I have tried spellbomb. It does do well with the grave, but requires 2 mana and the extra mana is not worth the exile of the grave. I own a playset of copters and at first loved them, but as time goes on, the copter loses its value. Topdeck wars are the end result on abzan, even the budget version, and copter is very bad without a creature. Grim flayer also does a better job at filtering cards, so extra filtering is not needed too much. Wrench mind was on the back of my list to try for quite a while until i finally tried playing it. When it is bad, it is really bad, but, when it is good, it is amazing. It works well against elves, burn, control, deaths shadow, counter company, zoo, and any other that require a lot of cards like combo decks. All you have to do is know when to side them out. (gr valakut {baloths})
#Smuggler's Copter was pretty good in my experience and with the creature-lands and Lingering Souls crewing it shouldn't be a problem.
#Some better (imho) discard options than Wrench Mind can also also be:
Whispers of Emrakul - with Delirium it is Hymn to Tourach. Rise // Fall (Fall) - requires a Red micro-splash but does a pretty good Hymn to Tourach imitation as well even without Delirium. Smallpox - requires some adjusting from the deck (to break the symmetry) but can be pretty good as well. Blackmail - can get even lands after the opponent gets low on cards or just becomes a (better) painless Thoughtseize.
Hmm, sounds fairly solid. I think I will try Whispers of Emrakul. I could also, like u stated, run more mb hand disruption, but I think I will try whispers first. Thanks for the help! I will put some games I played and the results later.
match 1: ironworks combo (2-0
-both games relied on me leaving up mana for removal and beat down with spirits + delirium creature.
match 2: spirits (2-1)
- he rolled me game 1, the next 2 i came back with sweepers from the sideboard, (i upped the count to 2 flaying tendrils and put the 2nd brutality main)
then he never recovered and I ran him over with rhino and anafenza. Game 3 I hit him with a ton of removal and he tried to keep pace, but he never hit anything to 2 for 1 me, then a resolved gideon + tokens finished it.
Match 3: Amercian control (2-1)
-Game 1 he 1 for 1ned me and he had all of the answers. It came pretty close, I almost closed it out with a few spirits, but he found the electrolyze. Game 2, I played the 1 for 1 game, and I controled his hand and gideon gave me the edge after I ran his hand out of counterspells and snapcasters with targeted discard. Game 3 was the same story, closed out nicely.
overall, pretty solid games. The sideboard has helped a ton. Gideon is an all star, and I want to try a second rhino instead of whispers. Every game, an extra rhino would have been amazing. Whispers has seemed pretty lackluster, and I think the extra rhino will fit the slot nicely. You were right about the wrench mind being pretty weak, I guess it is just a pet card. I will post some more games later.
I know it is not the 100$ budget anymore, but realistically, one cannot play abzan without good discard and removal, thoughtseize is 20$ a piece, path is 6$, push is almost 10$, Inquisition is 4$, and that is not including a landbase that can support 3 colors and allow turn 1 discard turn two threat or removal.
I ended up putting in rhino and brutality, then another tendrils in side instead of the other brutality
What about a resto package in abzan? Blinking Rhino's and thragtusks seems really good to me, especially against pushes/paths. I have been thinking to build a deck around this, combining 3 resto's 3-4 rhino's, 2 thragtusks and maybe a blade splicer. Besides this the usual discard package and souls are included.
I think this build can provide enough pressure to be competitive, although sweepers might pose a problem. Please give me some feedback on this idea, I might have overlooked something.
My sideboard plan is not ready yet. Thinking of some stony silences against artifact based decks and some Planeswalkers like Soring LOI
@Lapahn: Why not use Nature's Claim instead of Fragmentize? Our biggest threats are able to compensate the lifegain and the range is bigger.
#Some better (imho) discard options than Wrench Mind can also also be:
Whispers of Emrakul - with Delirium it is Hymn to Tourach.
Rise // Fall (Fall) - requires a Red micro-splash but does a pretty good Hymn to Tourach imitation as well even without Delirium.
Smallpox - requires some adjusting from the deck (to break the symmetry) but can be pretty good as well.
Blackmail - can get even lands after the opponent gets low on cards or just becomes a (better) painless Thoughtseize.
match 1: ironworks combo (2-0
-both games relied on me leaving up mana for removal and beat down with spirits + delirium creature.
match 2: spirits (2-1)
- he rolled me game 1, the next 2 i came back with sweepers from the sideboard, (i upped the count to 2 flaying tendrils and put the 2nd brutality main)
then he never recovered and I ran him over with rhino and anafenza. Game 3 I hit him with a ton of removal and he tried to keep pace, but he never hit anything to 2 for 1 me, then a resolved gideon + tokens finished it.
Match 3: Amercian control (2-1)
-Game 1 he 1 for 1ned me and he had all of the answers. It came pretty close, I almost closed it out with a few spirits, but he found the electrolyze. Game 2, I played the 1 for 1 game, and I controled his hand and gideon gave me the edge after I ran his hand out of counterspells and snapcasters with targeted discard. Game 3 was the same story, closed out nicely.
overall, pretty solid games. The sideboard has helped a ton. Gideon is an all star, and I want to try a second rhino instead of whispers. Every game, an extra rhino would have been amazing. Whispers has seemed pretty lackluster, and I think the extra rhino will fit the slot nicely. You were right about the wrench mind being pretty weak, I guess it is just a pet card. I will post some more games later.
I ended up putting in rhino and brutality, then another tendrils in side instead of the other brutality
I think this build can provide enough pressure to be competitive, although sweepers might pose a problem. Please give me some feedback on this idea, I might have overlooked something.
2 Shambling Vent
1 Stirring Wildwood
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Woodland Cemetery
1 Isolated Chapel
2 Blooming Marsh
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Swamp
2 Forest
1 Plains
3 Restoration Angel
4 Siege Rhino
2 Thragtusk
1 Tasigur, The Golden Fang
4 scavenging Ooze
1 Blade splicer
2 Eternal Witness
Spells (19):
4 Lingering Souls
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Path to Exile
1 Zealous Persecution
My sideboard plan is not ready yet. Thinking of some stony silences against artifact based decks and some Planeswalkers like Soring LOI
@Lapahn: Why not use Nature's Claim instead of Fragmentize? Our biggest threats are able to compensate the lifegain and the range is bigger.
1 Grave Titan
1 Thragtusk
4 Siege Rhino
4 Restoration Angel
4 Blade Splicer
4 Satyr Wayfinder
Spells
4 Lingering Souls
4 Unburial Rites
4 Grisly Salvage
2 Abzan Charm
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
1 Murderous Cut
2 Duress
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Shambling Vent
1 Hissing Quagmire
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Woodland Cemetery
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Llanowar Wastes
2 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Forest
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Demon of Dark Schemes
2 Acidic Slime
2 Golgari Charm
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Lost Legacy
2 Duress
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Nihil Spellbomb