Abzan Counters Schuppi-style

Standard*

schuppius

Creature (20)

• 4x Abzan Falconer
• 4x Ainok Bond-Kin
• 2x Ainok Guide
• 2x Anafenza, the Foremost
• 2x Armament Corps
• 2x Dromoka, the Eternal
• 2x Ivorytusk Fortress
• 2x Siege Rhino

Land (24)

• 2x Blossoming Sands
• 5x Forest
• 2x Jungle Hollow
• 4x Plains
• 4x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 2x Scoured Barrens
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (6)

• 2x Citadel Siege
• 4x Hardened Scales

Instant (10)

• 4x Abzan Charm
• 2x Dragonscale Boon
• 2x Feat of Resistance
• 2x Utter End

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This is an idea I have been playing around for quite some time now. It's my first (and so far only) deck I have put together by myself, after starting with Magic. The first cards ever I got sort of pointed into the White/Green/Black direction, and I loved the counters, and I (naively?) thought that somewhere in there, there's a deck that would be sufficiently good for me to play some rounds of Standard without losing every single game. I am still convinced of the idea itself.

What I think will come out of this is an Abzan aggro or maybe midrange deck that uses counter-based card combos, WITHOUT using outlast, which is just WAY to slow as a mechanism (but can be nice if you have a card out that has "nothing to do" in a round and can go for it).

The point where I am with this deck at the moment is:

• I think that first strike and flying are the counter-based abilities that bring the most value. There are enough threats in the deck in order not require the deathtouch provided by the Mer-Ek Nightblade. Lifelink might be useful with up to two cards of the Abzan Battle Priest, but both him and the Mer-Ek Nightblade fill that 4-drop slot, which is needed for Siege Rhino, Dragonscale Boon, Citadel Siege, Utter End ... Being low mana, the Ainok Bond-Kin and the Abzan Falconer can be cast alongside something else in turns 5 and beyond, supplying counter-based abilities when the first (weaker) creatures have already been killed
• I think I have put together those cards with counter-based rules text that give the most value. There are many more, but playing this deck, the combos offered by these seemed to me to be the most critical
• I am still struggling with the ratio of creatures/spells being able to SUPPLY counters vs creatures able to do something with them. Creature-wise, I think I'll aim at a 50/50 ratio (50% of creatures can do something with counters, like the Ainok Bond-Kin, and 50% can give counters, like the Ainok Guide
• I am COMPLETELY UNSURE (this being a measure of my newness to the game) what cards I need in the mix in order to be more versatile against different decks and playstyles (see: no sideboard yet). I must admit that I don't really understand some of the reasons for chosing the cards in the "winning" Abzan control and midrange decks
• I want to create a deck that will come into its own AFTER the Theros block rotates out (which is why I ONLY use cards from the Khans block). I am confident that the counter-based strategy will have its merit then
• I will for the moment NOT consider investing in fetchlands or other really expensive tweaks that get the last 10% of performance out of the deck. I'm not yet at the point where I'm willing to put my savings into this game :-)

Any help and comments and suggestions welcome!

Oh, and btw: my last name contains a word (Schuppe) that in German can mean either dandruff or scale (as in fish scale or dragon scale). Since the counters are, in the Abzan world, scales from dragons used to increase battle abilities, it sort of all fits together ;-)

Date added	9 years
Last updated	9 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 15 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 16 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.11