Great Article. With running 23 lands. Many times I have a hand with bob and discard. The discard takes the removal and then bob lives one turn to draw me into the 3rd land on curve. Tracker is great (i play both) but Bob is guaranteed card if he lives. He doesn't ask for anything more.
Sideboard
2 Collective Brutality
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Stony Silence
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Damnation
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Tireless Tracker
Had to swap a trophy for a decay and Lili the last hope for a LoTV due to card availability. Matchups were as follows;
Amulet 2-0
Hollow One 2-0
Burn 1-2
Humans 2-0.
Humans 2-0
I.D.
Quarters
Mardu Phoenix Pyro 0-2.
Bob was stellar this weekend. Against humans he drew me into so much removal it was a cakewalk. Finks and tracker from the sideboard won plenty of games. Ive been jamming this list a lot and it feels great. Not much I would change presently.
B&R this morning. KCI gone. As a result I will go to 2 stonies. Will add and test a settle the wreckage. I really like that idea. Usually decks beat us by alpha striking past souls tokens.
He was only playing one trophy. His list got posted to the abzan facebook group. I think he needs to bite the bullet and play more. I play 3 trophies and 3 paths. Some long games it becomes no downside besides taking away some lands from their possible draws.
thanks for stopping by. Interested in the choice of mentor? Is that as you said you trying many things and seeing what sticks?
I agree that Abzan has a tough time at the moment. I have been doing above average but not spectacular. Im interested in grinding and getting better with the deck.
Hopefully the next set has a orzhov goody. Also now holiday/vintage cube has dropped so that will take up much of my MTG time.
I got 5-0 in a friendly league today. Matchups were (top to bottom);
Grixis Death shadow
Mono-Green Tron
Infect
UR Moon
Soul Sisters (norin)
I have attached my list as well. I have made the following changes Scavenging Ooze for Grim Flayer. Due to all the GY hate atm flayer isn't that impressive and 3 ooze is very relevant right now. Kalitas is mainly for the GY decks but can be tracker, rhino or some random bomb. Anafenza can either be the third souls or Liliana. Souls has been underwhelming and 4 Liliana has felt like too many. Exile has seems good right now so have 3 path instead of another trophy. Beating tron this league was highly satisfying.
I think this is a very fair comment. I still play abzan and do ok with it. However if I was going to a big modern tourney I would look to sleeve up BG Rock. I think it is very and streamlined. I have been looking to get the cards for this deck and arent many away.
Ive been playing with flaying tendrils as the second damnation and it has been great. In combination with removal it stacks together very nicely. It is also good against other go wide decks as well with three mana being very important
i would board out IOK personally and leave the other removal in. You need to slow them down. Also IOK hits too many cards that they actually want to discard like bloodghast or bridge.
I tried trackers but agree with whoever said about having hands full of 3 drops. I much prefer tracker in the BG shell with field of ruin. There it is the all start. In Junk/Jund i prefer bob. He draws you removal and forces you to play aggressive. In modern this is ok as we are being pressured all the time and churn through resources. Against control he is a must kill spell.
Went 4-0 at my local modern tounament last night. Matches were as follows;
2-0 Jeskai Control - Game 1 was an attrition matchup but i got there. He was playing spell queller main so eventually i got to play all the spells. Game 2 wore his answers down then resolved Gideon. Lights out
2-0 Colorless Eldrazi - Game 1 he had an explosive start with two TKS but i hit the god draw of maelstrom pulse (proof why we still need it :)), Game 2 was a mull to 5 for my opponent. I managed to get an early discard and then blow up one his lands.
2-0 Mardu Pyromancer - Game 1 was a grindy game that I managed to put away thanks to some huge goyfs. Game 2 was an epic game that was won of the back of bitterblossom and scooze controlling my life. I could have died to bolt but played to win.
2-1 Affinity - Game 1 they did their thing and games two and three i did my thing with Stony Silence.
3 Blooming Marsh
3 Dark Confidant
3 Path to Exile
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
2 Grim Flayer
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Lingering Souls
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Fatal Push
1 Plains
3 Scavenging Ooze
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
3 Thoughtseize
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Siege Rhino
3 Assassin's Trophy
1 Stirring Wildwood
2 Liliana, the Last Hope
Sideboard
2 Collective Brutality
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Stony Silence
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Damnation
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Tireless Tracker
Had to swap a trophy for a decay and Lili the last hope for a LoTV due to card availability. Matchups were as follows;
Amulet 2-0
Hollow One 2-0
Burn 1-2
Humans 2-0.
Humans 2-0
I.D.
Quarters
Mardu Phoenix Pyro 0-2.
Bob was stellar this weekend. Against humans he drew me into so much removal it was a cakewalk. Finks and tracker from the sideboard won plenty of games. Ive been jamming this list a lot and it feels great. Not much I would change presently.
I agree that Abzan has a tough time at the moment. I have been doing above average but not spectacular. Im interested in grinding and getting better with the deck.
Hopefully the next set has a orzhov goody. Also now holiday/vintage cube has dropped so that will take up much of my MTG time.
I got 5-0 in a friendly league today. Matchups were (top to bottom);
Grixis Death shadow
Mono-Green Tron
Infect
UR Moon
Soul Sisters (norin)
I have attached my list as well. I have made the following changes Scavenging Ooze for Grim Flayer. Due to all the GY hate atm flayer isn't that impressive and 3 ooze is very relevant right now. Kalitas is mainly for the GY decks but can be tracker, rhino or some random bomb. Anafenza can either be the third souls or Liliana. Souls has been underwhelming and 4 Liliana has felt like too many. Exile has seems good right now so have 3 path instead of another trophy. Beating tron this league was highly satisfying.
2-0 Jeskai Control - Game 1 was an attrition matchup but i got there. He was playing spell queller main so eventually i got to play all the spells. Game 2 wore his answers down then resolved Gideon. Lights out
2-0 Colorless Eldrazi - Game 1 he had an explosive start with two TKS but i hit the god draw of maelstrom pulse (proof why we still need it :)), Game 2 was a mull to 5 for my opponent. I managed to get an early discard and then blow up one his lands.
2-0 Mardu Pyromancer - Game 1 was a grindy game that I managed to put away thanks to some huge goyfs. Game 2 was an epic game that was won of the back of bitterblossom and scooze controlling my life. I could have died to bolt but played to win.
2-1 Affinity - Game 1 they did their thing and games two and three i did my thing with Stony Silence.
List for reference
3 Blooming Marsh
3 Dark Confidant
3 Path to Exile
1 Forest
1 Treetop Village
1 Godless Shrine
3 Grim Flayer
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Lingering Souls
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Fatal Push
1 Plains
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
3 Thoughtseize
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Siege Rhino
1 Damnation
3 Fulminator Mage
3 Stony Silence
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Bitterblossom
1 Flaying Tendrils