~The war cannot be won until it has begun.~
The Abzan are a clan known for their resilience. The Sultai Brood's defining quality is their ruthlessness. And no warrior or legion is as swift as the Mardu Horde. With all these qualities, you'd think there would be a clan that was known for their courage, considering that it seems to be a quality present in anyone that knows how to fight. That said, here I am presenting this deck to you, adding my own personal flavor to the Abzan Houses. This control deck attempts to dispose of opposing threats proactively, then swinging in with our own threats to close out the game. It was made with the upcoming rotation in mind; that is, I intend to use only cards from the Khans of Tarkir block for the moment, unfortunately limiting my options by removing Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Fleecemane Lion, and other great Theros block cards. However, I do feel like the deck performs well without them. Feedback is absolutely appreciated as long as it is constructive, and don't forget to +1 if you liked the deck.
Creatures
Siege Rhino: A staple in nearly all Abzan decks of any kind. A 4/5 on turn 4 with trample is already pretty good. The 6-point life swing is icing on the cake, and is a defining quality making this card incredible in the current format especially.
Dragonlord Dromoka: This is without a doubt the best midrange Dragonlord in the format. It completely shuts down any control strategy for at least a turn, and forces that opponent to use removal on it to maintain their hold on the game state. Lifelink makes it an excellent blocker, and being a flyer, it can also help by pushing for the win against grounded opponents.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang: Tasigur is pretty insane in Abzan Control. By manipulating your graveyard through his Delve cost, you can increase your chances of getting back whatever you may need. While it is your opponent's choice, if you use this card wisely, they won't really have any real say in the matter.
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Planeswalkers
Sorin, Solemn Visitor: Although his +1 doesn't help at all when you're far enough behind, Sorin's ability to help you stay ahead when you are is phenomenal. His -2 gives you another creature to protect yourself with, and his +1 only gets stronger with more creatures on the board. If you hit his ultimate, your opponent will cry, especially if they're playing control, where they're likely to only have 1 or 2 creatures at any given time. Sorin can come in whenever and completely mess up the board state with just one single creature. For me, Sorin is one of the best options I could've picked in this spot.
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Other Spells
Despise: With the current format rampant with creatures and walkers, this card almost never misses. It absolutely wrecks opening hands especially after a mulligan, as it is only 1 black mana.
Abzan Charm: The power to choose is extremely strong in a game like Magic. This card gives us just that, with 3 solid options ranging from removal and card advantage to buffing our own creatures. At instant speed, this card only gets better as it nets us more and more tempo.
Ultimate Price
: While multicolored creatures are running rampant right now, mono-colored creatures are just as prevalent. Cards such as Goblin Rabblemaster can be easily taken down by this card, eliminating the problem they pose on the board, for a very cheap CMC.
End Hostilities
: Seeing as we're losing Hero's Downfall, this is the next best thing. Arguably it performs just as admirably, exiling the target instead of destroying it and being able to hit enchantments and artifacts as well. Great card overall.
Secure the Wastes: A personal favorite of mine. This card is more of a late game win-con than anything else. Your opponent probably won't have enough creatures to block 8 separate sources of damage (which has been my magic number for this card, as that's when I've drawn it the most consistently), and hopefully by that point your opponent will be in kill range. It's performed extremely well for me, acting as a late game savior or finisher depending on the situation I needed to activate it in.
End Hostilities
: An all-purpose board wipe. The double white can be a bit costly, but considering the few creatures we have, this spell is almost always worth it. It devastates Midrange and Aggro while stopping Elspeth's ultimate from doing any significant damage off the bat.
Banishing Light: The Oblivion Ring of standard. All-purpose removal, and gets rid of any major threat your opponent could have, at all. It helps that this provides another way to deal with planeswalkers as well.
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Other Options
Duress: Despise's little brother. While it may not be able to hit creatures, it still hits planeswalkers and gets rid of anything else your opponent may have that isn't a creature. Very prevalent against opposing control decks, as it either forces them to waste a counterspell or allow you to both destroy their hand and gain knowledge of everything else you may have, same as Despise. Consider a combination of the two if you choose to run this.
Thoughtseize: If you want to extend back to the Theros block, the following few suggestions will probably be in your best interest. Thoughtseize is effectively Duress + Despise for the same CMC as either, so this card is easily worth the spot, as it provides pre-emptive removal and knowledge of your opponents hand early into the game. This can also help late-game, especially if you can get rid of your opponent's only win-con.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Elspeth is a great idea to help complement Sorin. She acts as an awesome win-con, giving herself protection while allowing access to an extremely prevalent board wipe and awesome ultimate.
Hero's Downfall: Slightly less all-purpose than Utter End, but cheaper, so it can be considered for the deck.
Crux of Fate: With Dromoka on the board,
End Hostilities
may not be a viable option to cast. This card can hit everything else and leave your Dromokas intact. Unfortunately, if you use that option, it can't hit enemy Dragonlords, but that's what
End Hostilities
has over this card.
Devouring Light: Exile is the name of the game against recursion. If you choose to add Elspeth, this card has even greater value, giving you access to an essentially free exile outlet.
Fleecemane Lion: Fleecemane is an insane 2-drop. 3/3 for 2 is great. On turn 5, this thing is gonna get monstrous and make your opponent cry. Great card overall, forces pre-emptive removal.
I built this deck to help get another of my friends into FNM-level Magic. He plans to tag along with us this Friday, and I wanted him to have a good build to get started with, as it will be his first FNM. Again, feedback would be extremely appreciated for this deck. He has a sideboard worked out for this build already, so that's taken care of. Will post stats if this deck makes it to FNM.
