Abzan Musings
Standard forum
Posted on Sept. 6, 2014, 6:37 p.m. by ChiefBell
I've been thinking about playing a gimmicky, fun abzan deck. Note no decklist, so this isn't like 'deck help' per se. I'm just musing and thinking about upcoming mechanics and things.
I've been thinking about:
4x Thoughtseize
I would also like 4x 2-mana killspell, and 4x 2-mana decent outlast or just generically solid creature
Card draw like 4x Read the Bones
4x Utter End
Maybe a Sorin, Solemn Visitor or 2.
Total 36-38 cards.
Why this?
Well, it'll play similarly to my favourite deck - The Rock in modern. What we're essentially doing is combining super value and resilient creatures with control. This deck will play 12 disruption spells (4x Thoughtseize , killspell, Utter End ) and 12 solid creatures (4x Ainok Bond-Kin or some other nice 2-drop, another nice 2 drop, and Anafenza). Finally we finish with some attrition engines: Sorin, Solemn Visitor , Hardened Scales , Abzan Ascendancy .
I admit that Hardened Scales might be useless but I have a soft spot for the card.
A perfect midrange 'cute' play would be something like T1 Hardened Scales , T2 Ainok Bond-Kin , T3 Anafenza, the Foremost , T4 Abzan Ascendancy . With this on T4 all of your creatures get +2/+2 before they swing from Abzan Ascendancy and Hardened Scales , and then Ainok Bond-Kin gets +2/+2 from Anafenza triggering when they attack together (again Hardened Scales boosting the number of counters). That's a 6/6 first strike and a 6/5 first strike on T4 which is pretty fun. What's better is that if they die you get spirit tokens which gives you some way to chump block for a turn or two if necessary until you re-stabilise.
Sorin is nice because he synergises with either the whole midrange 'turn creatures sideways to win' thing AND he interacts nicely with tokens which may be necessary if all your stuff dies. He also provides chump blockers to hold off the loss if you need it.
I think what'll be nice about this is that we're playing a lot of 2 mana spells which gives us a large amount of tempo in the later turns. However, what's weak about it is that it has a hint of 'greater than the sum of its parts' whereby for the deck to really function all the cards need to come together nicely.
Opinions? Notes?
Yeh Elspeth could really do stupid things if you get tokens and then an ascendancy. Elspeth + Sorin go nicely too. They really work nicely.
It is gimicky. If you replaced like Hardened Scales with either more killspells OR a beefy 4/4 or 5/5 of some description it would probably function better without the whole synergy aspect. You'd need a playset of creatures that can just sit there and be irritating without dying. Fleecemane Lion would be nice here. Loxodon Smiter would also be good but he's gone.
September 6, 2014 6:46 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #5
Temur Charger : Maybe good to give surprise trample?
Fleecemane Lion Maybe that monstrous could do things?
Pain Seer Aggressive filling of the hand?
Sylvan Caryatid obviously in case of mana issues...
That's all i could find
September 6, 2014 6:51 p.m.
This is actually quite a midrange format now. If you check out the spoilers its like endless 3/3s and 4/4s with a great emphasis on beating face. For this reason I think a) cute combos may be too slow, b) control could be good (if everyone is relying on 3drops and stuff) and c) fleecemane lion being an indestructible 4/4 is fantastic.
September 6, 2014 6:55 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #7
I might have to borrow your list sometime at FNM. Seems pretty solid.
September 6, 2014 7:08 p.m.
I think a lot of people will make Abzan hybrid decks, based on modern examples. A mixture of control and midrange means you're able to deal with most things.
Hardened Scales and Ainok Bond-Kin probably wont appear in most lists though.
September 6, 2014 7:13 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #9
Seems like it should. The whole counter thing makes for good protection from control shenanigans. could get had by AEtherspouts if not careful though
September 6, 2014 7:15 p.m.
BorosPlayer says... #10
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes ' +1 seems pretty strong with Hardened Scales .
September 6, 2014 7:39 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #12
Brimaz, King of Oreskos + Sorin, Solemn Visitor seems good.
September 6, 2014 10:16 p.m.
BorosPlayer says... #13
Ohthenoises: But Brimaz, King of Oreskos has pretty bad synergy with Anafenza, the Foremost .
September 6, 2014 10:18 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #14
/shrug, he's still a beast. And the Abzan Ascendancy plays nicely with him AND his tokens.
September 6, 2014 10:26 p.m.
I've been thinking about doing some type of Abzan Walkers build after rotation. Sorin, Solemn Visitor , Ajani, Mentor of Heroes , and Elspeth, Sun's Champion all work well together. There is some pretty solid removal and disruption in Abzan colors along with a decent sweeper in a slower format, plus you have Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix to help you get to 6 for Elspeth. Really we need some solid 2 mana removal, more along the lines of Doom Blade and not so much like Ulcerate or Bile Blight , and I think it could put it over the top.
September 6, 2014 10:28 p.m.
BorosPlayer says... #16
You might want Brain Maggot replacing/in addition to Thoughtseize as Brain Maggot is a creature, so it is boosted by Abzan Ascendancy , Anafenza, the Foremost , Sorin, Solemn Visitor , and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes . Also, Thoughtseize 's life loss is more painful now with painlands and Mana Confluence .
September 6, 2014 10:46 p.m.
Well there is only so much room in the deck, most of it'll be about early disruption and removal, stuff like that, getting to that late game to overrun with the walkers. I like Abzan Ascendancy but it seems like a wasted slot in a deck like that, which will lean heavily on the token creators and won't get full value from it. Same thing with Anafenza, on turn 3 this deck will want to do other things like cast Courser of Kruphix to help keep hitting it's land drops so it can wipe the board and bring in it's finishers. Also, Thoughtseize 's life loss isn't going to be any more painful after rotation than it is now with pain lands, Mana Confluence , and shock lands so I doubt that's going to be an issue.
September 7, 2014 12:23 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #18
honestly, it depends. In a more aggressive midrange version, this list fits just fine but if you'd rather lean towards the control side, you could remove the token and counter package in favor of disruption and value guys like courser and caryatid
-Fulcrum says... #2
Seems fun and pretty strong, even if gimmicky. Perhaps an Elspeth or 2? It would synergize with the whole +1/+1 counter strategy and she can win on her own if all the pieces don't come together.
September 6, 2014 6:42 p.m.