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Persistent Abzan

Modern BGW (Abzan, Junk) Collected Company Competitive Infinite Combo Lifegain Theme/Gimmick

Cobra

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Playtest v1
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Mana (29)

Enabler (6)

Trigger (4)

Persist (5)

Toolbox (3)

Tutor (10)

Sac (4)

Sideboard

Other (15)

Maybeboard

Other (9)

The gameplan is to basically "combo out" (as early as turn 3) by using the infinite combo created with Melira, Sylvok Outcast/Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Persist. The deck is very consistent, and it is rare to not get all the combo pieces in play - even while facing heavy removal. In the event that you cannot get the main combo to go off, the deck is great at stalling until you can either combo out or make due with any of the secondary win conditions such as gaining infinite life, sacking your entire board to a few Blood Artists, or simply overrunning the board with creatures.

This deck shines when faced with opposition. Chord of Calling and Collected Company allow for a wide array of instant-speed creatures we can call upon to handle most any situation. This Toolbox is ultimately what makes this deck work so well against a wide array of match-ups - not to mention incredibly fun to play.


Enabler + Persist + Sac + Trigger = WIN

Enablers: Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit make it so that our Persist creatures never have -1/-1 counters. Archangel of Thune can also do the same thing, as well as infinitely buffing your entire board thanks to the Life Gain provided by Kitchen Finks.

Persist: Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap abuse their Persist ability to die and reenter the battlefield repeatedly.

Sac: Viscera Seer and Cartel Aristocrat are sac outlets for the Persist creatures and are the engine of the combos.

Triggers: Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Murderous Redcap abuse their abilities to combo out, leading to infinite damage, loss of life, Lifegain, or Scry.

Some Notes:

  • Murderous Redcap acts as both a Persist and a Trigger.


  • Zulaport Cutthroat acts as a Blood Artist that dodges Leyline of Sanctity.


  • Wall of Roots can supply up to 2 Mana towards a Chord of Calling. One by tapping with Convoke and another by adding a -0/-1 counter. Not to mention its a great blocker.


  • Cartel Aristocrat acts as a back-up for Viscera Seer. While she doesn't help guarantee a win through Scrying, she can protect herself from Anger of the Gods & similar board wipes, and is a great blocker in a pinch.


  • How the Combo Works
    420.5n - If a permanent has both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter on it, N +1/+1 and N -1/-1 counters are removed from it, where N is the smaller of the number of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters on it.



    • Sometimes all you need to win is a Google or so of Life Gain. Few opponents will sit out a game as they mill themselves over 40+ turns. All you need is something like:

    Melira, Sylvok Outcast/Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Viscera Seer + Kitchen Finks

    And while your busy gaining all the life in the world, you might as well be Scrying for that missing Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, or Murderous Redcap to make sure you win after your next Upkeep. If you happen to get stuck with:

    Melira, Sylvok Outcast/Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Cartel Aristocrat + Kitchen Finks

    You can just settle for all the life in the world.

    When playing a combo deck, it is very easy to overlook the fact that you don't always have to "go infinite" to win. You just have to get close enough.

    Below is a common example of how easy it is to get a Mid-Game board state that is "close enough":
    2x Blood Artist
    1x Birds of Paradise
    2x Kitchen Finks
    1x Viscera Seer

    Swing with everything for a total of 8 Damage and then Sac as combat resolves.

    Sacrifice Order:
    Birds of Paradise = +2 Life, -2 Life
    Kitchen Finks #1 = +4 Life, -2 Life
    Kitchen Finks #2 = +4 Life, -2 Life
    Kitchen Finks #1 = +2 Life, -2 Life
    Kitchen Finks #2 = +2 Life, -2 Life
    Blood Artist #1 = +2 Life, -2 Life
    Blood Artist #2 = +1 Life, -1 Life

    Netting 13 Life Loss and 8 Damage totaling at 21, while gaining 17 Life, and Scrying 7 times to top it off.

    Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder is a powerful 2-card combo that provides infinite life, as well as infinite +1/+1 counters on our entire board. Sounds like a good deal to me.

    It should also be noted that this combo can go off without ANY Graveyard interaction. So this is our best bet to win against a Grafdigger's Cage that won't go away.


    Collected Company lets you put up to 2 combo pieces into play at instant speed. 'Nuff said.

    Chord of Calling gets the missing piece of the puzzle into play at instant speed as well as anything from our well stocked Toolbox as needed.

    Eldritch Evolution gets the missing piece of the puzzle into play as well as anything from our well stocked Toolbox as needed. This card is something that I am currently testing out as an alternative to Collected Company.

    Eternal Witness: Playing a Collected Company into an Eternal Witness to grab your deceased Kitchen Finks in response to it being eaten by an enemy Scavenging Ooze's last Mana, and then playing it for the win is quite a rewarding feeling.

    Anafenza, the Foremost works great in mirror match ups, as well as Delver. She also sends Double-Faced Planeswalkers like Jace, Vryn's Prodigy   straight to exile. She can restore that Kitchen Finks you had to block with last turn's missing +1/+1 counter, while you harmlessly tap it to Chord of Calling for your last peice the combo. Not to mention her 4/4 body dodges most burn and board removal, so she can be a serious threat to your opponent if left unchecked. All in all, she's a lot of value for 3 CMC.

    Qasali Pridemage removes Grafdigger's Cage, Leyline of Sanctity, Rest in Peace, Cranial Plating, etc...

    Spellskite has proven invaluable as both a means of protection for combo pieces and as an easy way to disrupt Burn.

    Spike Feeder can act as a pseudo-Enabler in case our Kitchen Finks has had a rough day. It is also one of the pieces of our alternate win-condition combo with Archangel of Thune.


    There are a few cards that regularly see play in both Mainboards and Sideboards that can very easily throw a rather large wrench in the Gameplan.

    Grafdigger's Cage: A Kitchen Finks's greatest nemesis. It completely stops the combo in its tracks and must be dealt with immediately. If this card hits the table and you can't Tutor for that last piece of the combo on the stack, immediately Chord of Calling for a Qasali Pridemage or it's a solid no-go for the combo win.

    Torpor Orb: Melira, Sylvok Outcast & Co.'s other great nemesis. This card also completely stops the combo in its tracks and must be dealt with immediately or it's Game Over.

    Hushwing Gryff: Essentially a Torpor Orb with wings. While it doesn't see play very often, it is still just as dangerous and should be dealt with just as ruthlessly.

    Anafenza, the Foremost: Also doesn't see the front lines too often. But if she ever hits the table, she must be removed.

    Scavenging Ooze: All it takes is one for this thing to eat a Kitchen Finks as soon as it hits the Graveyard and not only is the combo broken, but you also don't get the Persist creature back. While not as dangerous as Torpor Orb - they will have to run out of eventually - it is still something to look out for. Abzan Midrange likes to keep a few of these guys in the Mainboard so watch out for them.

    Rest in Peace: See Above. See a trend? If it hurts our Graveyard or ETB abilities, it must go.

    Phyrexian Revoker: This annoying fellow stops all of our Sac engine's in their tracks. So put that Abrupt Decay to good use on this guy. The same can be said of Pithing Needle.

    Liliana of the Veil: Another staple for Abzan Midrange as well as 8-Rack. She kills off necessary combo pieces early, and removes pieces from our hand. While she is much easier to get rid of, she should not be ignored.

    Auriok Champion: While not dangerous at first glance, her ability essentially counteracts the combo kill. Every time a Persist re-enters the Battlefield, she will gain the opponent 1 Life just as they lose 1 Life, netting 0 Lifeloss. It should also be noted that she has protection from Black, so is not removable with Abrupt Decay. This makes her and her Sisters a very dangerous threat.

    Leyline of Sanctity: An extremely effective combo-breaker that can appear before the game even starts. Worse yet, it's 4 CMC means that its safe from Abrupt Decay. While it is handled relatively easily with a Qasali Pridemage or a Zulaport Cutthroat, it is vital that this card is removed. If one appears and you can;t tutor for a Qasali Pridemage or Zulaport Cutthroat, pray you draw one up quickly or just go for the Infinite Lifegain Combo and hope they scoop.


    The Sideboard is always a work in progress, and is currently set up to handle the problems that frequent my local meta as well as creatures to add to our Toolbox to deal with all of the aforementioned threats.

    Aven Mindcensor is a great addition to our Toolbox while playing against mirror match-ups, Kiki-Chord, etc.

    Burrenton Forge-Tender for the Burn decks out there.

    Kataki, War's Wage is one of the best answers to an Affinity match-up.

    Maelstrom Pulse because Tokens.

    Path to Exile is extra Removal against the heavier creature threats like Tasigur, the Golden Fang, etc. . .

    Phyrexian Revoker is a tutorable Pithing Needle.

    Qasali Pridemage is Affinity hate that is playable via Collected Company. Also gets rid of Leyline of the Void, Leyline of Sanctity, Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, etc.

    Reclamation Sage is similar to Qasali Pridemage, but with and ETB removal instead.

    Scavenging Ooze stops Snapcaster Mage, Lingering Souls, etc. . . and with similar builds becoming more popular, it can also stop this combo in it's tracks while still letting you combo off yourself.

    Selfless Spirit is our anti-board-wipe of choice.

    Tidehollow Sculler is a Thoughtsieze that is playable with Collected Company.

    Stony Silence stops Affinity in its tracks.

    Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome!

    Upvotes Are Appreciated!

    Suggestions

    Updates Add

    Improvements? — Oct. 14, 2015
    Edit

    It's been a while since I last updated the deck, so here are what I hope is an improvement. After playing the deck for the past few months I have been slowly adding and removing cards until I finally settled on the current state.

    I have removed Mana Confluence in favor of more dual and fetch lands. As the deck grew more sustainable mid-late game, I found that having to rely on a Mana Confluence or two was just too much of a drain on my life total.

    Safehold Elite has been removed in favor of a Qasali Pridemage and a Scavenging Ooze from the Sideboard. I have also brought in 2x Voice of Resurgence as some discouragement against control and removal-heavy decks.

    I have dropped Blasting Station down to one, and replaced a Viscera Seer with a Cartel Aristocrat who has proven very helpful against removal and helps get in some extra damage in the grindy late-game.

    Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Melira, Sylvok Outcast have been dropped to 2x each in favor of Mainboarding 2x Spellskite - which protect combo pieces from removal, as well as stop Splinter Twin in its tracks - and Liliana, Heretical Healer  Flip - who has great synergy with the rest of the deck. Liliana, Defiant Necromancer  Flip is essentially a Liliana of the Veil with a very relevant -X that can reanimate combo pieces for the win.

    The Sideboard has been greatly improved and with the addition of 3x Loxodon Smiters, 2x Stony Silence, and 3x Choke, the Control and Affinity match-ups are usually in my favor.

    Deck Cleanup and Clearing Comments — May 12, 2015
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    DTK Release and Deck Optimization — March 30, 2015
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    Dragons of Tarkir Spoiler — March 16, 2015
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    Revision 34 See all

    (6 years ago)

    -1 Aven Mindcensor side
    +1 Indulgent Aristocrat maybe
    +2 Noble Hierarch main
    +1 Thoughtpicker Witch maybe
    -2 Tidehollow Sculler side
    +1 Vizier of Remedies main
    Top Ranked
    • Achieved #2 position overall 9 years ago
    Date added 10 years
    Last updated 6 years
    Exclude colors R
    Legality

    This deck is Modern legal.
    Rarity (main - side)

    2 - 1 Mythic Rares

    30 - 10 Rares

    18 - 2 Uncommons

    4 - 2 Commons
    Cards 60
    Avg. CMC 2.38
    Folders Cool decks, (B) Other Players' Modern Decks, Modern Ideas, Hope to Play, Interesting Decks, Modern Ideas, cool stuff, cool decks, modern cool shit, Cool Deck Ideas
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