Spooty Decks Ep. 1 - Abzan Cats

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Spootyone

5 June 2015

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Hello all! I'M BACK BABYYYY!! Yes, it's been a loooong time coming and I've had some pretty rough months lately but I think I'm here today for you all since I got some free time. I am a 23-yo guy trying desperately to find enough work and money to get my own place with my girlfriend of nearly 2 years and it's just not easy. Now, it isn't like I'm dying or anything but balancing real life with hobbies is always hard. And when you have work, a love life, weight loss, increased exercise, getting a driver's license, trying to eat healthier, family stress, friend stress, and all the responsibilities that are required to actually get out there on your own, finding both the time, drive and energy to play magic (not to mention write about it) can be difficult. Enough meandering thoughts for now, though. Let's talk some Magic.

This is not going to be a Showdown article. I think that with my life being a bit hectic and with me trying not to get burnt out again, I will be doing more of a casual series where I create silly and fun decks that are more suited for casual or FNM play. What I'm going to do is show you the deck, describe what it's doing, and hand it off to you if you would like to try it out. I will make sure to have every deck list I create posted on my wall for your use. And as always, I would absolutely love to hear any and all stories that may come from you trying these lists out. Your enjoyment is my enjoyment.

Some have expressed missing the music I link to. If it's not for you, feel free to pass on it. But I hope you enjoy another one of my favorite songs, otherwise. 

4x Black Cat 4x Brimaz, king of oreskos 4x Fleecemane lion 2x Leonin snarecaster 4x oreskos swiftclaw 4x rakshasa deathdealer 2x temur sabertooth 2x tethmos high priest 4x vanguard of brimaz 4x dauntless onslaught 3x caves of koilos 2x forest 1x llanowar wastes 4x plains 2x sandsteppe citadel 4x temple of plenty 4x temple of silence 4x windswept heath 1x Ajani steadfast 1x Ajani, mentor of heroes Sideboard: 2x ashen rider 2x leonin snarecaster 4x oreskos sun guide 2x display of dominance 1x sandsteppe citadel 3x glare of heresy 1x rakshasa's secret

This is my Abzan Cats deck. The theme? Well….every card apart from the lands (and even Sandsteppe Citadel could be called "The Litterbox") actually has a cat on it. My desire to make this deck came solely out of remembering that Black Cat was in standard. I love black cats both in-game and in real life, and it seemed like a really fun jumping point to dive into this. The best part? This deck actually isn't half-bad.

While looking for cards in this deck, I quickly learned how blessed Abzan was in the feline department. Having access to Fleecemane Lion, Rakshasa Deathdealer and Brimaz, King of Oreskos means that we already have a purr-fect core to an Abzan aggro shell. Finding other aggressive cats to add to the army was not a hard task once you realize that the leonin race was quite prevalent in Theros block.

This deck has actual zero removal spells in the mainboard. But hey, don't blame me for that -- That's WOTC's fault! We do, however, have access to Leonin Snarecaster as a pseudo Goblin Heelcutter, as well as Dauntless Onslaught as a way to trick your opponent in combat or to steal a game they weren't expecting you to win.

Onslaught combines well with heroic triggers from Vanguard of Brimaz, as well as Tethmos High Priest who can be used to get back key damage dealers like Fleecemane Lion and Rakshasa Deathdealer, or even to get back a Black Cat for additional discard. Ajani is good to have around as well. Ajani Steadfast can act almost like a Sorin, Solemn Visitor with fur against the aggro decks, and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes helps to grant the card advantage or board presence needed against midrange creature decks or control.

Lastly, we have the sideboard. While I didn't have a ton of options, I did have some fun with this. First off, you can really increase your percentage against aggro by boarding in a playset of Oreskos Sun Guide. Against midrange, I have the other two Leonin Snarecaster as ways to remove blockers. Display of Dominance, Glare of Heresy, and Rakshasa's Secret can all come in where necessary, either acting as removal or as a way to attack the opponent's hand a bit. Lastly, I give you the option to go up to 25 lands and board in MEGA-KITTY (Ashen Rider) if you're feeling like laying down the law in style.

Now, I know what you're saying. "This is cute and all but surely it just loses to anything, right?" WRONG. In fact, this deck has a 100% win percentage for me. That's right -- I've won 1 out of 1 matches. And here's how:

I booted up Cockatrice and quickly found myself challenged by a player using an Abzan Megamorph deck. For those of you not aware, this is the traditional Siege Rhino.dec we're all used to seeing, but with the added benefits of playing the Deathmist Raptor/Den Protector combo. I knew my chances of winning were roughly zero, but I decided "what the hell" and went with it anyway. Things started off good for me. I got to play a nice curve of kitties while he tried to find answers for them all without dying. Dauntless Onslaught did amazing work by helping me pump out tokens, kill Siege Rhinos in combat, and get in more damage where necessary.

After a while, my opponent started getting their engine going. I was getting low on resources and so were they, but they managed to flip a Den Protector, getting another back to their hand, and placing THREE Deathmist Raptors onto the field. I knew at that point I was probably dead, but continued on. My opponent had 2 cards in hand. One unknown, and one being the other den protector. I had another Dauntless Onslaught to help clear out the board of raptors, but I knew him having the other Den Protector meant they would just come back. Regardless, I made the trades and then played out my Black Cat.

Well…he attacked into it. I obviously chump-blocked to get the effect off. My opponent quickly chooses to discard a Satyr Wayfinder and then plays the Den Protector face-down. And this is where the fun happens. My opponent had not read my card carefully enough ;)

I quickly remind him that the choice is not his, but is random. He moves the cards back to his hand and reveals one of them at random to me: Den Protector. WOOHOOOOO!!! With no morphs in play and no Den Protectors left, my opponent is forced to play the wayfinder and begin topdecking along with me in a race to see who could find gas first. And after 4-5 turns of me finding Fleecemane Lions and Rakshasa Deathdealers…well, it was game.

So what does my opponent do? Quits! So I won the match right? :P

As it is clear to see, this deck now has a 100% win rate and has never lost to even Tier 1 decks in the format. Black Cat is clearly a force to be reckoned with, and I encourage any and all to try this deck out for themselves! . . . In all honesty, I know that this deck is hardly competitive. But it was a lot of fun to pilot and if you like winning with silly decks then this is for you!

I don't have enough time right now to offer rewards for donating to me. As such, I will not be pushing it as much as I was before. However, if you feel like it is something you would like to do then I will obviously not discourage it. I will have a link near the bottom of all my articles. All donations will receive a thank you in the next piece of content I create. Thank you!