I'm surprised I've only seen Lingering Souls mentioned like once. Having a fleet of 1/1 flyers just wins games with Tower Defense. You usually only need 3 of the 4 to get through. They also give you beats if you don't have Doran or AF out. I ran this deck for the first time last FNM and went 3-1
2-0: U/R Prowess
2-0: R/G Aggro
1-2: G Devotion ( I never drew my sideboard Ensnaring Bridges )
2-1: Kiki-Chord
The tough matchups that I have come across thus far are Grixis Control and Jund. Decks with heavy creature removal or hand disruption really throw a wrench in this deck. I had one match that started with opponent playing turn 1 Thoughtseize => Surgical Extraction targeting Doran. Very hard to come back from that. It's also problematic having a turn 1 Birds bolted since they know this deck wants to be fast. I'm playing around with Sylvan Caryatid replacing Birds to make sure I hit my 3 colors by turn 3 while also having a resilient blocker. I'm playing Thopter Gifts right now but will be bouncing back to Doran here soon to test out Caryatid.
I played this deck for a while and in removal light environments it is really good. I think I 3-1'd some FNM events with it. The big issues is without doran or AF this deck just falls apart. With jund being popular, maelstrom pulse and abrupt decay give this deck a lot of problems. That being said, it is a blast to play. Swinging for 7 on turn 3 is just rude
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
I thought that the deck might struggle with mana as well but Treefolk Harbinger can function as lands 19-22 when the opening hand is land-light.
I didn't have that much mana trouble so far and the deck functions rather well on 3 lands, it also almost never floods out and continues to draw "action".
About Disowned Ancestor, I play the same amount of white and black sources in the deck so switching to a white creature won't improve consistency as far as I can see.
GPT Indy Tournament Report with Abzan Toughness (aka Big Butts aka Doran Assault)
Match 1: Zombie Hunt 2-0
It was her first tournament and first time playing modern against someone that was not her husband. Nice, relaxing way to start the GP.
Game 1 she goes Island Swamp Reliquary Tower Treasure Hunt, draws only 7-8 lands and another treasure hunt. Dies the next turn to exacts from a good hand on my side.
Game 2 is Island Swamp Treasure Hunt, draws 15 or so lands including the tower, and hits zombie infestation. She drops around 6 2/2 zombies and eventually 10-12 total but my guys are too big and I get her with exacts again (Assault formation is great against creature decks. Difficult to remove, allows Doran to die without removing the effect, pumps the team).
Record: 1-0
Match 2: Grixis Control 2-1
Grixis Control just doesn’t have all the necessary tools to deal with the speed of this deck. PtE is really good and he needed it. Dreadbore and Terminate are great, but at two mana, it’s hard to keep up. He kept asking game 1 if he was going to lose to Doran. Game 3 he comments that his mull to 6 hand is really soft to turn 2 Doran, which is what happened.
Game 1 I get out fast and for every creature he removed, I played two. Beat him down with Doran after he did 4 damage to himself with lands.
Game 2 I do not get out as fast. He stays ahead with snapcaster removal and counterspells, and bedlam reveler. Eventually snaps and tar pits get me.
Game 3 Get out real fast and he does not put up much resistance as I drop spellskite and other friends. He cast a nice bedlam reveler late but draws lands. I remove it and swing for the win.
Record: 2-0
Match 3: Jeskai Nahiri 0-2
This match-up felt very tough but looking back, I made some sideboarding errors. I forget to side out removal against this deck, which has almost no targets. Grafdigger’s cage would have been great instead.
Game 1 He destroys everything that I play. I get a formation down but cannot keep a creature on the battlefield to pressure Nahiri. He gets Emrakul and hits me for exactly 15. I would have actually been okay after the annihilator, but forgot this Emrakul was a 15/15 (could have saved a point of damage with lands). Did not see lingering souls, which would have been good.
Game 2 More of the same, he has just way too much removal. He lined everything up nice, using snaps and burn to get rid of high toughness guys, and I couldn’t get anyone to stick, again no souls. He had 3 nahiri’s, which was very good.
Record: 2-1
Match 4: BW Eldrazi Processors 2-1
Lost to this in a previous IQ, it can be tough when they get shambling vents and Vault of the Archangel. Games are generally a grind, and often go long.
Game 1 he has a slower start with relic and wasteland strangler. I get going early and beat him down hard and fast, even with the turn 4 TKS. He almost stabilizes but birds finish him off.
Game 2 he has a better start and I start picking away at him with a turn 2 Lingering Souls. He gets down some big eldrazi including a crucial blight herder for more blockers. If he had played reality smasher I would have been able to clear a path to to victory. Instead, he removes a couple of my blockers the next turn to swing for lethal.
Game 3 was very grindy, with each of us removing each others permanents. We get to top decking and with fewer lands, I get more gas. He still stalls with Shambling Vent and Vault of the Archangel gaining him life, but I eventually get through.
Record: 3-1
Match 5: Abzan Evolution 1-2
This list ran voices (huge pain), finks (hate em) and some flying bombs. Sigarda and Linvala are rough, and them having excellent removal makes this match-up tough. Gavony also provides inevitability if I somehow get through his oodles of value.
Game 1 he just has better creatures. Sigarda beats me down with linvala and I never see a tower defense, which seems like the best card in the match-up. Also, no souls, which would have let me stave off the flying assault.
Game 2 I’m able to get going quickly but he clogs the board. I eventually get 5-6 creatures out swing with the house. Although he has gavony online, I have more dudes and the two unblocked creatures did 17 with the help of Tower Defense. He clearly did not know about the card, but I’m not sure it would have changed anything.
Game 3 goes fairly similar to Game 1, with Voice just putting in so much work. He beats me down with bigger and better dudes after playing a couple of Eldritch Evolutions.
Record: 3-2
Match 6: Infect 2-0
I love playing against infect.
Game 1 I have the infect nuts: Harbinger into Skite into Doran. He scoops even before I can cast Tower Defense.
Game 2 He clearly brings in the Spellskite hate, judging by his slow opening. I play a few creatures that get removed and then get a lingering souls going. I use assault formation to pump for lots of damage.
Record: 4-2
Match 7: Dredge 2-1
Interesting match-up. Pretty much all depends on what they put in (and then return from) their graveyard in the early turns. The die roll is also very important.
Game 1 I’m on the play and go T1 Birds, T2 Lagonna-Assault Formation, T3 Path his blocker and Tower Defense. He was at 16 so he goes down to 1 and just scoops.
Game 2 he has a good start and has his engine going. I have a good board state but he continues to do degenerate things with bridges and Greater Gargadon. Many zombies later and he whittles me down. One strange play: I swing with a huge team, including a Rhino, when he has a vengeful pharaoh in the yard. Due to all the crazy combat math, he forgets the trigger. This is important because it would have exiled his bridges, and he created a ton of zombies next turn. We call a judge when we notice, and the judge gives him a warning and says I have the option of putting it on the stack. Since we are in his main phase, there are no attacking creatures…Strange event, not sure how much it would have impacted the game as he got the gargadon out and I did not have removal.
Game 3 I get the turn 1 cage out. He draws and then concedes. It turns out he had presented me his deck of 57 cards, since he had left the three cards he had exiled last game on top of his deck box. I didn’t have much else going on in the hand so it would have been interesting but I will take the win.
Record: 5-2
Match 8: Burn 2-1
Burn is extremely die roll dependent and is just about 50-50. I can generally shut down their creatures but my clock is a tad slower than theirs. This often comes down to if I can get a Rhino on the field.
Game 1 he wins the die roll and leads with grim lavamancer. This was actually the perfect opening for him as he was able to do lots of damage with it, and spellskite did not help. His burn heavy hand lined up well, rendering my blockers useless, and he killed me at a comfortable 10 life.
Game 2 I get a decent start and clog up the ground for his early threats. He takes a bunch of damage from land and Eidelon, while I resolve two Rhinos. I win at a comfortable 10 life.
Game 3 was very tense. He mulled to 6 and confided afterwards that he kept a Bolt, Guide and 4 land hand. However, he drew non-lands the rest of the game. I get a decent start but have trouble pushing through much damage. He hits a couple of lightning helixes while I am fighting to stay alive. I finally cast a Rhino at 6 life to stave off disaster and have a pretty good sized board at this point. I swing big while he is at 17 and he deflecting palms my Rhino, putting me to 1 after another helix. He has no cards, I’m at 1 and have lethal next turn. He topdecks…land, finally. I win with exact damage the next turn.
Record: 6-2
Match 9: UW Emeria Control 0-2
This matchup felt completely unwinnable. Lots of guys clogging up the board, sweepers and path, keeps bringing creatures and spells back, detention sphere, ugh.
Game 1 I have Doran and not Assault Formation, which makes his Wall of Omens a pain. I get to the point where I swing with everything for like 40 but he blocks it all. I have 3 guys left, he has none, and he casts Supreme Verdict. A Sun Titan the next turn pretty much ends it.
Game 2 More of the same, although I Thoughtseize to take his Sun Titan. Doesn’t matter, he draws two more, while pathing and D-Sphering everything. Lone Missionary keeps his life total high and he just out-gasses me.
Record: 6-3
Day 2
Match 10: Infect 2-1
Game 1 I don’t see any of the usual infect hate but am out fast enough to pressure him low. I remove his infectors and he starts to go at me with normal damage on his Spellskite. Rancor proved surprisingly effective at going over the top of lingering souls blockers. In the final turn, I punted the game. He has a spellskite with Rancor, I have mana open for Chord, x = 2, and I am at 6 life while he is at 4. He swings, I block with Lagonna, he pumps with Become Immense. He still has 2 mana open and this would put me to 1 so I stupidly just let it resolve. He then Vines, kicker, and even if grab Spellskite now, I don’t have the life to redirect. Real dumb.
Game 2 I T1 Thoughtseize his only infect creature and he doesn’t draw another. I beat him down with big guys at my leisure.
Game 3 I again Thoughtseize him and take his Become Immense after he plays glistener T1. I take a whack but stabilize with ground pounders. I then play Doran to bait out his Twisted Image, then play Spellskite and Assault formation. I beat him down in satisfying fashion.
Record: 7-3
Match 11: 8-Rack 2-1
Interesting deck and match-up.
Game 1 he T1 Inks me, taking the Spellskite. I immediately think Jund (although he lead with basic swamp) and actually think I have a pretty decent hand against it. Nope, He turn 2 Mind Wrenches me, then turn 3 Mind wrenches me. Then he plays the rack and starts to just Raven’s Crime me to death. I actually almost stabilize, after playing a Ram and then chording for another, but I took too much damage early and his mind funeral seals the deal.
Game 2 I mull to 6 and find Leyline. Literally nothing he can do and I beat him down cautiously while protecting my life total.
Game 3 I again mull to 6 and find Leyline. This time, he plays lupine prototype and dumps his hand. He swings with the prototype into my turn 2 Doran, which I thought was a little odd. I traded, and then he surgical extractioned Doran. Didn’t matter, I had assault formation in hand and kept dropping guys.
He confided that his deck has pretty much no answer to leyline. He brought in Ratchet Bomb to try and blow it up, it’s that bad. Not a lot of people run it though, so he doesn’t usually have to deal with it. He also said he played another Doran/Assault Formation deck Day 1.
Record: 8-3
Match 12: Bant Eldrazi 1-2
Bant Eldrazi is tough and the only way to win is to get in before they can stabilize with Drowner and Displacer, or start smashing with Reality. Spellskite can slow them down, but its really Lingering souls that is necessary to get in the last bits of damage.
Game 1 I get out quick and under the space monsters. TKS didn’t have many targets when it came down turn 4 and birds finished him off. He mulled to 6.
Game 2 brought the pain. Reality smasher on turn 3 on the play hit me for 7 with heirarch. I was able to get out a fiend hunter but his bird with heirarch triggers pressured me very low and displacer cleared the way in the end. At one point, I could have not played doran, which pumped the bird by 1 and turned on the hierarchs, not sure it mattered though.
Game 3 was also brutal. I resolved a Thoughtseize and saw Ancient Stirrings, Drowner, TKS, and Temple. I only had Chord for an enabler so I had to take the TKS. I started to get things going but it was too late as drowner and displacer take over.
Overall I felt the deck played very well. Turn 2 Doran or Lingering Souls can be very difficult for a lot of decks to deal with. Fiend Hunter was great all day, chording it up when necessary or using evolution on turn 2 with a dork. Goyf was fine; I only played him twice but he was huge each time, something like 5/6 or 6/7. I initially was not impressed with Leyline but it has the ability to win games against difficult decks so I think it is a necessary evil in the sideboard. There were a number of games where I did not see Lingering Souls and it would have been very good. Not sure if 4 is correct but I could see the argument for it. I had previously run 4 Tower Defenses and didn't really miss the fourth except against Abzan Evolution. Siege Rhino is often great; the drain and gain is usually relevant and trample is extremely important at pushing through damage. I did side 1 out a few games, but having a creature that is good all on its own is something I think the deck needs (Goyf could fill this role). Chord was excellent as well, it is often cast much later but the the flexibility and instant speed helps set up game winning plays. Evolution wasn't bad; as noted it is card disadvantage but it's much faster than Chord. I liked the 2-1 split, and I will continue to test to see if that is the right number. I consider Nyx-Fleece Ram somewhat of a flex spot, but it pulled its weight most games. The extra toughness was helpful and the lifegain was important in a number of games. Until something better gets printed, I think it will stay in the main. Lagonna-Band Trailblazer was actually awesome in a lot of matches. The 4 toughness one drop is really good at getting in early damage and staying ahead in a race. I could see the case for a third instead of Goyf.
I am working on a write-up about individual matches but in general, the deck is good against all aggro decks (Spellskite, blockers, lingering souls, maindeck lifegain). It has decent game against midrange decks, probably a tougher time against combo but the sideboard contains a good amount of hate. Control is definitely the worst match-up; sweepers, counterspells and inevitability make it difficult. However, good hands can get under them and Tower Defense can end it quickly.
It can't be fetched by Treefolk Harbinger or the Fetchlands so it might be a problem.
I also think that Anafenza, The Foremost should be in the maindeck as it is very good against Dredge right now and the pump ability is useful as well.
I can see running 2x Anafenza over 1x Siege Rhino and 1x Scavenging Ooze.
I think that running a set of Tarmogoyfs might be a decent backup plan to not getting Doran/Formation on time or having it removed.
They can replace Nyx-Fleece Ram.
Fastlands: I don't really think Blooming Marsh needs to be fetchable. There are plenty of fetch targets in our lands already. The fast lands accommodate untapped two colors on T1-3 WITHOUT a hit to your life.
Anafenza: I can see Anafenza, The Foremost being a good card to have something to do with your big butt creatures that can't attack without your enablers and the second ability is definitely relevant in the current meta.
Rhino over Scooze: The reason I run Scavenging Ooze is to pick off cards in graveyards or to protect the Doran in my graveyard from Surgical Extraction.
Tarmo: I have found that having a backup plan hasn't come up that often with this deck. Maybe once in 30ish games? The reason I run the 4 Inquisition of Kozilek is to clear their hand of any way of disrupting our early game or disrupting their fast start to setup a quick win. I have thought about going down 2 Nyx-Fleece Ram for Tarmogoyf as the mana cost is the same and it provides two more green sources for Chord of Calling. I have 4 NFR because of my local meta being burn/red aggro heavy.
Good feedback and I am going to start some testing with Tarmy and Anafenza.
Abrupt Decay kills permanents and can't be countered which is alot of upside to give up for saving 1 mana with Fatal Push.
Edit: I CAN see this as a possible replacement for Path To Exile since we would prefer to not give our opponent a land on turn 1 or 2 but still kill low CMC creatures.
This list is from when Assault formation was first printed and hasn't been updated in quite a while.
Pretty horrible matchup against Jund/Abzan TS decks, but seems decent everywhere else. Pretty straight forward combo that can win quite quickly with Mardu Ascendancy making 1/1's that can become 1/4's
I would like to get people's thoughts on this list.
This list is from when Assault formation was first printed and hasn't been updated in quite a while.
Pretty horrible matchup against Jund/Abzan TS decks, but seems decent everywhere else. Pretty straight forward combo that can win quite quickly with Mardu Ascendancy making 1/1's that can become 1/4's
I was on the "all-in" train but have come around. I am convinced we need something going on when Doran or AF is offline. I've had several games where Doran gets Surgically Extracted and I'm stuck. I am running 2 Scavenging Ooze, 1 Siege Rhino, 1 Anafenza, the Foremost. This also gives us more life gain to buy more time while waiting on our enablers.
Yahenni's Expertise seems like a good board wipe while still leaving most of our creatures plus dropping in just about anything we want front our deck. The 4 is hard but with the format slightly slowing down, maybe?
#The Chords had to go as I needed more slots for interaction and there are probably enough ways to find Doran in the deck already.
The discard seems really good at the moment so I added it in and Tarmogoyf seems like a pretty obvious inclusion here with it's high toughness and the multiple card types included in the deck (now the deck becomes much less budget unfortunetly...). Path to Exile was moved to the SB and replaced by Fatal Push and with both playsets of Goyf and Lingering Souls in the deck Rest in Peace makes less sense in the SB so it was replaced by Nihil Spellbomb.
#There might be a case for shaving off more creatures (Disowned Ancestor) or combo pieces (Tower Defense) for even more interaction (discard/removal) to have a better chance to stay in the game when not drawing amazingly well.
In an 18x lands version I wouldn't consider cutting the Birds as they help cheat on lands (together with Treefolk Harbinger which I often use to get lands) and fix mana as well.
Being able to finish games with Tower Defense comes up quite often with the Birds as well.
Has anyone else tried using Behind The Scenes? I have this card as a two of in my deck and honestly, this card is broken. It allows me to find ways around decks that go wide and chump you.I am in love with this card and when mixed with tower defense, it just wins games.
I don't know about that because there are games where I have been losing and have come back to win because I was able to Behind the Scenes and then tower defense for 32 damage. I believe it is a card that gives a deck that relies on dealing damage to get through decks that can easily block all of the large creatures and gains life. I was able to beat an elf deck that had way to many creatures out for me to deal with and was going to win next turn, but because of Behind the Scenes I was able to go under their creatures and win the game. It may be a win more card at times but I do believe that it can be a card for consideration.
I had lingering souls in originally but with the popularity of bitterblossum, I found that I wasn't able to win anymore through that avenue so Being able to just swing without them blocking has been a huge boon for my deck. I still run one lingering souls main board and one sideboard though.
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2-0: U/R Prowess
2-0: R/G Aggro
1-2: G Devotion ( I never drew my sideboard Ensnaring Bridges )
2-1: Kiki-Chord
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Skinshifter
4 Spellskite
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
2 Siege Rhino
Spells:17
4 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Assault Formation
4 Tower Defense
3 Lingering Souls
4 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
4 Murmuring Bosk
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
3 Thoughtseize
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
3 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Nevermore
3 Leyline of Sanctity
I will be making changes based on how it played but this deck is fun for sure.
A Doran deck also got second at this event: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-abzan-toughness-25036#paper
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Noble Hierarch
4 Treefolk Harbinger
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
4 Spellskite
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
2 Siege Rhino
Spells (19)
3 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Assault Formation
4 Tower Defense
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
2 Chord of Calling
3 Lingering Souls
2 Forest
2 Murmuring Bosk
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Thoughtseize
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Nameless Inversion
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Leyline of Sanctity
Abzan Toughness - MTGGoldfish
Modern
C Colorless Eldrazi Stompy C
WUGC Bant Eldrazi CGUW
WBG Doran Formation GBW
Legacy
C Eldrazi Stompy C
Multiplayer Commander
GR Omnath, Locus of Rage RG
WU Brago, King Eternal UW
BG Slimefoot, the Stowaway GB
I would probably replace Lagonna-Band Trailblazer with Disowned Ancestor as outlast can help sometimes while heroic won't be used.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride is probably not necessary for the deck.
What about Kin-Tree Invocation as an alternative ?
I wonder if Nyx-Fleece Ram should move to the SB for Grizzled Leotau.
Can the deck function well enough with only the 4x Birds of Paradise so that the 2x Noble Hierarch can be replaced with more tough creatures (Disowned Ancestor/Grizzled Leotau) ?
Would any of these creatures be good in this deck (possibly over the Siege Rhino):
Skinshifter, Marisi's Twinclaws (double strike), Indomitable Ancients, Anafenza, the Foremost, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Courser of Kruphix, Priests of Norn (infect), Vampire Envoy (flying), Graveblade Marauder.
Here is the list I'm going to test:
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Treefolk Harbinger
3x Disowned Ancestor
4x Spellskite
3x Grizzled Leotau
2x Courser of Kruphix
3x Doran, the Siege Tower
Enchantment (3)
3x Assault Formation
Sorcery (4)
4x Lingering Souls
Instants (12)
3x Path to Exile
3x Abrupt Decay
4x Tower Defense
2x Chord of Calling
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
2x Murmuring Bosk
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Temple Garden
2x Forest
1x Plains
1x Swamp
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
1x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Nyx-Fleece Ram
Still not sure about Skinshifter, the flexibility can be good but it is also very easy to remove when I'm tapped out.
Grizzled Leotau/Disowned Ancestor or Nyx-Fleece Ram seem like more reliable options.
Courser of Kruphix seems good here for playing lands of the top (put there by Treefolk Harbinger) and gain some life, other cards I thought about for these slots were: Anafenza, the Foremost and Loxodon Smiter (or maybe Dauntless Escort as a chord target against sweepers).
Another idea I had was to replace Abrupt Decay with Inquisition of Kozilek, is it a good idea ?
I didn't have that much mana trouble so far and the deck functions rather well on 3 lands, it also almost never floods out and continues to draw "action".
About Disowned Ancestor, I play the same amount of white and black sources in the deck so switching to a white creature won't improve consistency as far as I can see.
What did you mean by N.F.Ram and G.Leotau being win-more cards ?
The deck needs beaters and they are the most efficient 2-drops for this purpose (and obviously can also block well, even Siege Rhino and Tasigur, the Golden Fang).
Treefolk Harbinger, Spellskite and Disowned Ancestor (with Doran) are not enough.
Would maindeck discard Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtseize over Abrupt Decay be good idea to improve the combo/control match-ups ?
Do you think that Chord of Calling is good enough in this deck (with 4x Lingering Souls and 23x creatures) ?
Or should it be replaced with Eldritch Evolution ?
Or maybe dropped entirely for more interaction ? (discard)
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Siege Rhino
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
4 Spellskite
4 Treefolk Harbinger
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Tarmogoyf
Spells (17)
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Eldritch Evolution
3 Assault Formation
2 Chord of Calling
3 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
3 Tower Defense
2 Forest
2 Murmuring Bosk
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Swamp
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Kataki, War's Wage
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
3 Thoughtseize
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
I wrote up a tournament report as well.
GPT Indy Tournament Report with Abzan Toughness (aka Big Butts aka Doran Assault)
Match 1: Zombie Hunt 2-0
It was her first tournament and first time playing modern against someone that was not her husband. Nice, relaxing way to start the GP.
Game 1 she goes Island Swamp Reliquary Tower Treasure Hunt, draws only 7-8 lands and another treasure hunt. Dies the next turn to exacts from a good hand on my side.
Game 2 is Island Swamp Treasure Hunt, draws 15 or so lands including the tower, and hits zombie infestation. She drops around 6 2/2 zombies and eventually 10-12 total but my guys are too big and I get her with exacts again (Assault formation is great against creature decks. Difficult to remove, allows Doran to die without removing the effect, pumps the team).
Record: 1-0
Match 2: Grixis Control 2-1
Grixis Control just doesn’t have all the necessary tools to deal with the speed of this deck. PtE is really good and he needed it. Dreadbore and Terminate are great, but at two mana, it’s hard to keep up. He kept asking game 1 if he was going to lose to Doran. Game 3 he comments that his mull to 6 hand is really soft to turn 2 Doran, which is what happened.
Game 1 I get out fast and for every creature he removed, I played two. Beat him down with Doran after he did 4 damage to himself with lands.
Game 2 I do not get out as fast. He stays ahead with snapcaster removal and counterspells, and bedlam reveler. Eventually snaps and tar pits get me.
Game 3 Get out real fast and he does not put up much resistance as I drop spellskite and other friends. He cast a nice bedlam reveler late but draws lands. I remove it and swing for the win.
Record: 2-0
Match 3: Jeskai Nahiri 0-2
This match-up felt very tough but looking back, I made some sideboarding errors. I forget to side out removal against this deck, which has almost no targets. Grafdigger’s cage would have been great instead.
Game 1 He destroys everything that I play. I get a formation down but cannot keep a creature on the battlefield to pressure Nahiri. He gets Emrakul and hits me for exactly 15. I would have actually been okay after the annihilator, but forgot this Emrakul was a 15/15 (could have saved a point of damage with lands). Did not see lingering souls, which would have been good.
Game 2 More of the same, he has just way too much removal. He lined everything up nice, using snaps and burn to get rid of high toughness guys, and I couldn’t get anyone to stick, again no souls. He had 3 nahiri’s, which was very good.
Record: 2-1
Match 4: BW Eldrazi Processors 2-1
Lost to this in a previous IQ, it can be tough when they get shambling vents and Vault of the Archangel. Games are generally a grind, and often go long.
Game 1 he has a slower start with relic and wasteland strangler. I get going early and beat him down hard and fast, even with the turn 4 TKS. He almost stabilizes but birds finish him off.
Game 2 he has a better start and I start picking away at him with a turn 2 Lingering Souls. He gets down some big eldrazi including a crucial blight herder for more blockers. If he had played reality smasher I would have been able to clear a path to to victory. Instead, he removes a couple of my blockers the next turn to swing for lethal.
Game 3 was very grindy, with each of us removing each others permanents. We get to top decking and with fewer lands, I get more gas. He still stalls with Shambling Vent and Vault of the Archangel gaining him life, but I eventually get through.
Record: 3-1
Match 5: Abzan Evolution 1-2
This list ran voices (huge pain), finks (hate em) and some flying bombs. Sigarda and Linvala are rough, and them having excellent removal makes this match-up tough. Gavony also provides inevitability if I somehow get through his oodles of value.
Game 1 he just has better creatures. Sigarda beats me down with linvala and I never see a tower defense, which seems like the best card in the match-up. Also, no souls, which would have let me stave off the flying assault.
Game 2 I’m able to get going quickly but he clogs the board. I eventually get 5-6 creatures out swing with the house. Although he has gavony online, I have more dudes and the two unblocked creatures did 17 with the help of Tower Defense. He clearly did not know about the card, but I’m not sure it would have changed anything.
Game 3 goes fairly similar to Game 1, with Voice just putting in so much work. He beats me down with bigger and better dudes after playing a couple of Eldritch Evolutions.
Record: 3-2
Match 6: Infect 2-0
I love playing against infect.
Game 1 I have the infect nuts: Harbinger into Skite into Doran. He scoops even before I can cast Tower Defense.
Game 2 He clearly brings in the Spellskite hate, judging by his slow opening. I play a few creatures that get removed and then get a lingering souls going. I use assault formation to pump for lots of damage.
Record: 4-2
Match 7: Dredge 2-1
Interesting match-up. Pretty much all depends on what they put in (and then return from) their graveyard in the early turns. The die roll is also very important.
Game 1 I’m on the play and go T1 Birds, T2 Lagonna-Assault Formation, T3 Path his blocker and Tower Defense. He was at 16 so he goes down to 1 and just scoops.
Game 2 he has a good start and has his engine going. I have a good board state but he continues to do degenerate things with bridges and Greater Gargadon. Many zombies later and he whittles me down. One strange play: I swing with a huge team, including a Rhino, when he has a vengeful pharaoh in the yard. Due to all the crazy combat math, he forgets the trigger. This is important because it would have exiled his bridges, and he created a ton of zombies next turn. We call a judge when we notice, and the judge gives him a warning and says I have the option of putting it on the stack. Since we are in his main phase, there are no attacking creatures…Strange event, not sure how much it would have impacted the game as he got the gargadon out and I did not have removal.
Game 3 I get the turn 1 cage out. He draws and then concedes. It turns out he had presented me his deck of 57 cards, since he had left the three cards he had exiled last game on top of his deck box. I didn’t have much else going on in the hand so it would have been interesting but I will take the win.
Record: 5-2
Match 8: Burn 2-1
Burn is extremely die roll dependent and is just about 50-50. I can generally shut down their creatures but my clock is a tad slower than theirs. This often comes down to if I can get a Rhino on the field.
Game 1 he wins the die roll and leads with grim lavamancer. This was actually the perfect opening for him as he was able to do lots of damage with it, and spellskite did not help. His burn heavy hand lined up well, rendering my blockers useless, and he killed me at a comfortable 10 life.
Game 2 I get a decent start and clog up the ground for his early threats. He takes a bunch of damage from land and Eidelon, while I resolve two Rhinos. I win at a comfortable 10 life.
Game 3 was very tense. He mulled to 6 and confided afterwards that he kept a Bolt, Guide and 4 land hand. However, he drew non-lands the rest of the game. I get a decent start but have trouble pushing through much damage. He hits a couple of lightning helixes while I am fighting to stay alive. I finally cast a Rhino at 6 life to stave off disaster and have a pretty good sized board at this point. I swing big while he is at 17 and he deflecting palms my Rhino, putting me to 1 after another helix. He has no cards, I’m at 1 and have lethal next turn. He topdecks…land, finally. I win with exact damage the next turn.
Record: 6-2
Match 9: UW Emeria Control 0-2
This matchup felt completely unwinnable. Lots of guys clogging up the board, sweepers and path, keeps bringing creatures and spells back, detention sphere, ugh.
Game 1 I have Doran and not Assault Formation, which makes his Wall of Omens a pain. I get to the point where I swing with everything for like 40 but he blocks it all. I have 3 guys left, he has none, and he casts Supreme Verdict. A Sun Titan the next turn pretty much ends it.
Game 2 More of the same, although I Thoughtseize to take his Sun Titan. Doesn’t matter, he draws two more, while pathing and D-Sphering everything. Lone Missionary keeps his life total high and he just out-gasses me.
Record: 6-3
Day 2
Match 10: Infect 2-1
Game 1 I don’t see any of the usual infect hate but am out fast enough to pressure him low. I remove his infectors and he starts to go at me with normal damage on his Spellskite. Rancor proved surprisingly effective at going over the top of lingering souls blockers. In the final turn, I punted the game. He has a spellskite with Rancor, I have mana open for Chord, x = 2, and I am at 6 life while he is at 4. He swings, I block with Lagonna, he pumps with Become Immense. He still has 2 mana open and this would put me to 1 so I stupidly just let it resolve. He then Vines, kicker, and even if grab Spellskite now, I don’t have the life to redirect. Real dumb.
Game 2 I T1 Thoughtseize his only infect creature and he doesn’t draw another. I beat him down with big guys at my leisure.
Game 3 I again Thoughtseize him and take his Become Immense after he plays glistener T1. I take a whack but stabilize with ground pounders. I then play Doran to bait out his Twisted Image, then play Spellskite and Assault formation. I beat him down in satisfying fashion.
Record: 7-3
Match 11: 8-Rack 2-1
Interesting deck and match-up.
Game 1 he T1 Inks me, taking the Spellskite. I immediately think Jund (although he lead with basic swamp) and actually think I have a pretty decent hand against it. Nope, He turn 2 Mind Wrenches me, then turn 3 Mind wrenches me. Then he plays the rack and starts to just Raven’s Crime me to death. I actually almost stabilize, after playing a Ram and then chording for another, but I took too much damage early and his mind funeral seals the deal.
Game 2 I mull to 6 and find Leyline. Literally nothing he can do and I beat him down cautiously while protecting my life total.
Game 3 I again mull to 6 and find Leyline. This time, he plays lupine prototype and dumps his hand. He swings with the prototype into my turn 2 Doran, which I thought was a little odd. I traded, and then he surgical extractioned Doran. Didn’t matter, I had assault formation in hand and kept dropping guys.
He confided that his deck has pretty much no answer to leyline. He brought in Ratchet Bomb to try and blow it up, it’s that bad. Not a lot of people run it though, so he doesn’t usually have to deal with it. He also said he played another Doran/Assault Formation deck Day 1.
Record: 8-3
Match 12: Bant Eldrazi 1-2
Bant Eldrazi is tough and the only way to win is to get in before they can stabilize with Drowner and Displacer, or start smashing with Reality. Spellskite can slow them down, but its really Lingering souls that is necessary to get in the last bits of damage.
Game 1 I get out quick and under the space monsters. TKS didn’t have many targets when it came down turn 4 and birds finished him off. He mulled to 6.
Game 2 brought the pain. Reality smasher on turn 3 on the play hit me for 7 with heirarch. I was able to get out a fiend hunter but his bird with heirarch triggers pressured me very low and displacer cleared the way in the end. At one point, I could have not played doran, which pumped the bird by 1 and turned on the hierarchs, not sure it mattered though.
Game 3 was also brutal. I resolved a Thoughtseize and saw Ancient Stirrings, Drowner, TKS, and Temple. I only had Chord for an enabler so I had to take the TKS. I started to get things going but it was too late as drowner and displacer take over.
Record: 8-4
I am working on a write-up about individual matches but in general, the deck is good against all aggro decks (Spellskite, blockers, lingering souls, maindeck lifegain). It has decent game against midrange decks, probably a tougher time against combo but the sideboard contains a good amount of hate. Control is definitely the worst match-up; sweepers, counterspells and inevitability make it difficult. However, good hands can get under them and Tower Defense can end it quickly.
My list
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Disowned Ancestor
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Spellskite
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
1 Siege Rhino
Spells:18
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Assault Formation
3 Tower Defense
2 Chord of Calling
3 Lingering Souls
3 Blooming Marsh
2 Forest
2 Murmuring Bosk
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Path to Exile
1 Nameless Inversion
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Leyline of Sanctity
I also think that Anafenza, The Foremost should be in the maindeck as it is very good against Dredge right now and the pump ability is useful as well.
I can see running 2x Anafenza over 1x Siege Rhino and 1x Scavenging Ooze.
I think that running a set of Tarmogoyfs might be a decent backup plan to not getting Doran/Formation on time or having it removed.
They can replace Nyx-Fleece Ram.
Anafenza: I can see Anafenza, The Foremost being a good card to have something to do with your big butt creatures that can't attack without your enablers and the second ability is definitely relevant in the current meta.
Rhino over Scooze: The reason I run Scavenging Ooze is to pick off cards in graveyards or to protect the Doran in my graveyard from Surgical Extraction.
Tarmo: I have found that having a backup plan hasn't come up that often with this deck. Maybe once in 30ish games? The reason I run the 4 Inquisition of Kozilek is to clear their hand of any way of disrupting our early game or disrupting their fast start to setup a quick win. I have thought about going down 2 Nyx-Fleece Ram for Tarmogoyf as the mana cost is the same and it provides two more green sources for Chord of Calling. I have 4 NFR because of my local meta being burn/red aggro heavy.
Good feedback and I am going to start some testing with Tarmy and Anafenza.
Fatal Push seems rather obvious, I can see it replacing Abrupt Decay (which can move to the SB).
Sram's Expertise/Yahenni's Expertise also seems interesting but a bit slow at 4-mana.
Edit: I CAN see this as a possible replacement for Path To Exile since we would prefer to not give our opponent a land on turn 1 or 2 but still kill low CMC creatures.
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Spellskite
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Treefolk Harbinger
Enchantments:
3 Mardu Ascendancy
3 Assault Formation
Spells:
3 Glittering Wish
4 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Razorverge Thicket
2 Murmuring Bosk
1 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Doran, the Siege Tower
1 Mardu Ascendancy
1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1 Guttural Response
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Dreadbore
1 Boros Charm
1 Firespout
1 Wear // Tear
1 Fracturing Gust
This list is from when Assault formation was first printed and hasn't been updated in quite a while.
Pretty horrible matchup against Jund/Abzan TS decks, but seems decent everywhere else. Pretty straight forward combo that can win quite quickly with Mardu Ascendancy making 1/1's that can become 1/4's
I was on the "all-in" train but have come around. I am convinced we need something going on when Doran or AF is offline. I've had several games where Doran gets Surgically Extracted and I'm stuck. I am running 2 Scavenging Ooze, 1 Siege Rhino, 1 Anafenza, the Foremost. This also gives us more life gain to buy more time while waiting on our enablers.
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Disowned Ancestor
4 Treefolk Harbinger
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Spellskite
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
1 Siege Rhino
Spells:11
4 Fatal Push
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Assault Formation
3 Tower Defense
2 Chord of Calling
3 Blooming Marsh
2 Forest
2 Murmuring Bosk
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Pithing Needle
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
3 Lingering Souls
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Yahenni's Expertise seems like a good board wipe while still leaving most of our creatures plus dropping in just about anything we want front our deck. The 4 is hard but with the format slightly slowing down, maybe?
Here is how I see the new version of the deck:
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Treefolk Harbinger
2x Disowned Ancestor
4x Spellskite
4x Tarmogoyf
1x Anafenza, The Foremost
3x Doran, the Siege Tower
Enchantment (3)
3x Assault Formation
Sorcery (7)
3x Thoughtseize
4x Lingering Souls
4x Fatal Push
2x Abrupt Decay
4x Tower Defense
Lands (18)
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
2x Murmuring Bosk
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Temple Garden
2x Forest
1x Plains
1x Swamp
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Path to Exile
2x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Stony Silence
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Nyx-Fleece Ram
The discard seems really good at the moment so I added it in and Tarmogoyf seems like a pretty obvious inclusion here with it's high toughness and the multiple card types included in the deck (now the deck becomes much less budget unfortunetly...).
Path to Exile was moved to the SB and replaced by Fatal Push and with both playsets of Goyf and Lingering Souls in the deck Rest in Peace makes less sense in the SB so it was replaced by Nihil Spellbomb.
#There might be a case for shaving off more creatures (Disowned Ancestor) or combo pieces (Tower Defense) for even more interaction (discard/removal) to have a better chance to stay in the game when not drawing amazingly well.
What do you think ?
Being able to finish games with Tower Defense comes up quite often with the Birds as well.