Abzan Midrange Combat Readiness - Sultai Midrange Primer.
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Posted on Dec. 5, 2014, 2:21 p.m. by BlackyMTG
Tired of Abzan Midrange? So is everyone else who doesn't play it. Wanna be able to beat it with ease, while still being combat ready for other decks? Play Sultai. It's the best answer of Abzan Midrange and all of its variance. There's so many cards yet to shine in the cardpool. What do I use you ask? How about Disdainful Stroke to counter Siege Rhino. How about Sylvan Caryatid to block all those Courser of Kruphixes of course you play courser too ;D. How about Villainous Wealth to play your own rhino's, elspeths, and Wingmate Roc's??? I'm just saying this deck has so many answers to the Abzan Builds. Do I even have to mention Kiora, the Crashing Wave, it's a great answer to everything in the deck, the normally just remove your stuff and then play a rhino and crash in, well have fun crashing in once you run out of removal! I will admit this deck does have bad matchups against the Jeskai Ascendancy Deck.
APPLE01DOJ says... #3
Just play my deck it can beat everything. Lifted Research Group [Post Rotation] doesn't care what they're doing. Oppressive Rays and the convoke on Devouring Light make things hell of fast.
December 5, 2014 11:36 p.m.
Apart from the fact it's an aggro deck, which is fairly easy to sideboard against, and not having a very good game against Abzan or Jeskai, who can both side into Nyx-Fleece Ram, and either Anger of the Gods or Drown in Sorrow. Never mind the fact that Abzan has tonnes of lifegain anyway.
December 6, 2014 3:33 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #5
Except ur siding in stuff I have MB answers for lol
Test out the deck, become a believer :)
December 6, 2014 2:01 p.m.
I tested it. lost fantastically to my 4 colour midrange list in two games.
How do you plan on beating Whip of Erebos, Siege Rhino, Courser of Kruphix, Butcher of the Horde, Elspeth, Sun's Champion. Cards I'm not even playing like Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Wingmate Roc.
December 6, 2014 2:26 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #7
HHHmm.... I ran it back, different results. Only creature that even did damage was Siege Rhino, Crackling Doom took out a monsterious Fleecemane Lion which is always a good feeling ...but your deck can't keep up. Too high of CMC on your plays.
A lot of my strategy is too win before stuff u listed like Elspeth, Sun's Champion even comes down. Otherwise I'm stuck depending on Banishing Light and my SB End Hostilities
December 6, 2014 4:31 p.m.
If you're attacking with Siege Rhino as the only creature attacking, you're probably doing it wrong. Just waiting until your creatures are outclassed is what the deck's doing.
And you're telling me you never drew into a Courser of Kruphix or a Butcher of the Horde at any point?
December 6, 2014 4:51 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #9
Actually the first game it went something like T1 Scry Temple T2 Caryatid T3 Courser + Outpost T4 Seige Rhino T5 or 6 Butcher T7 game over. I've been facing your kinda deck for a while now.
I know my creatures are outclassed (when compared to higher CMC midrange creatures) but they're the best available for the period of the game when this deck wants to win (By T5). However being outclassed they all have really low CMC which frees up mana early game for strategic plays. My removal however trumps your all day long. Devouring Light can be cast for 
under the right conditions. Oppressive Rays is a 1 Mana answer for pretty much anything early game. Banishing Light hits anything that gets through. our SB has Plummet for every one's favorite Protection from White Dragon. Your low cost removal is conditional (Bolt/Cut) & your hit anything removal is certainly good but it doesn't come online early enough. I can play 2 Soldier of the Pantheon and attack with something, if it's blocked tap the 2 soldiers to help pay for the Devouring Light. This means A) Ur threat u probably tapped out to play is gone and B) in addition to whatever else I also now have 2 more bodies on the board state ready to swing next turn.
Plus ...Sunblade Elf is Honor of the Pure on a stick.
December 6, 2014 5:19 p.m.
You said that the only card that did damage to you was Siege Rhino, so I misunderstood, I assumed it was in a game my deck lost.
And I disagree about removal. Devouring Light is fine, but it doesn't help against creatures that are gaining me tonnes of value simply by existing, Courser of Kruphix, Sylvan Caryatid, Siege Rhino. Oppressive Rays is irrelevant fairly quickly. Banishing Light is fine, although it can lead to you being blown out by Utter End and the like.Lightning Strike isn't nearly as conditional as you claim, the only thing it doesn't hit is Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and I can just block with Courser of Kruphixs all day long.
I'm also curious as to how you sideboarded my deck if it lost both post board games. I'm pretty well perfectly set up to play aggro after board, with 3x Anger of the Gods, 2x Nyx-Fleece Ram and my 2x Xenagos, the Reveler to replace the more grindy midrange elements.
And just for the record, I have no problems with your deck. I just saw your claim that it can beat everything, and when I see that I take it as a challenge.
December 6, 2014 5:32 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #11
U did loose that game. U played all those threat & still lost.
December 6, 2014 5:47 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #13
Oppressive Rays can't hit Sylvan Caryatid.
I use the 4x MB Ajani's Presence against Anger of the Gods. It works well against Drown in Sorrow as well despite drown still delivering it's -2/-2.
I didn't side anything while testing.
Utter End would make for a crappy blow-out. Back to Nature however is a different story.
Nyx-Fleece Ram 0/5 can be a nice wall but all of our removal spells can clear it out the way. This deck doesn't care what u decide to throw in front of it, we just remove it. a 20/20 still gets hit.
Xenagos, the Reveler Not really sure why you would side this in? To deal with Brimaz tokens???
...and lastly, all good. I was baiting people for that exact response. My deck can be beat but saying stuff like it can't makes people wanna try :)
December 6, 2014 5:59 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #14
awphutt says... #11
"And how exactly did that happen?"
I turned cards sideways, u put cards on the field but they didn't stay alive long enough to turn sideways :)
December 6, 2014 6:03 p.m.
I'm aware. I never said it did.
You'll run out of Ajani's Presences faster than I'll run out of removal.
Which makes the matchup pretty unfair. My mainboard is like that to play against Abzan and Jeskai, the two most played decks at my local store. The sideboard is there for a reason and would make for a very different game.
Utter End your Banishing Light that was used on my Siege Rhino, I gain 3 and kill your biggest guy. That's crappy because?
You are running 8 mainboard answers to Nyx-Fleece Ram. You vastly over-estimate the amount of removal you're playing.
Xenagos, the Reveler comes in instead of Ajani, Mentor of Heroes and Duneblast, he's repeatable blockers and can act as a Fog in some cases.
December 6, 2014 6:30 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #16
Ur Utter End game plan could work but if I see Siege Rhino game 1 I'm bringing in Hushwing Gryff so u may or may not get your ETB difference.
Actually 10. 1 point of life per turn is so irrelevant. If it can't block, my deck doesn't care about it.
No comment Re: Xenogas
Again my deck wants to kill u before u could cast Duneblast but it handles friendly fire End Hostilities fairly well. Ajani's Presence is once again useful in this situation & monstrous (which it should be at that point) Fleecemane Lion survives it as well.
December 6, 2014 7:01 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #17
@ Kiora_Fan-01 this isn't a primer.... also what you're talking about seems more of a control deck. Sultai has a fairly good deck already in competitive play, Sidis Whip.
December 6, 2014 9:05 p.m.
You hold up for the Griff on my turn 4 I'm thrilled. You just wasted a time you could be playing a Brimaz, or a pair of creatures.
1 life per turn is fairly relevant. And I don't count Oppressive Rays since it's not going to do a whole lot. It only costs 3.
You said it wants to kill on turn 5-ish, right? Then why are you wiping your board on turn 6, saving one creature?
December 7, 2014 3:46 a.m.
@CanadianShinobi I didn't make this. My friend was on my laptop and was thinking this up and posted this on here, I have no idea what he was thinking...
December 7, 2014 4:14 a.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #20
@Kiora_Fan-01 ah, I see. Point your friend to Sidisi Whip and watch as they crumble into shame then :D
awphutt says... #2
I would think that Sultai is probably worse of than Abzan. You're gaining Counters, Kiora, the Crashing Wave and maybe some bounce? In exchange, you're losing Siege Rhino, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Wingmate Roc, Utter End, Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. And Villainous Wealth isn't a very good card in a midrange strategy, it's too expensive unless you're doing something dumb with it.
December 5, 2014 7:01 p.m.