Ali from Cairo, just ain't so hot these days. We
have a myriad of cards that do something similar
(most notably Worship). He's also a lowly 0/1
creature. You can't fight with him, and he dies
to just about everything. He's definitely not
your go to guy. He usually draws a target on
himself also, so he doesn't stay in play long.
A fun card, and fun flavor I guess, though I'm
not sure why Ali here can keep you alive. I have
to think it's to do with that pendant he's
holding. Anyway, Ali's effect is powerful, but
he, sadly, is not. He's a 0/1, and thus gets
killed by a lot. You can protect him, sure, but
decks that are so centered around protecting a
creature are usually protecting a win condition
like a Dragon, not a 0/1 whose only purpose is
to keep you from losing to damage. I'd sideboard
him in against monogreen, the deck most likely
to be unable to remove a 0/1 from play or win
with anything other than damage, but otherwise
he's trade bait.
Constructed- 2
Casual- 3
Limited- 1.5 (I never played Arabian Knights
limited, but by general Limited principles he's
fairly bad.)
KC MetroGnome
Ali From Cairo
This card was somewhat famous when I started
playing. I came in around Ice Age, and I was in
middle school, so I didn't have ready access to
all the cards out there. This is one of those
cards we heard rumors of and didn't quite
believe. Since it was before we had the
internet, I could never really investigate it,
either. Then I saw it for the first time and
found out the rumors were true. He's 7 feet
tall, and if he were here, he'd consume the
English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts
of lightning from his arse. Seriously, how can
you lose the game with this in play?
It didn't take us long to figure out how you
could lose with Ali in play. He's one of those
cards that I love for the nostalgia, but would
never actually put in a serious deck. Just run
Platinum Angel in all formats over this (except
Arabian Nights block constructed). If you're
doing an Arabian Nights draft, all I have to say
is please invite me. And please pay for my
packs.
Constructed - 2+
Casual - 3+
Limited - 1+
Aethereal
Ali from Cairo
Worship on a stick. Worship is better than this,
as it has a more manageable casting cost, and
it's an enchantment instead of a creature, which
leaves Ali susceptible to getting killed more
easily as, in general, there is more creature
hate than there is enchantment hate. Maybe if he
weren't a 0/1, then he'd be more useful, but
stick to Worship.
In casual, ditto.
I've never played Arabian Nights limited, but I
could see this guy being very handy there, as
there's less ways for him to get fried by
spells.
