Occasionally, a deck like this will pop up, but no one will pay it any attention. When more than one copy starts showing up, it’s time to take notice.
Both these decks take the power of Siege Rhino and add in some of the biggest converge creatures possible. Shambling Vent and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar are gone. Something has to get cut for all these Woodland Wanderers and Skyrider Elves and it might as well be Gideon.
Sure, Gideon is Abzan’s best card in a bunch of matchups, but in all the tempo-based matchups in Standard, Gideon is often very poor if you’re behind. What you really want in those matchups is cheap interaction like Murderous Cut and Stubborn Denial. Shintaros isn’t using Stubborn Denial, but I like that card a lot, especially with all the fatties.
The additional colors allow Abzan to play sweet cards like Disdainful Stroke, Exert Influence, and Kolaghan, the Storm’s Fury. With Rally on the rise, Abzan could certainly use some counterspells, both to protect Anafenza, the Foremost and to stop things like Collected Company.
Creatures (24)
- 1 Heir of the Wilds
- 4 Anafenza, the Foremost
- 4 Siege Rhino
- 4 Warden of the First Tree
- 4 Den Protector
- 4 Skyrider Elf
- 3 Woodland Wanderer
Lands (25)
Spells (11)
Creatures (24)
- 1 Heir of the Wilds
- 4 Anafenza, the Foremost
- 4 Siege Rhino
- 4 Warden of the First Tree
- 4 Den Protector
- 4 Skyrider Elf
- 3 Woodland Wanderer
Lands (25)
Spells (11)