I believe "Deathtouch" means that the creature does lethal damage. It still counts as damage, hence it doesn't kill Undergrowth Champion if he has +1 counters on it.
Deck performed very well and the mainboard Elspeth, Sun's Champion came in handy frequently. I'll be sad to see her go. Aside from the semi-finals where bad luck ended my run, it was a good night. Especially pulling a foil Hangarback Walker out of a prize pack.
I'd also like to note that I live in Taipei, Taiwan and go to one of the bigger biggest stores in the city where the competition is very tough. Almost everyone here runs a tier one deck and can play them well. It's fun though and a great challenge.
I have been testing this list tonight. I've won a majority of my games so far, even against RDW, which will rotate soon and should be stronger against this deck. It feels weaker than the pre-rotation list, but it seems most decks are losing a bit of power post-rotation.
This gives 18 white sources, 16 black sources and 16 green sources. The land base feels a little slow, but not much slower than it did pre-rotation. Any thoughts?
I think the 4CMC is the reason why more people aren't running Utter End. If this format slows down sufficiently, it may get more play than Ruinous Path.
This is an interesting list. It will be interesting to see what happens with Abzan control once Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Courser of Kruphix and half its removal suite is gone. Perhaps Tasigur, the Golden Fang could be good in your above list as it's one of the few Abzan control staples that remain after rotation.
Given that there doesn't seem to be a suitable replacement for Fleecemane Lion, it seems that the aggro variant may need to look back at cards from the Khans block. Some have suggested Rakshasa Deathdealer, and I've been thinking about Warden of the First Tree. It's faster and may be good for undercutting some of the big creature decks that WotC seems to be pushing.
Cards I already own:
4 Thoughtseize
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Seige Rhino
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Windswept Heath
Colors I like to play:
I'm flexible and don't really care
Style:
I don't really like to play combo decks, but enjoy both a control and aggressive style.
Budget I have:
Ideally a few hundred dollars. Maybe around $300?
Level I want to play at:
Ideally enough to win big tournaments, but at least able to consistently top FNM's if played well.
These are the more expensive cards I currently own that are commonly used in modern. I'm relatively new to this game, and am looking to dip my feet into modern.
I don't know how Dromoka's Command get's worse after the rotation, but many decks have already started cutting Ultimate Price. Pretty much every competitive Abzan Aggro deck has replaced Rakshasa Deathdealer with Hangarback Walker. Aside from losing Fleecemane Lion and a few black sources, the deck is largely intact. Granted, losing the Temples and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth stings. I don't know if it will continue to dominate the format, but I can't see the deck just disappearing when it's core remains intact.
I played a few casual matches against GR Devotion. My understanding is that this is an awful match-up Game 1 which improves after sideboarding. This is my decklist:
This list *should* be more favored against RG Devotion than usual due to my mainboard Elspeth, Sun's Champion. What should my strategy be for winning before sideboarding?
Got wrecked by Mardu Dragons in a few casual matches. A few matches were clearly variance (unbelievable godlike top-decks on his part), but it generally felt like an unfavorable matchup. I have tweaked my deck a little bit to be more similar to Paul Rietzl's deck in the World Championships and it seems to be okay. This is after the thumping I received.
That said, I'm not sure about Raksasha Deathdealer replacing Fleecemane Lion. The problem is that the loss of the Temples and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth makes hitting black sources less consistent, especially given that your above list only contains 10 of them. Perhaps I'm missing something important.
Deck performed well overall. The first two matches were against UR Tutelage decks. Both matches were easy once I boarded in 4 Thoughtseize and 1 Dromoka's Command.
In the third match he god drew on me and I got mana screwed on round two, not drawing a single white source for 5 turns.
Overall the deck is serving me well. At my local LGS I have a 67% win rate over 7 tournaments.
4 Siege Rhino
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
2 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Sorceries and Instants (11):
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Hero's Downfall
1 Valorous Stance
1 Ultimate Price
1 Murderous Cut
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Thoughtseize
3 Tragic Arrogance
2 Self-inflicted Wound
2 Drown in Sorrow
1 Ultimate Price
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Dromoka's Command
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Deck performed very well and the mainboard Elspeth, Sun's Champion came in handy frequently. I'll be sad to see her go. Aside from the semi-finals where bad luck ended my run, it was a good night. Especially pulling a foil Hangarback Walker out of a prize pack.
I'd also like to note that I live in Taipei, Taiwan and go to one of the bigger biggest stores in the city where the competition is very tough. Almost everyone here runs a tier one deck and can play them well. It's fun though and a great challenge.
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Warden of the First Tree
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
2 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Instants (9):
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Valorous Stance
1 Murderous Cut
2 Ruinous Path
Planeswalkers (3):
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Canopy Vista
3 Shambling Vent
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Wastes
2 Swamp
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Mortuary Mire
This gives 18 white sources, 16 black sources and 16 green sources. The land base feels a little slow, but not much slower than it did pre-rotation. Any thoughts?
Given that there doesn't seem to be a suitable replacement for Fleecemane Lion, it seems that the aggro variant may need to look back at cards from the Khans block. Some have suggested Rakshasa Deathdealer, and I've been thinking about Warden of the First Tree. It's faster and may be good for undercutting some of the big creature decks that WotC seems to be pushing.
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Warden of the First Tree
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
2 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Instants (9):
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Valorous Stance
1 Murderous Cut
2 Ruinous Path
Planeswalkers (3):
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Canopy Vista
3 Shambling Vent
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Wastes
2 Swamp
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Mortuary Mire
The land base is untested, but this gives 18 white sources, 16 black sources and 16 green sources.
What are your thoughts?
4 Thoughtseize
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Seige Rhino
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Windswept Heath
Colors I like to play:
I'm flexible and don't really care
Style:
I don't really like to play combo decks, but enjoy both a control and aggressive style.
Budget I have:
Ideally a few hundred dollars. Maybe around $300?
Level I want to play at:
Ideally enough to win big tournaments, but at least able to consistently top FNM's if played well.
These are the more expensive cards I currently own that are commonly used in modern. I'm relatively new to this game, and am looking to dip my feet into modern.
Note we have other creatures that could feasibly take Fleecemane Lion's place, such as Warden of the First Tree and Heir of the Wilds. That is without seeing the full Zendikar spoiler.
4 Siege Rhino
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Hangarback Walker
2 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Sorceries and Instants (11):
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Hero's Downfall
1 Ultimate Price
1 Valorous Stance
1 Murderous Cut
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
This list *should* be more favored against RG Devotion than usual due to my mainboard Elspeth, Sun's Champion. What should my strategy be for winning before sideboarding?
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Hangarback Walker
2 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Sorceries and Instants (11)
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Hero's Downfall
1 Ultimate Price
1 Murderous Cut
1 Valorous Stance
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Thoughtseize
2 Self-inflicted Wound
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Tragic Arrogance
1 Den Protector
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Bile Blight
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Ultimate Price
I'm unsure about removing 2 Den Protector and a Sorin, Solemn Visitor from my main deck and replacing them with 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion and a Valorous Stance. Any thoughts?
That said, I'm not sure about Raksasha Deathdealer replacing Fleecemane Lion. The problem is that the loss of the Temples and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth makes hitting black sources less consistent, especially given that your above list only contains 10 of them. Perhaps I'm missing something important.
I have toyed with the idea of going more GW with B splash for key cards such as Anafenza, the Foremost, Siege Rhino and Abzan Charm .
Here is the list:
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Den Protector
2 Wingmate Roc
Spells (10):
3 Abzan Charm
3 Dromoka's Command
2 Ultimate Price
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Lands (26):
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Malady
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Thoughtseize
2 Self-inflicted Wound
2 Tragic Arrogance
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Ultimate Price
1 Dromoka's Command
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Deck performed well overall. The first two matches were against UR Tutelage decks. Both matches were easy once I boarded in 4 Thoughtseize and 1 Dromoka's Command.
In the third match he god drew on me and I got mana screwed on round two, not drawing a single white source for 5 turns.
Overall the deck is serving me well. At my local LGS I have a 67% win rate over 7 tournaments.