After some more testing, this is the rough draft of my Abzacrats deck.
Honestly, I just don't know what to put in the sideboard. This deck gets hosed by spot removal and graveyard hate, but I don't know what I could put in to help this deck out. This deck hates playing cards that cost more than 3 mana.
As far as some of the more questionable picks, I think
Abzan Ascendancy
seems like a waste of four slots, but the pure value you generate off of it's token generation ability CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. It's a weak card in certain situations and it does slow down your gameplan but this can really turn the tide of the game and if you manage to drop two of them off, you can generally pull ahead on value and advantage. I tried taking it out, but it really provides a backbone this deck doesn't necessarily need, but definitely wants.
Siege Rhino
is a filler card for the sideboard. Generally this deck doesn't care about grindy board matchups but on the extremely rare occasion that it does, this card can help push through. The deck absolutely hates playing it though, it's mana-cost is pretty extreme for this deck's gameplan and really only gets the most out of the card if you're really ahead, or really behind. This deck doesn't like to swing much and by the time you could drop this, you shouldn't be attacking much.
I really wish I could cheapen up the mana base, but I can't.
I wish they would just print fetches at uncommon.
So if you don't know how to play Aristocrats, this deck is really easy to play and relies strongly on playing defense. There's a history to Aristocrats and while the main combo Blood Artist + Cartel Aristocrat
is still here, Aristocrats in modern gains access to way more options. This particular deck plays mostly like "Reanimator" except your main win condition is mostly going to come from the cards under the "Cornerstone" category. You want to drop these preferably on turn two and start cashing in on turn three by playing cards from the "Fodder" category. Generally you want the "Fodder" cards to chump block and stall out the board by going wide.
Voice of Resurgence
is there to help stall and block against big creatures or to start chipping away at slow decks if you couldn't drop
Blisterpod
on turn one, but very rarely is it going to win you the game by swinging. Use it mostly for defense.
Turn three you want to start playing cards from the "SacOutlet" category or the "Value" category unless you have more cards in your hand from the "Cornerstone" category. Those cards, being the "cornerstones" should always be played first and are of the utmost value and importance.
Through chump blocking and sacrificing fodder while
Blood Artist
and
Zulaport Cutthroat
are on the board, you whittle down the opponents life while gaining some of your own.
NEVER BLOCK WITH
Blood Artist
OR
Zulaport Cutthroat
UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY (aka, they're the last creatures on the board)
There may come a time (and by that, I mean often,) you're gonna run out of creatures/gas. If this happens, play
Rally the Ancestors
to get your whole graveyard back for 4 mana (unless your whole graveyard is 1-costs which is very unlikely or you're playing
Kitchen Finks
or
Siege Rhino
.) Use this to chump or get the kill. Either way, be sure you sacrifice EVERYTHING returned from Rally or it's gonna be exiled and that is NOT what you want.
So yeah, once your field or your graveyard is big enough, sac creatures to win the game. It doesn't hurt to chip away with
Cartel Aristocrat
either, but considering that ability also makes it a free blocker....
Anyway, yeah, tell me what you think!
