Earlier forms of removal might help a bit. Last Breath or Bile Blight is what i would recommend to smooth your curve out. Also a Murderous Cut because of the potential to only have to pay B or 1B to kill a creature at instant speed

This deck is beautiful. I really like what you've done with the place.

No Sandsteppe Citadel ? You're a midrange deck, so you might as well play four.

I think Meandering Towershell is a sideboard card, albeit a very powerful one. I'd rather just have Polukranos, World Eater in that slot.

Good job. I really like it! The description totally shows how it works! I also agree with GlistenerAgent though, I would put a Polukranos, World Eater in replacement of Meandering Towershell . +1 from me!

THIS IS A MIDRANGE DECK?!?! News to me!

Well, I guess if The Rock can be considered aggro-control, then this can be considered midrange-control.

notamardybum, that's probably an excellent idea. The problem is that most of the time those won't be able to be cast until turn 3. And while Bile Blight can hit more things effectively, its double mana cost really restricts how early it can be cast. A lot of the time the deck plays Temple, Temple, Mana Confluence ; at that point do I cast a Banishing Light , Courser of Kruphix , Devouring Light , or one of those? Murderous Cut is very good late game, but very underwhelming early to mid game.

I originally had it as a 1x Ziggyra, but I replaced it for Garruk, Apex Predator .

GlistenerAgent, all of my current lands that come in tapped (Temples) have better value than Sandsteppe Citadel , and with Mana Confluence , Windswept Heath , and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth , my mana fixing is pretty solid. You and Minelia5 are probably right about Meandering Towershell , but I'm less sure about Polukranos, World Eater . I might remove it and a Ajani Steadfast (since it's very dependent on my boardstate) for some combination of Last Breath and Bile Blight

So... I think I'm going to attempt to build this IRL. I don't think the price reflected is the actual price with the version differences and the new fetch reprints, and I plan on going to the prerelease and/or the actual release to grab some Khans of Tarkir.

I counter spell

Sylvan Caryatid , yay or nay? Helps stabilize against aggro and gives mana fixing. The problem is, what would I take out?

not really a suggestion, but I would like to point out that Devouring Light isn't a better Celestial Flare because it still can't touch hexproof, which is where the flare excelled.

Yeah, but when attacking in a group it is much better at hitting the most dangerous target.

How do you manage card draw, just the Abzan Charm s?

Abzan Charm is the only draw spell, but Ajani, Mentor of Heroes can find things for me and Courser of Kruphix and my 9 scry lands can help me filter through draws. Windswept Heath also thins through my basics.

I've done a bit of testing with Junk Control shells. The biggest weakness is draw engine. Sitting and waiting for Ajani to dig for a threat doesn't help if you're in dire need of removal. Read the Bones seems to work well here, but then you're taking out some threats or removal. I really want this archetype to work, I just don't think the suite is there just yet.

We'll see. Realistically I could probably remove Garruk, Nissa, and an Ajani MoH for three more slots, but would those slots go to 3x Sylvan Caryatid or 3x Read the Bones /any other possible card draw?

Not getting any responses. Dammit. :(

Guess it's just me.

I don't see where Siege Rhino fits in here. You already have win con with Elspeth and Garruk. He's just a creature with no evasion or protection from getting swept himself. I'd drop them for Caryatids (removal is expensive now, and good walls to block the aggro). Eventually I'll put my list up here to compare thoughts.

Aw, thanks. :)

Siege Rhino absolutely murders my opponent if he's not answered. His body is nice for his cost and unlike other 4-drops like Reaper of the Wilds and Polukranos, World Eater , he has an immediate effect as soon as he enters. I really don't cast Elspeth, Sun's Champion or Garruk, Caller of Beasts consistently enough for them to be my main wincons, Resolute Archangel isn't really a finisher as much as a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and Courser of Kruphix won't consistently push through damage. I feel much more comfortable with another strong option to kill opponents with.

Playtested this a few times against a Jeskai aggro I've been brewing up, and the results were... discouraging. Going to try +3 Sylvan Caryatid , -1 Bile Blight , and -2 Last Breath . I think I'll also start testing -1 Garruk, Apex Predator and -1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes for either 2x Ulcerate or 2x Read the Bones . Testing removal first.

Personally not a fan of Nissa in this build, maybe another big finisher? Something like Empty the Pits (a personal favorite of mine that may or may not actually be effective), Polukranos, World Eater (iffy), Soul of New Phyrexia (looks just plain awesome), or just a different walker like Liliana Vess . Also I've found Pharika, God of Affliction to be rather effective...although we do have quite different builds. And it's a general rule of mine to stick to one (MAYBE TWO) exile from graveyard abilities

Nissa is a pretty good finisher, even if she doesn't make more than one or two creatures. I'm not going to be making those creatures if I don't have the excess lands, and those lands are going to be invulnerable to a some removal like Banishing Light . I usually don't have enough mana and/or creatures in the yard to make Empty the Pits very effective, Polukranos, World Eater isn't very good as a 1-of, and Liliana Vess isn't really that great of a finisher. Pharika, God of Affliction isn't really that great because she can only hit creatures, I don't have a lot of creatures to target, so most of the tokens would be going to my opponent.

came up with a very similar list, looks good.

I would try to spread out my curve a little bit. Maybe consider an extra Abzan Charm to take out a Read the Bones to give you more versatility with that 3-slot.

Then you could take out the other Read the Bones in favor of another cheaper control spell.

Someone else may have mentioned it, but maybe try out Suspension Field as a lower cost way to handle opponents creatures in early game and to round off your mana curve.

End Hostilities in my opinion is a little too expensive to run 4 of, but if you are going to use them often.. Consider Fleecemane Lion . When they become Monstrous, they will survive your board wipes, and dole out some swift justice after them. I run 4 of them in my Abzan Deck. I believe it's a much better investment than a Siege Rhino .

LukasLJohnson:

The biggest problem with Abzan Charm compared to Read the Bones is that the Charm doesn't scry. I think it's much better to scry 2 and draw 2 than Night's Whisper for the same CMC, plus I already have a lot of removal.

I may take out Devouring Light for Suspension Field . What I might end up happening is I add 2x Suspension Field and an extra Banishing Light .

I may try something like that. Take out an End Hostilities and a Siege Rhino for 2x Fleecemane Lion . I would hesitate to say Lion is better than Rhino, but I can test it.

Rakshasa Deathdealer would be a star here. Nice deck.

Id also like to suggest Utter End , maybe in place of Reclamation Sage in the side?

I actually don't like Rakshasa Deathdealer in a controllish shell. I feel he's much better as an early midrange beats. Plus with all my tap lands, I won't be dropping or activating him as often as possible when I have straight-up removal.

Utter End is powerful, but very slow. If I wanted to replace Reclamation Sage with anything, it would likely be Revoke Existence or Into the Aether.