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Average CMC
Cost
Salt Score
Overview:
This Abzan (W/B/G) defender-toughness deck leverages high-toughness creatures and combat damage conversion to pressure opponents. It combines incremental value from walls, lifegain synergies, and toughness-based combos. While it has some explosive mana potential and resilience through recursion, it lacks fast combo finishes or reliable tutors.
Primer:
Core Strategy:
Deploy walls/defenders early (e.g., Wall of Omens, Sylvan Caryatid) to build board presence and mana via Axebane Guardian/Overgrown Battlement. Use Assault Formation effects to convert toughness into damage. Key wincons include:
- Combat swings with unblockable/defender-ignoring attackers (Walking Bulwark, Wakestone Gargoyle)
- Jaws of Defeat life drain
- Blight Pile defender-count burn
- Infinite mana via Axebane + 5 defenders into X-spells
Mulligan Priorities:
- 3+ lands with green/white sources
- Early defender (e.g., Arboreal Grazer) or ramp (Sol Ring)
- Assault Formation or Behind the Scenes for damage conversion
Avoid hands without early blockers or mana fixes.
Key Tips:
- Time Felothar's sacrifice ability with high-toughness creatures (e.g., Indomitable Ancients) for card advantage.
- Use Colfenor's Urn to recur key 4+ toughness creatures.
- Seedborn Muse enables instant-speed mana dumps with Axebane/Arbor Adherent.
- Slaughter the Strong/Expel the Interlopers protect your board while clearing threats.
Weaknesses:
Critical
- No infinite combo protection: Key pieces (Axebane/Formation) lack hexproof/shroud
- Slow threat deployment: Many enters-tapped lands and high-CMC finishers
Moderate
- Graveyard reliance: Reunion of the House/Will of the Abzan fold to Rest in Peace
- Limited tutors: Only 2 (Staff of Compleation, land-fetching)
Minor
- Flying vulnerability: Only Wall of Reverence/Arasta block air
Most Important Cards:
- Assault Formation
- Axebane Guardian
- Walking Bulwark
- Wakestone Gargoyle
- Jaws of Defeat
- Blight Pile
- Towering Titan
- Seedborn Muse
- Overgrown Battlement
- Colfenor's Urn
Attribute Ratings:
Speed: 3/10
Goldfishes wins around T10-12 via combat; infinite mana possible but requires 5+ defenders.
Resilience: 4/10
Moderate recursion (Will of the Abzan, Urn) but critical pieces vulnerable.
Consistency: 5/10
Redundant defender engines but only 2 tutors for key enchantments.
Interaction: 5/10
10 targeted removal/board wipes (e.g., Anguished Unmaking, Slaughter the Strong), no free counters.
Rating Justification:
This deck operates as upgraded jank with a clear plan but lacks the speed (T10-12 wins) and redundancy to exceed casual tiers. Its stumbles against interaction and slow mana base cap its ceiling.
Power level: 3.5 - 4.0
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