Awesome Deck! I was hoping someone else would see the potential in Kin-Tree Invocation . Looks super fun.

Just to make sure when you say that Anafenza's ability synergizes with Agent of Fates's triggered ability, you don't mean that her put a +1/+1 counter triggers it right? Because the heroic mechanic is spells that target, not abilities.... Just incase thats what you meant.

Anyway, looks like a good deck, but why no Utter End ? or even Hero's Downfall ?

I also agree that Kin-Tree Invocation is going to be looked past. It is a VERY powerful card that I think is going to be the new version of Advent of the Wurm , even if it is a sorcery and 2cmc less...

+1

cmartin37 - I really enjoy it. If I could make a modern 5 color deck work with Wall of Denial I would because damn that'd be fun using him as an 8/8 turn 4 for 2 mana.

@Tingettley ack yes, you are right about that. My bad, Still she's awesome in the deck =)

Lol that she is.

This is a pretty awesome deck. I really like Eidolon of Blossoms giving you card advantage with almost every thing you play.With that being said, I think it might do some good for you to be running 2 Whip of Erebos or some more forms of life gain like Ajani Steadfast considering you have 18 cards that you deal damage to yourself with; Thoughtsieze, Mana Confluence , Llanowar Wastes , Abzan Charm and Herald of Torment . I dont think Nyx-Fleece Ram is enough to combat that especially considering how you'll be gaining speed later game with Eidolon of Blossoms so starting early you will probably be hurting yourself to put stuff on the field considering your hardcast lands all cause pain and the others come into play tapped slowing down your strategy a lot. I think you can afford to drop the Disowned Ancestor + Kin-Tree Invocation combo for the life gain supports because they seem somewhat out of place for the entirety of the deck considering they are really only useful within the first 2 turns. late game you would want to be dropping more enchantments to trigger Eidolon of Blossoms you could probably replace the them with 4x Spiteful Returned for an early drop with a pretty good ability then a late game pump and 4x Courser of Kruphix so you can hit land drops easier early on and gain life when you drop them. At that piont i think you also might want to cut Abzan Ascendancy for one more of Suspension Field and Banishing Light so you can control the field a little more while you get the engine going. Just a couple... okay maybe a little more then a couple, of my suggestions you have all rights to just ignore me though if it works then rock on, it still seems like a really fun deck to play +1 from me

@AlecBazzelle that's why I posted the deck on the site. For recommendations like these =)

I like the idea about Whip of Erebos ..

You give me food for thought. Thanks mate =)

No problem, glad I could help out =)

So umm... just noticed something about your sideboard... Suppression Field instead of Suspension Field ...lol

Really cool deck, and looks to be powerful too. Have you considered Brimaz, King of Oreskos ? Sometimes having an army in a can be quite good. And Elspeth, Sun's Champion is still one of the most powerful things to be doing in Standard. Also, the title of your description currently says "The House of Abzan has arrived, and it want IS it IS control."

@Tingettley hahaha, thanks for noticing that one, I was a little mixed up it seems :P

@Fibbe Great recommendation with Brimaz, He's a good fit into the spot with Anafenza, the Foremost (Moved to SB for those Sultai matchups.)

I would be careful about using enchantments as removal in the new standard there is so much enchantment removal coming out that you would have to deal with the threat all over again. I would consider Hero's Downfall and Utter End as permanent additions to your deck because if I throw down a Siege Rhino and then my opponent hits it with a Banishing Light they still take -3 Life. Then I can play something like Naturalize destroy Banishing Light get my rhino back and they take -3 life again. Just something to think about that will be happening in the new Meta. it seems like a fun deck though! Cheers!

Enchantment removal availableUtter End Naturalize Back to Nature Sultai Charm

Another piece of enchantment removal you forgot was Erase

@pbaxter1 & Tingettley You guys make some great points.

It's still very much a W.I.P so it'll be changing constantly.

Thinking about adding in Reaper of the Wilds or Siege Rhino . What do you guys think about either of them?

Quick thought. Go down to 3 Thoughtseize and 2 Agent of Fates (because you only have 2 Abzan Charm to target him anyway) and add in 2 more land. Running 20 is very very risky, even running 22 is risky, but its alot better than 20!

I'll do some play testing and see how the mana base works out before I start doing that

I would think Herald of Torment and Nyx-Fleece Ram promotes strategies so wildly different from each other that they weren't all that playable in the same deck?

Well, since the one negates the damage of the other, its not really a bad combo. Ontop of that, one promotes very agressive behavior while the other is holding back. Its not the same type of strategy, but its Synergy. They work very well together. One to hold down the fort, and one to put pressure on the opponent. Also, I just realized something.

OH! Just thought of this! You could try running First Response . You lose the life to the herald. You gain it back through the ram, and on the next turn, get a token to either apply pressure or block!

Who says they can't be played together? It's magic man! It's the game where you either Net Deck or make your own brew =P

So I'm going against the curve and I'm gonna say that they work well together.

I mean if you look. Nyx fleece comes out turn 2 followed up by the Herald, their abilities totally negate each other so the flaw of the heard is dealt with, and now you have a nice fat blocker and a 3/3 flier that can deal with many issues

Tingettley that is actually a great idea, I'll have to play around with it!

Hey Caligula, I had a revelation earlier today... White Altar Mill... Gimme your thoughts on it... because I think this is going to be really really scary to play against...xD

I come here to slaughter your holy cows, because winning with a brew is so much more awesome than losing with a brew

I come from quite a competitive scene, but I am a brewer myself, I've been spending the last six months taking infinite turns with Sage of Hours , but that's besides the point, I also try to optimize decks, and creating discussion is one way to do that, I hear your argument, but I would like to flip it: Herald of Torment turns Nyx-Fleece Ram into an 0/5 with no abilities, and an 0/5 with no abilities is pretty bad, and Herald of Torment 's ability to end games quickly is slightly neutered as well when he's in the company of 0 power creatures. There are games where an 0/5 is awesome, but in those games an 0/5 that gains you life can be a game-winner, there are games where a 3/3 flier for 3 that doubles as an enchantment is awesome, but those games, losing 1 life a turn usually isn't a drawback, but playing an 0/5 is... of course you've already dismissed this, so I guess it's a moot point, but my next one isn't

If you start talking First Response you're insane, and that deck would be AWESOME!

Hahaha, you make some great points Fibbe, the fleece and torment could definitely be SB opposites you are quite right.

The main reason fleece is in here is to off set some pain from my land base, I realize the herald cancels this out, do you have a recommendation that could be a better fit?

The other reason fleece is in here is for Kin-Tree Invocation . Which when coupled with fleece and a yatid makes a turn 3 5/5, which is pretty neat.

And one more thing, since I'm acting fun police here, you said yourself that you "think aggro is going to be a major issue". The deck with 12 tapped lands, 8 pain lands and Herald will be yummy candy for aggro. Now I'll stop talking about that, because I'm really interested in seeing people's builds of Abzan