Has anybody tested Hunter Nance's Abzan Blue with Woodland Wanderer yet? Thinking of running it on Sunday in a PPTQ.
Woodland wanderer is great. I played it in place of Gideon tonight. I don't have Gideon and don't play often enough to justify them. So I played wanderer instead and the card is excellent. The vigilance is really strong when paired with a 6/6 body.
It looks like the idea of splashing red in abzan has been pushed aside. I can understand why the blue splash may be favored though. Counterspells seem very good right now.
I suggest leaving the hangarback behind and try this. It's been a blast and outside of drawing 11/13 lands in one game, has crushed nearly every deck in the meta around here.
I do like a lot about your deck. It reminds me of Jund Monsters in a way. The ramp, the powerful beaters and the excellent removal thrown in there as well. I'm leaning more towards a midrange/control like build.
I didn't want to make a new thread since I already have this one. This is an update to what this deck has evolved to at this point. I was inspired by Gerry Thompson's article on SCG today to revisit my earlier plans for this deck. Jund splash for rhino and abzan charm.
I'm second guessing mainboarding Silkwrap right now. I got a $1k and am expecting a lot of mirrors so Silkwrap is a bust with a billion Commands out there. At the same time I had Valorous Stance in its place and I still don't like that main either. That leaves two flexible spots for removal and I'm at a loss. Maybe Murderous Cut with all the fetches.
I went 2-2 at FNM. This was probably due to my mistake of playing 24 instead of 25 lands in my deck. I only lost when I didn't get past my third land. The deck felt great when I was hitting my land drops. Since FNM and the open results I have changed the deck again. Here's what I'm running for now.
24 was definitely way too little, not to mention your curve is way too wonky and top heavy with no early interactions. Butcher and Kolighan are out of place here too since there's no real target to sac other than Hangarback when there's no need to, and Kolighan works better with a more aggressive deck with more dragons or creatures.
I admit. I got greedy on the manabase.
As Tbuzzsaw said my curve felt wonky. I didn't think it did because I liked flexibility in the 3 drop spot. But a friend of mine tried the deck and told me the 3rd turn is very awkward. So I started experimenting on the idea. At first it changed to naya since I figured flyers would be great for going over everyones heads. This made the mana difficult even after just splashing white for valorous stance and dromoka's command.
Then I changed it over to wanting black again and ended up with Abzan. I tried to avoid it but sometimes less is more and even though we have endless possibilities in standard right now. It's the more consistent decks that are going to do well. I lack Gideon and nissa right now but here's what I myself would play if I was headed to a tournament/FNM.
I went 2-2 at FNM. This was probably due to my mistake of playing 24 instead of 25 lands in my deck. I only lost when I didn't get past my third land. The deck felt great when I was hitting my land drops. Since FNM and the open results I have changed the deck again. Here's what I'm running for now.
The Deathmist Raptor was the all star at fnm. My opponents hated seeing it. Not to mention it was very back breaking vs Esperanto dragons.
The butcher of the horde is excellent and really synergizes with a pumped up Hangarback Walker. Sometimes I even get to go all out with a kolaghan. This combo also wrecked control.
The deck still needs work but I really felt good about its direction after fnm last night. Only time I lost was when I didn't get past 3 lands. Which is to be expected.
My list is literally Abzan with red thrown in. Crackling doom is too good to pass up. Also red has some solid answers to Jace and other early game plays.
I'm going to run this at FNM. I'm excited given this is my first FNM since Fate Reforged. The mana works well. I have ran through it countless times and it works great unless I draw all bloodstained mires only.
Jund has had a memorable past in Magic history since the days of Alara and the shard which it got it's name. Spanning back to the days of Bloodbraid elf and Blightning to the recent days of Jund Monsters and Jund Walkers. But for the past year of standard Abzan has reigned supreme as the king of Midrange and even though the front-runner of Abzan was Siege Rhino, it also owes all the success to Elspeth, Sun's Champion and the best removal spell in standard the last 2 years hero's downfall. With the rotation of those cards and others and the slower replacement in ruinous path the deck lost a majority of its power and flexibility.
With Battle for Zendikar and the introduction of the fetchable dual lands anything is possible and the colors of Jund White offers all the best removal spells and they're all in one deck. Not only can we play Siege Rhino but we also get answers to all the best threats in the format.
This deck is still a work in progress but I like to think it has a very diverse removal suite and resilient threats. The sideboard is what could definitely use some work.
The format is just in it's infancy and anything is possible.
Any advice, thoughts or questions etc...I'd like to hear them. Help me make this deck great! Let's make Jund a threat again!
I like what is going on here with your deck. Here are a couple of things that jump out to me.
1) Is Seeker of the Way better than Soul Fire Grandmaster. With Roar, Roast, and Crackling Dooms I think the amount of life gained over time is probably more with Grandmaster than Seeker. If I made that switch I think I would try 4x Hangarback / 3x Soulfire split.
2) Have you tested Dragonlord Kolaghan?
3) Sorin seems somewhat out of place.
4) Do you have a rough sketch for your sideboard?
I personally like seeker of the way because of how aggressive he can be. Especially when there are two on the field and backed up by removal. They can sometimes finish games by themselves.
I have tested Dragonlord Kolaghan. He's great out of the board for the other pesky midrange decks trying to get an advantage of of playing as many rhinos as possible. With all the removal in my list they will likely take 10 from Kolaghan triggers. But there's been some potential permanent changes to the overall list that means dragonlord Kolaghan may not be what I want now.
I have a somewhat rough idea for the board. More on that later. For now check out the new list....
The idea is to play Hangarback Walker, followed by anafenza. Tap Walker to put a counter on. Followed up with another creature or removal, tap Walker he now has 3 counters. Attack with anafenza and give him another counter. Butcher of the horde gives us incentive to sack Walker and follow up with Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury. The deck can grind or be super aggressive. So this plan makes it much more versatile.
I was really hoping we could get sone discussion going on this deck. I believe it has all the tools necessary to compete in the format. Abzan charm, utter end and crackling doom means big creatures are rarely an issue.The lifegain in the deck also helps offset the fetches and provides a cushion vs. Aggro. My friend and I tested it vs a ramp deck and it was miserable for the ramp deck. The mana dorks rarely if ever survived and effectively slowing the ramp deck down allowing the dragons to go to work.
I've been working on this for over a week. The deck has taken on many iterations. It started out jund splashing white for utter end, rhino, and abzan charm. But then I realized how awful ruinous path made the mana base. It was the only double black card in the deck and the mana felt a bit off. I worked out that the mana would be much more consistent if I kept the majority of the spells at single color commitments.
I realized early on how valuable abzan charm would be. But knew the basis for the strategy was the synergy of draconic roar and thunderbreak regent was where I wanted to be.Not to mention the overall power of crackling doom. The card is just going to be too powerful with people trying to play big eldrazi. I'm not too worried about siege rhino decks when I have a multitude of ways to deal with it.
4 hangarback walker
4 anafenza, the foremost
4 siege rhino
3 woodland wanderer
2 den protector
2 wingmate roc
3 dromoka's command
2 Murderous cut
3 stubborn denial
2 forest
1 plains
1 swamp
2 canopy Vista
4 flooded strand
3 polluted delta
2 shambling vent
1 sunken hollow
1 smoldering marsh
1 prairie stream
4 windswept heath
4 wooded foothills
Woodland wanderer is great. I played it in place of Gideon tonight. I don't have Gideon and don't play often enough to justify them. So I played wanderer instead and the card is excellent. The vigilance is really strong when paired with a 6/6 body.
I do like a lot about your deck. It reminds me of Jund Monsters in a way. The ramp, the powerful beaters and the excellent removal thrown in there as well. I'm leaning more towards a midrange/control like build.
3 den Protector
3 Catacomb Sifter
4 siege rhino
1 tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 dragonlord Kolaghan
1 nissa, vastwood seer
2 sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 ob Nixilis, Reignited
2 sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 transgress the mind
4 abzan charm
2 radiant flames
2 utter end
1 muderous cut
3 forest
2 swamp
2 plains
3 windswept heath
4 wooded Foothills
3 bloodstained mire
2 cinder glade
2 smoldering marsh
2 canopy vista
3 Shambling vent
2 Catacomb Sifter
4 siege rhino
3 den Protector
2 wingmate roc
1 tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 duress
3 silkwrap
4 abzan charm
2 radiant flames
1 painful truths
2 utter end
2 Murderous Cut
2 plains
2 swamp
4 bloodstained mire
4 wooded Foothills
4 windswept heath
3 Shambling vent
2 canopy vista
2 smoldering marsh
1 cinder glade
1 duress
2 transgress the mind
3 surge of righteousness
1 radiant flames
1 Catacomb Sifter
1 painful truths
1 virulent plague
2 languish
1 tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 dragonlord dromoka
1 dragonlord atarka
4 den protector
4 siege rhino
2 tasigur, the golden fang
2 dragonlord atarka
2 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
3 fiery impulse
2 duress
4 abzan charm
2 radiant flames
1 crackling doom
2 utter end
1 languish
2 murderous cut
1 plains
2 swamp
4 wooded foothills
4 bloodstained mire
4 windswept heath
2 cinder glade
2 smoldering marsh
2 canopy vista
3 shambling vent
2 crux of fate
2 duress
2 painful truths
3 ultimate price
2 gaea's revenge
1 radiant flames
2 crackling doom
1 dragonlord dromoka
I admit. I got greedy on the manabase.
As Tbuzzsaw said my curve felt wonky. I didn't think it did because I liked flexibility in the 3 drop spot. But a friend of mine tried the deck and told me the 3rd turn is very awkward. So I started experimenting on the idea. At first it changed to naya since I figured flyers would be great for going over everyones heads. This made the mana difficult even after just splashing white for valorous stance and dromoka's command.
Then I changed it over to wanting black again and ended up with Abzan. I tried to avoid it but sometimes less is more and even though we have endless possibilities in standard right now. It's the more consistent decks that are going to do well. I lack Gideon and nissa right now but here's what I myself would play if I was headed to a tournament/FNM.
4 Hangarback Walker
4 den Protector
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 siege rhino
2 wingmate roc
3 abzan charm
2 silkwrap
3 dromoka's command
3 valorous stance
5 forest
2 plains
4 windswept heath
4 wooded Foothills
2 flooded strand
2 Llanowar Wastes
3 sandsteppe citadel
2 canopy vista
1 smoldering marsh
4 den Protector
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 siege rhino
1 butcher of the horde
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
1 sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 dromoka's command
2 ultimate price
4 abzan charm
3 crackling doom
1 muderous cut
1 languish
1 utter end
1 Plains
1 mountain
2 swamp
4 bloodstained mire
4 wooded Foothills
4 windswept heath
3 canopy vista
1 cinder glade
2 smoldering marsh
1 ultimate price
3 radiant flames
2 despise
1 infinite obliteration
1 outpost siege
1 dragonlord dromoka
2 gaea's revenge
1 dragonlord Kolaghan
2 silkwrap
1 utter end
The butcher of the horde is excellent and really synergizes with a pumped up Hangarback Walker. Sometimes I even get to go all out with a kolaghan. This combo also wrecked control.
The deck still needs work but I really felt good about its direction after fnm last night. Only time I lost was when I didn't get past 3 lands. Which is to be expected.
Here's the list I played
4 den Protector
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 siege rhino
1 butcher of the horde
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
3 fiery impulse
2 ultimate price
4 abzan charm
4 crackling doom
1 muderous cut
1 languish
1 swamp
1 mountain
1 Plains
2 polluted delta
4 windswept heath
4 wooded Foothills
4 bloodstained mire
2 canopy vista
2 cinder glade
2 smoldering marsh
2 dromoka's command
1 outpost siege
3 radiant flames
1 ultimate price
1 utter end
1 dragonlord Kolaghan
2 gaea's revenge
1 infinite obliteration
3 despise
4 den protector
4 deathmist raptor
4 siege rhino
2 butcher of the horde
3 kolaghan, the storm's fury
3 fiery impulse
2 ultimate price
4 abzan charm
4 crackling doom
1 murderous cut
1 utter end
2 swamp
1 plains
1 mountain
4 bloodstained mire
4 windswept heath
4 wooded foothills
2 canopy vista
2 smoldering marsh
2 cinder glade
3 despise
1 infinite obliteration
1 outpost siege
1 ultimate price
3 radiant flames
2 gaea's revenge
2 dromoka's command
1 utter end
1 dragonlord kolaghan
I'm going to run this at FNM. I'm excited given this is my first FNM since Fate Reforged. The mana works well. I have ran through it countless times and it works great unless I draw all bloodstained mires only.
I had a friend say he didn't like Deathmist Raptor in the deck....I don't know why. I think it adds to the decks ability to grind.
With Battle for Zendikar and the introduction of the fetchable dual lands anything is possible and the colors of Jund White offers all the best removal spells and they're all in one deck. Not only can we play Siege Rhino but we also get answers to all the best threats in the format.
3 den protector
4 deathmist raptor
4 siege rhino
2 butcher of the horde
2 kolaghan, the storm's fury
1 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
3 draconic roar
2 ultimate price
4 abzan charm
4 crackling doom
1 murderous cut
1 shamanic revelation
2 swamp
2 mountain
2 cinder glade
4 wooded foothills
2 smoldering marsh
4 bloodstained marsh
2 canopy vista
4 windswept heath
1 utter end
3 radiant flames
1 ultimate price
1 dromoka's command
3 despise
2 duress
2 outpost siege
2 gaea's revenge
This deck is still a work in progress but I like to think it has a very diverse removal suite and resilient threats. The sideboard is what could definitely use some work.
The format is just in it's infancy and anything is possible.
Any advice, thoughts or questions etc...I'd like to hear them. Help me make this deck great! Let's make Jund a threat again!
I personally like seeker of the way because of how aggressive he can be. Especially when there are two on the field and backed up by removal. They can sometimes finish games by themselves.
I have tested Dragonlord Kolaghan. He's great out of the board for the other pesky midrange decks trying to get an advantage of of playing as many rhinos as possible. With all the removal in my list they will likely take 10 from Kolaghan triggers. But there's been some potential permanent changes to the overall list that means dragonlord Kolaghan may not be what I want now.
I have a somewhat rough idea for the board. More on that later. For now check out the new list....
3 seeker of the way
3 anafenza, the foremost
4 Thunderbreak Regent
2 butcher of the horde
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
2 sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
4 crackling doom
4 abzan charm
1 Roast
2 utter end
4 wooded Foothills
3 windswept heath
3 bloodstained mire
1 cinder glade
2 smoldering marsh
2 canopy vista
1 swamp
1 forest
2 plains
2 mountain
4 nomad outpost
The idea is to play Hangarback Walker, followed by anafenza. Tap Walker to put a counter on. Followed up with another creature or removal, tap Walker he now has 3 counters. Attack with anafenza and give him another counter. Butcher of the horde gives us incentive to sack Walker and follow up with Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury. The deck can grind or be super aggressive. So this plan makes it much more versatile.
I also have a plan for the 8 rhinos deck running around. infinite obliteration
Any thoughts, suggestions are welcome.
I realized early on how valuable abzan charm would be. But knew the basis for the strategy was the synergy of draconic roar and thunderbreak regent was where I wanted to be.Not to mention the overall power of crackling doom. The card is just going to be too powerful with people trying to play big eldrazi. I'm not too worried about siege rhino decks when I have a multitude of ways to deal with it.
Anyways here's the list.
3 hangarback walker
3 den protector
4 thunderbreak regent
2 kolaghan, storms fury
2 sorin, solemn visitor
2 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
1 roast
4 abzan charm
4 crackling doom
2 utter end
4 nomad outpost
4 wooded foothills
3 windswept heath
3 bloodstained mire
2 smoldering marsh
2 canopy Vista
1 cinder glade
3 mountain
2 plains
1 swamp
Any thoughts?