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Thread: The Halloween Deck

  1. #1
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    The Halloween Deck (Abzan)

    Gather around everyone as I tell you a tale, a tale of a deck brewed not just too long ago... a deck using an odd assortment of Shadows Over Innistrad cards.

    Spirits, fall, death, and legends have all banded together for a Halloween's night. A night that'll leave your opponents in terror... and mystified.





    Okay. Brass tax: This is a hard control Abzan creature-less deck that uses 2 cards you don't see that often: Autumnal Gloom who flips into Ancient of the Equinox and... Myth Realized. Gloom is very hard to remove, considering the only real usual suspect that picks him off is Abrupt Decay which your opponent is going to grind their teeth over instead of removing Liliana of the Veil, and when Gloom flips you're in great shape on the attack. He flips very quickly, often the turn he's played (and easily on t3) - if not usually turn after.

    A lot of the normal spell suite you can expect from Abzan caked with board wipe. A few manlands like Stirring Wildwood to get around the death you're raining down. Lingering Souls is also a main win-con. As always.

    The Odd choice here: Warren Weirding just to hit Delirium quicker (always flexible to cut for other suggestions).

    Playtested well vs U/R Control, Grixix, and... AND beat Affinity a few matches without a board. I know right? BUT...

    Have not tested vs. Jund/Abzan Company/Burn/Infect/UW Control

    Will update when I do. Feedback appreciated. I think the deck has a lot of potential from the feel and play.

    Decklist:

    4x Autumnal Gloom
    4x Myth Realized
    2x Damnation
    4x Inquisition of Kozilek
    4x Lingering Souls
    1x Maelstrom Pulse
    1x Thoughtseize
    2x Warren Weirding
    2x Wrath of God
    3x Abrupt Decay
    2x Anguished Unmaking
    1x Disfigure
    4x Path to Exile
    3x Liliana of the Veil

    Lands:

    1x Forest
    2x Godless Shrine
    4x Marsh Flats
    2x Overgrown Tomb
    2x Plains
    1x Shambling Vent
    2x Stirring Wildwood
    2x Swamp
    2x Temple Garden
    1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    4x Verdant Catacombs


    Sideboard:

    1x Abrupt Decay
    1x Anguished Unmaking
    2x Choke
    1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
    2x Leyline of Sanctity
    1x Maelstrom Pulse
    1x Pithing Needle
    3x Stony Silence
    3x Timely Reinforcements


    It's time for Halloween everyone.

  2. #2

    Re: The Halloween Deck

    I think you need to add some Bitterblossoms and some Sorin, Solemn Visitors to that list. Not at all sure that Anguished Unmaking is better than Putrefy/Mortify/Maelstrom Pulse. Also, with that much emphasis on the yard, you might want to look at some cards that interact positively with the graveyard, either pulling stuff out of it or putting things in it.

    EDIT: oh, and I didn't see any card draw in there, or at least card advantage. Painful Truths, Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, Harmonize, etc. etc., lot of options in the colors you're running for some way to get more cards into your hand.

    EDIT EDIT: I'm not saying it doesn't have potential, but those seem like options you might want to address.

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    Re: The Halloween Deck

    Quote Originally Posted by morgan_coke View Post
    I think you need to add some Bitterblossoms and some Sorin, Solemn Visitors to that list. Not at all sure that Anguished Unmaking is better than Putrefy/Mortify/Maelstrom Pulse. Also, with that much emphasis on the yard, you might want to look at some cards that interact positively with the graveyard, either pulling stuff out of it or putting things in it.

    EDIT: oh, and I didn't see any card draw in there, or at least card advantage. Painful Truths, Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, Harmonize, etc. etc., lot of options in the colors you're running for some way to get more cards into your hand.

    EDIT EDIT: I'm not saying it doesn't have potential, but those seem like options you might want to address.
    Bitterblossom was a thought a first, but the life drain in a deck running 8 fetches (I usually don't go above 7) and Unmaking hurts too. I don't think Sorin fits here, his +1 is pretty much useless, and he just acts as a 4 drop that'll get me at most 3 tokens. Likely never more than 1. I'd take Elspeth, Sun's Champion in my main over Sorin if a 4th planeswalker is what this deck needs.

    Anguished Unmaking is really Abrupt Decay for cmc 4+. It's very versatile. It's the ace in the hole - if I have to deal with another control deck and planeswalkers are an issue, than this cards takes that spot. It's not "better" than Maelstrom Pulse, it's different.

    I do agree about more GY interaction, I am using Lingering Souls - but I have thought about Divine Reckoning. Do keep in mind that GY "interaction" isn't really that big in this deck. I really don't mind Autumnal Gloom sitting around for awhile as if he was suspended. I like clearing the board before he turns over if I can. There's never a problem getting delirium by turn 4.

    Yes... Draw... I don't know what to do for that. If you have suggestions I'm all ears.

  4. #4
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    Re: The Halloween Deck

    I like the idea of the deck. I don't think you need card draw, because the deck uses the same outlets as Abzan good stuff in lingering souls, Liliana, 2 for 1s with your board wipes and Abzan can grind with most any modern deck in the format.
    I can see some potential in bitterblossom being a tribal enchantment that produces CA; however, I feel bitterblossom would need some lifegain to offset the Anguished unmaking and thoughtseize.
    I'd be curious to see how the deck does against Burn, infect, and Tron

  5. #5

    Re: The Halloween Deck

    Yeah, ok, I'll just be a little more honest here. Your deck as constructed has potential, but it's kinda garbage.

    You're running both WoG and Damnation for literally no reason. So do you want to get double white or double black early? Looking at the rest of your deck, the answer is clearly double black, but then you've got a 2/2 split maindeck for no reason whatsoever except as nearly as I can tell, to screw yourself out of casting whichever one you draw on turn 4 sometimes.

    Anguished Unmaking is basically going to be a bad card in a lot of decks in Modern. If you're in BGW, you have Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, Mortify, and Putrefy, plus a bunch of stuff like Oblivion Ring or PtE. You're spending 3 mana and 3 life for a totally redundant effect. The two things that are common that Decay doesn't hit are cmc4+ walkers and manlands. Anguished Unmaking doesn't hit manlands either. Maelstrom Pulse hits 4cmc+ permanents for the same mana cost as Unmaking, but doesn't cost 3 life, and has a bonus against multiples and tokens.

    Autumnal Gloom is likely going to not be good in Modern. For 3 mana, a lot of the time you get a card that literally does nothing. Compare it to Troll Ascetic - costs the same, has regen, loses -1/-2, always on. Or Thrun, the Last Troll - costs G more, but is uncounterable and has regeneration, always on. Or hell, even Tarmogoyf - counts both yards, cheaper, bigger. All of those cards are similar, but significantly better.

    The point of Sorin, Solemn Visitor is that he's awesome with Lingering Souls and Bitterblossom, because his +1 gives you a ton of life, and it's useful on defense, because the power boost and lifelink last until YOUR next turn, not EOT.

    You're running an absolute ton of Sorceries and Instants, but not Brain in a Jar. Why not? It casts Sorceries at instant speed, fixes mana, and fixes draws. It's semi-comparable to an Aether Vial for spells, which is insane. Your deck is all spells, and you aren't running it. Why?

    I'll re-list some of the available draw spells in your colors: Painful Truths, Harmonize, Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, Ob Nixilis, Reignited, Abzan Charm.

    Look, I get that is sucks when you come put your idea out, and people - instead of being like "wow, that's awesome" are like "kinda sucks, use these more popular/expensive cards instead". But there's a lot of reasons those cards are popular/expensive - mostly being, they're better/more powerful cards.

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    Re: The Halloween Deck

    Quote Originally Posted by morgan_coke View Post
    Yeah, ok, I'll just be a little more honest here. Your deck as constructed has potential, but it's kinda garbage.

    You're running both WoG and Damnation for literally no reason. So do you want to get double white or double black early? Looking at the rest of your deck, the answer is clearly double black, but then you've got a 2/2 split maindeck for no reason whatsoever except as nearly as I can tell, to screw yourself out of casting whichever one you draw on turn 4 sometimes.

    Anguished Unmaking is basically going to be a bad card in a lot of decks in Modern. If you're in BGW, you have Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, Mortify, and Putrefy, plus a bunch of stuff like Oblivion Ring or PtE. You're spending 3 mana and 3 life for a totally redundant effect. The two things that are common that Decay doesn't hit are cmc4+ walkers and manlands. Anguished Unmaking doesn't hit manlands either. Maelstrom Pulse hits 4cmc+ permanents for the same mana cost as Unmaking, but doesn't cost 3 life, and has a bonus against multiples and tokens.

    Autumnal Gloom is likely going to not be good in Modern. For 3 mana, a lot of the time you get a card that literally does nothing. Compare it to Troll Ascetic - costs the same, has regen, loses -1/-2, always on. Or Thrun, the Last Troll - costs G more, but is uncounterable and has regeneration, always on. Or hell, even Tarmogoyf - counts both yards, cheaper, bigger. All of those cards are similar, but significantly better.

    The point of Sorin, Solemn Visitor is that he's awesome with Lingering Souls and Bitterblossom, because his +1 gives you a ton of life, and it's useful on defense, because the power boost and lifelink last until YOUR next turn, not EOT.

    You're running an absolute ton of Sorceries and Instants, but not Brain in a Jar. Why not? It casts Sorceries at instant speed, fixes mana, and fixes draws. It's semi-comparable to an Aether Vial for spells, which is insane. Your deck is all spells, and you aren't running it. Why?

    I'll re-list some of the available draw spells in your colors: Painful Truths, Harmonize, Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, Ob Nixilis, Reignited, Abzan Charm.

    Look, I get that is sucks when you come put your idea out, and people - instead of being like "wow, that's awesome" are like "kinda sucks, use these more popular/expensive cards instead". But there's a lot of reasons those cards are popular/expensive - mostly being, they're better/more powerful cards.
    So, I would rather run 4 damnations, but i just don't have the money for it yet. Only reason for split. So there is a reason - I should maybe post just the ideal list vs what I currently have afforded.

    I take the point about Sorin, he actually would fit nicely.

    You also suggested I swap out cards for more powerful "creatures". The whole idea is wipe the board a lot b/c if I wanted to, I'd just make an Abzan good stuff or something different. Just playing around with a hard control in this color shell.

    Despite your dislike of the deck, I do really appreciate the feedback. I think testing Sorin will be my next step.

  7. #7

    Re: The Halloween Deck

    I'd recommend something like this as a starting point - lets you wipe the board without killing any actual cards, - just tokens.

    Threats
    4x Myth Realized
    3x Bitterblossom
    4x Lingering Souls
    2x From Under the Floorboards

    Walkers
    3x Liliana of the Veil
    3x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

    Sweepers
    4x Damnation

    Removal
    3x Abrupt Decay
    2x Maelstrom Pulse
    4x Path to Exile

    Discard
    5x Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtseize (Pretty much any mix is correct for some metagames)

    Lands
    3x Shambling Vents
    3x Westvale Abbey
    4x Marsh Flats
    2x Verdant Catacombs
    1x Windswept Heath
    4x Godless Shrine
    1x Overgrown Tomb
    1x Temple Garden
    2x Swamp
    1x Plains
    1x Forest

    Sideboard
    2x Choke
    3x Dawn Charm
    3x Shadow of Doubt
    4x Obstinate Baloth
    3x Stony Silence/Creeping Corrosion


    I still think you want some draw spells in here, but that's up to you. This list focuses much more on a BW token/evasive/hard to answer threat plan, with a green splash for removal and the sideboard. Baloth is strong against Liliana, burn, and naya type effects. The rest of the sideboard is a mix of useful/specific spells effects, more there for suggestion than anything else. I left out Brain in a Jar because I don't like it in decks without draw spells, but potentially it would be very strong here. I hope this helps your deck planning out. Azban Charm is really good as a mix of removal and draw, but that's up to you to decide.

  8. #8
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    Re: The Halloween Deck

    I agree that I don't think the Ancient is good enough for Modern. Mostly because its 4 toughness means it loses in combat to Goyf and Tasigur, which are better cards in the same color. I think I'd rather just pay one more and have Siege Rhino than hexproof.

    Kudos on the idea, but I'm not on board.

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