 extra Genie - Cramped in the Lamp. Problem: 1c 1/3 Resolute is curve-filler. Extra 2-lore Genie at 2 ink is more lore AND adds Ally density faster.

Infinity baseline note: this deck is already Inf-only (4 of the strongest cards rotated out of Core 2025-09-05: Aladdin-Brave-Rescuer S4, Aladdin-Resolute-Swordsman S4, Jasmine-Disguised S1, Genie-Cramped S3, Razoul S3, Rajah S4). There is no Core variant of "Ally Like Me" — to port to Core you'd lose ~22 of 53 character slots and would need to rebuild the tribe around S5+ Allies (much thinner Ally pool post-rotation).

Outlook: Infinity-only by construction. Watch for new S12+ Allies that beat 2-cost Razoul or 3-cost Genie-Satisfied — any new 2-cost Ally with 2/3+ stats would directly upgrade the curve. Aladdin - Research Assistant has no S5+ replacement; if it ever gets reprinted in Core, the entire deck shifts to a Core variant overnight.