How to beat Abzan Control?
Standard forum
Posted on Aug. 14, 2015, 4:55 p.m. by alexthegreat38
Hey all,
What do you think the best strategies are to defeat Abzan Control (as in how should one play in order to pull it off?) I personally play 
Devotion, which is supposedly favored against Abzan, but I lose to Abzan Control a lot, and I think it might be because of how I'm playing.
How afraid should I be of Languish? How much priority should I give to killing Siege Rhinos? And how much commitment to the board is overcommitment?
In general, I'd just like to know what sort of playstyle you guys have found works against Abzan Control, but maybe more specifically through the lens of a devotion player.
Thanks!
alexthegreat38 says... #3
Thanks, that does definitely help. Maybe part of the reason I'm having trouble is that I don't have any Nissa, Worldwakers. XD
August 14, 2015 5:19 p.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #4
Rasta_Viking29: Any chance you could screenshot the whole Gerry Thompson article for me? I'd greatly appreciate it (I don't have SCG premium).
August 15, 2015 3:04 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #5
Languish is over-hyped IMO. It's certainly dangerous, but it's not a real boardwipe. Know it's possibly going to happen and play around it. They want to go all-in so they can gain the upper hand in card advantage and end it while you try to stabilize; that's not a race that's likely to be in your favor.
August 16, 2015 12:22 a.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #6
But to what extent should I play around it? Just leave one mana dork in hand to play post-Languish? Or should I leave more stuff in hand than that?
August 16, 2015 1:15 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #7
Leaving a dork in hand may not be as useful as playing it to ramp into something that'll survive Languish so you're not defenseless when it hits.
A good bit of tech here is Deathmist Raptor, especially if you run Den Protector too. That'll let you stabilize very quickly. The cards are pricy for a good reason.
August 16, 2015 1:35 p.m.
You should have Whisperwood Elemental as insurance against Languish and also Polukranos, World Eater that survives it! I mean... You are ramping into whisperwood, polukranos and xenagos, 3 things that are favored against Languish.
Something to consider is that you never need a second Courser of Kruphix so hold on to your second copy in case of languish.
August 18, 2015 3:37 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #9
I don't understand how Whisperwood helps, since the manifested cards would die to Languish too. Then again, I don't run manifest so I might just... not see how this is supposed to work.
August 18, 2015 3:51 p.m.
You have a board that consists of Elvish mystic, rattleclaw mystic, courser of kruphix and Whisperwood elemental, if opponent plays languish you sac whisperwood to have 3 manifests. Whisperwood is the best wrath protection G/R devotion has if you ain't running it I can see why you're having problems against abzan.
August 18, 2015 4:27 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #11
I don't play G/R devotion, myself. The problem I see with Whisperwood vs. Languish is that since it's -4/-4 until end of turn, the 2/2 manifests are just going to die too as a state-based action. In the scenario you described, your whole board dies either way. Am I missing something here?
August 18, 2015 11:21 p.m. Edited.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #12
Nah the manifests live. Languish only affects creatures on the battlefield when it resolves. Whisperwood is sacrificed in response and the rest of your creatures become manifests after Languish resolves.
August 19, 2015 1:56 a.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #14
To be clear, I am running 4 Whisperwood Elementals, 3 to 4 Polukranos, World Eater, and 3 to 4 Xenagos, the Reveler. It's possible I just haven't played against it enough, but I did end up creaming an Abzan Control at FNM last week and went to time and drew against another one at an IQ.
Good rules discussion though. Whisperwood Elemental is a very weird card, especially considering its interactions with Courser of Kruphix.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #2
From Gerry Thompson's article:
"VS Abzan Control.
On the play - Out: Reclamation Sage Elvish Mystic Elvish Mystic Polukranos World Eater.
In: Nissa Worldwaker Nissa Worldwaker Roast Crater Claws.
On the draw - Out: Reclamation Sage Elvish Mystic Elvish Mystic.
In: Roast Roast Crater Claws.
The goal here is to put a bunch of permanents onto the battlefield while not letting them make any good exchanges. If you already have a threat or two on the battlefield by the time they can cast Hero's Downfall, you are doing it right. If they are able to stunt your development with an Ultimate Price and Languish, you need to turtle up and get ready to play a longer game. Xenagos, the Reveler, Dragonlord Atarka, and Genesis Hydra are your best cards here simply because you can use them to put multiple things on the battlefield on the same turn or remove one of their threats. Basically, you're trying to overload their mana.On the play your Xenagos, the Reveler will basically go uncontested, but on the draw, it might be staring down a Siege Rhino. In that case, you're going to want the extra Roasts to take that pressure off and allow Xenagos to do his thing. On the play, Nissa, Worldwaker can function very similarly to Xenagos, but suffers from some issues when you're on the draw.The games can go kind of long, at which point you need to prioritize getting those two-for-ones with Dragonlord Atarka and Genesis Hydra. The main use for Crater's Claws is taking out a rampaging Siege Rhino or Elspeth, Sun's Champion, but don't be afraid to use it on a Courser of Kruphix if it looks like the game is going long. You can also sandbag it in an attempt to deal them the finishing blow. Either way, you're going to need to know what direction the game is game is going in."
August 14, 2015 5:02 p.m. Edited.