Hello one and all! No surprise that Abzan lists dominate standard with the hefty Siege Rhino at its helm, but many lists can break the bank with Den Protector's and those fetchlands, and rely on simply resolving Rhinos for board presence (which ain't half bad tbh).
However, today I have for you an Abzan list that doesn't revolve around the big horned poster boy (beast) of standard! Throwing your fellow man into the wilderness will help tame the power of the Rhino, using it only when necessary, as we fight our way to victory through synergies. Welcome to Budget Abzan Warriors, my way!
The main goal of this deck is to use an aggressive curve of warriors that create value off synergies in order to widdle our opponent's life total down quickly, using Siege Rhino as a mid-game stabilizer, and finishing them with utility spells or going wide. Creatures include Mardu Woe-Reaper to deal with the Den Protectors and Deathmist Raptors running about. Blood-Chin Rager is a great way to give all our warriors pseudo-evasion, and Heir of the Wilds is a card not often seen in warrior lists, but very powerful in its own right. A bear with deathtouch that benefits off synergies and ferocious off Siege Rhino is A-okay in our books. Chief of the Edge gives our board more attacking power, and Arashin Foremost grants our warriors double-strike for extra dirty damage and trades!
For spells, you can never go wrong with Abzan Charm. Utility in the form of removal, card advantage, and a permanent combat trick is fantastic. Secure the Wastes generate Warrior tokens at instant-speed is great for establishing our board. Silkwrap hits the other half of creatures that Abzan Charm typically cannot.
Sideboard is highly customizable. I use Dragon Hunter as a useful means of warding off the Esper and Mardu Dragons lists out there. Duress and Transgress the Mind are good hand attack options when we need to hit the noncreature spells our deck can't handle. Abzan Ascendancy is an excellent tool against enemy boardwipes. Foul-Tongue Shriek and Brutal Hordechief provide alternate win-cons against a heavily stalled matchup.
So there you have it! For under $90, you can have fun with the warriors of the desert, and the Rhinos they tamed. What can I say, Abzan is good, use it while you can! Hope you enjoyed, and as usual, leave any feedback you'd like! Cheers!
