OVERVIEW:
A repeatable combo, mid-range build splash-aristocrats. It relies on a mill sub-theme as a disruption tactic, and attempts to overwhelm the opponent with tons of 1/1 token creatures with a compliment of larger 'flagship' creatures and a hand full of buff everything effects.
THE CORE:
The three cards that make up the combination are Altar of the Brood
+
Anafenza, the Foremost
+
Void Attendant
. The altar by itself helps to disrupt the opponent's strategies by dumping win-cons and other elements of his/her library in the graveyard until Ana enters the battlefield. Once she comes down, all of the creatures dying and/or getting milled start going to exile instead of the graveyard. As long as she stays in play, moving a creature from exile to grave to pay for a processor mechanic gets replaced with "exile instead" and the creature "becomes a new object in exile." This build employs 4x the repeatable processor mechanic of
Void Attendant
.
SYNERGIES:
Aside from the core combo of the list
Anafenza, the Foremost
+
Hangarback Walker
plays well together on the offensive.
Hangarback Walker
+
Smothering Abomination
when HBW grows large enough to generate a cloud of Thopter tokens for huge Altar triggers and
Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
activations.
Altar of the Brood
+
Secure the Wastes
will also eat a huge chunk of the opponent's library.
Blisterpod
+
Smothering Abomination
gives me double the draw, either by providing an additional sacrifice for the following turn or immediately by saccing the scion for needed mana.
Abzan Ascendancy
enables all of my puny 1/1 creatures by doubling their size, while also generating additional Spirit Tokens when any non-token creature dies. This also increases Altar triggers and Abomination sacrifice targets and
Nantuko Husk
sacbait.
Abzan Charm's third mode can be used to increase HBW's size just before a sacrifice or death to generate additional Thopter tokens.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor provides a needed buff to the small fries that helps to recover life lost. He also can generate additional sky-weenies for altar triggers. In the long game, he can provide a means to thin out the opponent's ranks.
Zulaport Cutthroat works well as lifegain/lifedrain through a number of sacrifice outlets, dying critters and scions.
CONTROL SUITE:
Blighted Fen
begins as an early-game mana source and becomes a late-game
Diabolic Edict
. Great against ramp and control strategies. When the opponent has their 1 win-con out on the field, you have an unpreventable answer.
Stasis Snare
is a permanent with flash, meaning an altar trigger at instant speed, plus it exiles. Target its target with a processor effect to remove the target from rescue.
Silkwrap
is stasis snare's slow little brother.
Abzan Charm is a modular removal for high-power creatures. It exiles as well so it deals with indestructible and/or "when this creature dies" effects. Also feeds processors when Ana fails to stick. Triples as additional card draw or critter buff to either growth-spurt a walker or puff up somebody to survive and/or take someone out.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor given enough time and ignored can result in a non-removable/preventable
Diabolic Edict
every turn.
FLOW OF PLAY:
Early game plays will be Altar of the Brood,
Blisterpod
and Zulaport Cutthroat. We aren't afraid to trade the blisters early on because they replace themselves and allows us to ramp into a t2
Void Attendant
or natuko husk.
Mid-game we are hoping to see that we have all 3 colors of mana available to allow Anafenza, abzan ascendancy, and abzan charm to see play. We also should begin generating our tokens by now.
Late game (t5+) we should have a large presence of tokens and hopefully a smothering abomination out refilling our hands. Attacking with Ana, HBW, husk and any scions you have is a good idea. With abomination in play, you can sacrifice scion tokens to replace them in response to them getting blocked or killed or to blow nan through a big baddie. Alternatively, you can attack with evasive thopters, spirits and the abomination while leaving the scions home to chump/sac on the opponent's turn.
CONTINGENCIES:
If Anafenza, the Foremost gets removed repeatably or targeted by Infinite Obliteration or Altar of the Brood doesn't stick, this list runs a large number of other exile effects in the main and sideboard that can prevent the processor mechanics from failing ultimately. If I find myself in a stalemate because of Archangel of Tithes or a wide formation of creatures my tokens cannot break through, 2 or 3 Altar of the Broods can empty an opponent's library pretty quickly when in the mid to late-game I am generating 3+ permanents per turn.
Aggro and Burn can be counteracted/slowed by gaining life from
Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
.
SIDEBOARD:
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is a sleeper play. In game 2 he can be swapped in for a Smothering Abomination to maintain the mana curve. This also helps to offset the mana imbalance caused by other sideboard trades.
Aligned Hedron Network can be subbed in for any other removal. Generally can be sided in for
Stasis Snare
to deal with stompy ramp or control strategies. Once exiled behind this, just like stasis snare, a processor can remove the targets from rescue range by putting them in the gy or making them new objects in exile with Ana.
Display of Dominance
- It's an excellent spell that should be in any G sideboard. It kills the shit out of Jace after x-formation, Liliana (likewise), Sorin, Obbs, Tutelage, all of the ascendancies, Virulent Plague and a number of other pesky black or blue standard non-critter staples. It also saves your guys from B/U spot removal.
Erase exiles an enchantment. 'Nuff said.
Valorous Stance is another modular sideboard card. It either saves dudes from removal for a turn or acts as additional removal against fat stuff.
Crux of Fate kills dragons. If I find myself needing a reset button badly enough, I guess it can kill not-dragons instead.
Infinite Obliteration auto-include against any non-creatureless deck games 2 and 3 if necessary. Swap out stasis snares for these, Gideon will help with the mana cost imbalance that would otherwise result. Use this to dig win-cons and rhinos out of the opponent's deck while feeding your processors.
Transgress the Mind
can be subbed in against ramp and control. It almost never gets countered, and if it does, it still more-or-less did its job.
