The Abzan Houses: Endure through the Ages

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Counters Sacrifice Tokens

Temur_Frontier

Creature (38)

• 1x Abzan Battle Priest
• 1x Abzan Falconer
• 1x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• 1x Armorcraft Judge
• 1x Bloodflow Connoisseur
• 1x Bloodspore Thrinax
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 1x Elite Scaleguard
• 1x Embrose, Dean of Shadow  ^Flip
• 1x Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
• 1x Herald of Anafenza
• 1x Hooded Hydra
• 1x Ivorytusk Fortress
• 1x Korozda Guildmage
• 1x Leinore, Autumn Sovereign
• 1x Loyal Guardian
• 1x Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
• 1x Mer-Ek Nightblade
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Mycoloth
• 1x Priest of Forgotten Gods
• 1x Rampant Rejuvenator
• 1x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
• 1x Scourge of Skola Vale
• 1x Scute Swarm
• 1x Skyclave Shadowcat
• 1x Tuskguard Captain
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Whisper, Blood Liturgist
• 1x Woe Strider

Land (36)

• 1x Blossoming Sands
• 1x Command Tower
• 10x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Karn's Bastion
• 8x Plains
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Abzan Ascendancy
• 1x Citadel Siege
• 1x Feed the Pack
• 1x Felidar Retreat
• 1x Fruit of the First Tree
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients
• 1x Spirit Bonds

Instant (5)

• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Valorous Stance

Artifact (2)

• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring

Commanders (2)

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Damning Verdict
• 1x Duneblast
• 1x Eerie Ultimatum
• 1x Explosive Vegetation
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Migration Path

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Maybeboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Abzan Beastmaster
• 1x Juniper Order Ranger
• 1x Nikara, Lair Scavenger
• 1x Warden of the First Tree

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Moldervine Reclamation

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The Tarkir Project

This deck is part of a series of flavor-focused decks built around the plane of Tarkir. The goal is to balance flavor, power, and fun as much as possible for each deck, bringing the associated clans to life while still being playable. Here are the rough guidelines for this project, where each deck should:

• Use a commander that is from the associated clan, ideally one of the Khans for the clan.
• Include as many cards associated with the given clan as possible; it does not matter if they are specifically from the Tarkir block. Any card, whether it was from the block or some anthology, counts as long as it clearly depicts the clan in question (this includes the Dragons of Tarkir clan counterpart as they are similar enough). Realistically, the target goal is roughly around 15 flavor cards per deck.
• The deck's overall playstyle should mirror the original vision of the clan's tactics as they were represented in the Tarkir block. I personally value this slightly more than number of flavor cards used.

You can check out the other decks in this series as they are listed on the side bar of this page and on my profile.

Who are the Abzan Houses?

Endurance and Family

The Abzan houses are a collection of powerful families united under one clan unified by the Abzan Khan. The Abzan have made the dragon's scale the symbol of their clan as they strive to emulate the dragon's endurance. While the Abzan make use of dragon scale armor from long-fallen dragons, they also manage to imitate this resilience in more abstract ways such as their focus on the family. They rely on their own family and the alliances with other families to endure the hardships of war and the desolate desert they have made their home in. Familial relationships:

Blood-Kin: Family by blood is next to none in terms of bonds, duties, and respect.

Bond-Kin: These are individuals who are treated like family, usually supported by an oath. The Krumar are seen as Bond-Kin.

Clan orphans: These are individuals who are still Abzan, but they do not belong to any family.

Disowned: These individuals have been severed from a family through an ancient ritual. Unlike clan orphans, the disowned cannot be adopted. The disowned are fated to either live nearly as outcasts on the outskirts of Abzan settlements or to leave the clan as wanderers or mercenaries.

Krumar: Many are orphaned in the wake of Tarkir's incessant warring. Abzan will often take in these orphans as Krumar; they are accepted into the clan, but they are trained to fight as soldiers. They are treated as bond-kin, and oftentimes, Krumar are adopted by the families they are appointed to guard.

Each of the Abzan families is responsible for protecting their own family tree, known as a Kin-Tree, both to preserve the few resources the Abzan have access to and to record and honor each individual family member. The first born child becomes the Tree Warden, while the others are free to plant their own trees for their own families, using seeds from the parent tree. When family members die, they are buried directly under their Kin-Tree, providing nutrients to the tree. Their names are carved onto the tree directly. The spirits of one’s ancestors are tied to these trees and can be called upon in times of war.

Masters of Military Strategy and Defense

When it comes to war, the Abzan are masters of military strategy. They rely on defensive techniques, such as building high walls and maintaining lots of resources to endure sieges as well as favoring strategic ground over recklessly pursuing weak enemies. They also use the desert to their advantage, especially in losing situations; they retreat into the Shifting Wastes, where their enemies are lured to their deaths as they do not know how to survive it like the Abzan. Here are some of the clan's military roles:

Dragonscale: These heavy infantry units make up the majority of the Abzan army as they are supplied as levies from each family in the clan.

Ibex cavalry: The Ibex are used as heavy cataphract cavalry. Their lance charges are devastating to enemy backlines.

Krumar Orcs: The orphaned orcs of other clans often serve Abzan families as personal house guards. However, in times of war, they enlist as shock troops, wreaking havoc and disrupting enemy formations.

Ainok and Aven Scouts: These individuals focus on reconnaissance to inform Abzan generals, as well as engage the enemy in small skirmishes to disrupt enemy troop movements.

Tree Wardens: These are some of the most skilled warriors in the Abzan clan as they train their whole lives to dedicate themselves to the protection of their Kin-Trees. In times of war, they make formidable officers.

Sand Mages and Spirit Speakers: The mages of the Abzan focus on manipulating the desert sands to disorient enemies and conceal allies as well as communing with the ancestor spirits tied to the Kin-Trees to beseech their aid and counsel.

Important Abzan Figures

There are many important individuals among the Abzan Houses. These are warriors and mages who rise above the obstacles of the clan to inspire their resolve.

Anafenza, Khan of the Abzan: Anafenza is the Khan of the Abzan in the Khans of Tarkir timeline. She is known for her tactical mind, but she does not hide behind her strongholds or vast armies; she is often seen at the head of the charge into battle.

Daghatar, Khan of the Abzan: Daghatar was once Khan of the Abzan, long ago. He was a tactician, but his paranoia meant he was not much one for the battlefield unless absolutely necessary. As war raged all around between clans and dragons, and annihilation of the clans seemed close at hand, Daghatar betrayed and forsaken his clan, defecting to the dragon Dromoka's side. This all but ensured the destruction of the Abzan houses

Reyhan, Khan of the Abzan: Before Daghatar's supplication, Reyhan was a powerful commander of the Abzan forces and the only one who led a successful campaign against the dragons. Once Daghatar abandoned his people, Reyhan took on the last mantle of Khan of the Abzan. She rallied the remaining loyal Abzan families and vowed to continue her resistance against the dragons' wrath. She and some of the remaining khans died in one final battle against the dragons, resulting in the dismantlement of the khans and their clans.

Commander Choice

Choosing the right commander for this deck was a more difficult process as the Abzan Khans Anafenza, the Foremost and Daghatar the Adamant are pretty lackluster commanders. Anafenza only adds one counter a turn and it is too conditional, and Daghatar, while he can steal counters from others' creatures, has to spend mana for one counter. As it turns out, Abzan had another Khan printed as a card: Reyhan, Last of the Abzan. The card itself is incredibly well designed, moving heaps of counters between creatures with ease, and the only cost is sacrifice. The only difficulty now is the fact that she is green and black, lacking white, but this is easily remedied since she has Partner. Unfortunately, there are no other Abzan themed white commanders with Partner, so the choice here was purely functional: Alharu, Solemn Ritualist provides more value when creatures die via spirit tokens. While Alharu is not actually Abzan, they seem to use necromancy and sand magic to raise the spirits of ancestors which is very characteristic of the Abzan.

Abzan Flavor

Abzan probably has the most flavor options of any clan, given that these cards were built around +1/+1 counter synergy which works very well in EDH. Barring lands and cards which could pass for being part of the Abzan clan (stuff like Basri Ket and Loyal Guardian are pretty Abzan-like, but do not count because they are not actually Abzan), here is a list of the Abzan flavor cards used in the build:

Abzan Playstyle & Power Level

The Abzan clan from the Tarkir block were all about counter synergy, and that is directly represented here since one-third of the deck is made up of the best of these Abzan counter synergy cards. There are multiple ways to generate a lot of counters for the entire field like with Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest and Felidar Retreat. Then the deck uses sacrifice mechanics to create spirits with Alharu and move a bunch of counters around with Reyhan. From there, the deck amasses value over time, increasing its synergies (with cards like Abzan Falconer and Tuskguard Captain), generating a lot of creatures (with cards like Mycoloth and Scute Swarm), and pumping them up with counters. All the while, the deck is incredibly resilient with its heavy board state and protective cards like Ivorytusk Fortress.

As for the deck's power level, as with all the decks in this series, the goal was to maintain a midrange battlecruiser style with a clear focus that was decently fast and well supported by resources such as draw and ramp. Essentially, these decks should perform well in your average meta, not too casual and certainly not competitive. The Abzan have no difficulties in maintaining their strength against the other decks. The average CMC is low, ramp is high, and lots of big creatures are everywhere, so the deck is pretty consistent aside from occasionally lacking draw. And the deck is resilient and only grows to massive proportions in the late game, capable of dealing hundreds of damage very reliably. This might just be the strongest deck in this series, aside from the Dragons.

Win Conditions

The deck is simple in its win conditions in that it really just turns creatures sideways once there are a lot of big creatures on the field that can swing through with cards like Champion of Lambholt and Tuskguard Captain. While not win buttons, there are a few cards that propel the engine forward dramatically. Bloodspore Thrinax is very strong because Reyhan can move counters over to it quickly, and from then on, even tokens are entering the battlefield with nearly a dozen counters on average. Corpsejack Menace can also move things along very quickly; the other options for doubling counters were too expensive, unfortunately. Reyhan can also pump up cards like Elenda, the Dusk Rose and Hooded Hydra very quickly, creating a lot of tokens. Hamza, Guardian of Arashin is another card that works very well with Reyhan because Hamza generally makes Reyhan cost only one green and one black mana, regardless of how much commander tax she has accrued, meaning that Reyhan can be cycled for just 2 mana and a sacrifice outlet to move at least 3 counters around the board, if not much more.

Date added	3 years
Last updated	11 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.38
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Cat Beast 2/2 W, Copy Clone, Elephant 3-3 G, Goat 0/1 W, Human 2/2 G, Inkling 2/1 WB, Insect 1/1 G, Morph 2/2 C, Saproling 1/1 G, Snake 1/1 G, Spirit 1/1 W, Vampire 1/1 W, Warrior 1/1 W, Wolf 2/2 G