Thundercats - Abzan Midrange
This is an aggressive midrange deck! This deck is all about making a bunch of creatures and beating down your opponent.
CREATURES
Soldier of the Pantheon
- This creature is excellent both early game and late. Protection from multicolored allows so many awesome opportunities with Khans multicolored creatures. Life gain is also somewhat helpful with the number of pain lands being used.
Rakshasa Deathdealer
- Oh my God. Rakshasa is awesome in all stages of the game. He can be pumped up to do more damage and protect himself. And the ability to regenerate himself can come in handy with board sweepers.
Fleecemane Lion - Good at early game pressure as a 3/3 for 2 mana and its monstrous is amazing. Indestructible and Hexproof. Amazing. Hardened scales also can give additional +1/+1 counters.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos - Oh Brimaz, you silly kitten you. 3/4 that makes more tokens. Vigilance allows me to prevent some of the damage from some of the more aggressive decks, and the cat tokens provide even more targets for Ajani Steadfast counters.
INSTANTS
Abzan Charm
- Exile a creature with power 3 or greater, Instant speed Sign in Blood, and distribute 2 counters. Very Good. So versatile with everything this type of deck needs.
Bile Blight
- This thing can kill so many midgame threats, kills tokens and can be instrumental in winning many fights. Morphed down creatures do not have names, so
Bile Blight
would only kill one.
PLANESWALKERS
Ajani Steadfast - His +1 is a more defensive ability. Life gain and Vigilance to leave a blocker is situational. Ajanis -2 puts counters on all your creatures and on Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Most of the time Ajanis -2 gives 2 counters on everything with Hardened Scales out AND all of your creatures First Strike with Ainok Bond-Kin. Not as often do you get to put a loyalty counter on Sorin, Solmn Visitor as well but when it happens . . . amazing. Ajanis ultimate -7 rarely gets used. Usually, you can kill your opponent before you get to this, but counters are still better in this scenario.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor - His plus one gives +1/0 and lifeline to all of your creatures. Helps gain back any aggressive play from your opponent and damage you have taken from pain lands. Sorins -2 gives a nice 2/2 flyer to help deal some extra damage or prevent those pesky flyers from hitting you. Sorins ultimate at -6 can easily be hit and making your opponent sacrifice a creature every turn is extremely powerful. Drop Sorin put him to 5, next turn drop Ajani Steadfast to give him a counter allows you to ultimate Sorin the second turn he was out. Not too shabby.
LANDS / MANA BASE
One of the biggest things with this deck is having most of my lands come into play untapped. Sandsteppe Citadel is good enough to be running that Coming into play tapped is worth it. Blossoming Sands just allows a little bit more life gain which is needed in the first 3 turns.
Caves of Koilos, Llanowar Wastes, and Mana Confluence all ping for damage. However, by turn four the maximum amount of dmg I would take from lands is 10. Life gain in the source of Ajani Steadfast, Sorin, Solemn Visitor,
Soldier of the Pantheon
, and Blossoming Sands help to equalize this.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth helps me consistently hit Bile Blight when I need to and also allow me to not ping myself with some of my pain lands occasionally.
34.78% of my lands come into play tapped.
52.17% of my lands deal damage in some way.
78.26% of Mana represents Swamps.
73.91% of Mana represents Plains.
69.56% of Mana represents Forest.
These percentages are exactly where I like them to be. Well, I'd prefer 100% mana representation in all colors put this is good :P.
SIDEBOARD
Ajani's Presence - This is a really good instant speed card. Helps prevent board wipes in ways that Gods Willing cant. The +1/+1 until end of turn can be a very nice combat trick. And any extra mana you have can be used on strive. Feat of Resistance might be a nice replacement for this card depending on how many wrath / non target effects.
Deicide
- This is a good one off against Gods and marginally against other enchantments. Exile a God and then remove all copies of said card is awesome. Not frequent enough to run more then one or two.
Erase - One mana cost instant speed enchantment exile. Especially, with a format that includes a lot of Enchantments and Enchantment Creatures. Cough. I'm looking at you Coursier of Krumpix
Hushwing Gryff - Instant speed counter to Master of Waves and Gary. Haha, take that direct damage!
Ivorytusk Fortress
- This card is a very situational card. The only time I can see myself using something like this is against cards like Glimpse of the Sun God and many of the blue tapping abilities like
Quiet Contemplation
,
Icy Blast
,
Crippling Chill
,
Singing Bell Strike
, and
Frost Lynx
. Well see if this stays in with the upcoming meta.
Stain the Mind
- Some cards there is just nothing that I can do to counter them. Anger of the Gods and End Hostilities are among them. Now, Thoughtseize can also be used in a similar way, but Stain the mind goes a step further and prevents all uses of it this game. With convoke, it can be cast as early as turn 3.