Doran: Toughness + Lifegain by user2079400

Format: Commander

Commander: Doran, Besieged by Time

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 39

Deck overview

This Abzan deck leverages toughness-matters mechanics under Doran, Besieged by Time. The commander provides cost reduction for low-power, high-toughness creatures and grants a combat trigger that boosts power and toughness by the difference between the two stats. The deck establishes early mana acceleration through 1-2 CMC ramp, deploys Doran on Turn 3, and develops dense, undercosted defensive creatures that swing as lethal threats on Turns 4 and 5. With stat-amplified attacks, asymmetric sweepers like Slaughter the Strong and Fell the Mighty that preserve its low-power board, and backup toughness-assignment enablers like Doran, the Siege Tower and Assault Formation, the deck pressures the entire table. It closes games by Turn 7 through sustained, overwhelming combat damage while maintaining steady card flow through Fecund Greenshell and Welcoming Vampire.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Abzan Charm
  • 1 Ancient Adamantoise
  • 1 Ancient Lumberknot
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arbor Adherent
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Assassin's Trophy
  • 1 Assault Formation
  • 1 Baldin, Century Herdmaster
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Bedrock Tortoise
  • 1 Betor, Kin to All
  • 1 Black Poplar Shaman
  • 1 Bosk Banneret
  • 1 Brave the Sands
  • 1 Captain America's Shield
  • 1 Catapult Fodder // Catapult Captain
  • 1 Colfenor's Urn
  • 1 Colfenor, the Last Yew
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Despark
  • 1 Doran, Besieged by Time
  • 1 Doran, the Siege Tower
  • 1 Dusk // Dawn
  • 1 Expel the Interlopers
  • 1 Faeburrow Elder
  • 1 Fangorn, Tree Shepherd
  • 1 Farseek
  • 1 Fecund Greenshell
  • 1 Fell the Mighty
  • 1 Felothar the Steadfast
  • 11 Forest
  • 1 Golgari Signet
  • 1 Great Forest Druid
  • 1 Huatli, the Sun's Heart
  • 1 Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
  • 1 Jaws of Defeat
  • 1 Ohran Frostfang
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 11 Plains
  • 1 Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
  • 1 Rampant Growth
  • 1 Reunion of the House
  • 1 Runic Armasaur
  • 1 Sapling Nursery
  • 1 Sapling of Colfenor
  • 1 Selesnya Signet
  • 1 Shadrix Silverquill
  • 1 Slagwurm Armor
  • 1 Slaughter the Strong
  • 1 Smile at Death
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Stoneskin
  • 10 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Sylvan Caryatid
  • 1 Tend the Sprigs
  • 1 The Walls of Ba Sing Se
  • 1 Tower Defense
  • 1 Tree of Perdition
  • 1 Treebeard, Gracious Host
  • 1 Treefolk Harbinger
  • 1 Unnatural Growth
  • 1 Vault of the Archangel
  • 1 Wall of Blossoms
  • 1 Weathered Sentinels
  • 1 Welcoming Vampire
  • 1 Zetalpa, Primal Dawn