{"ops":[{"insert":"Abzan has a lot of great options to choose from, and as usual, I wanted to build something a little different than what you'd expect to see from this color combination. I went with a partner pairing this time, using partners that were designed to go together.\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Nikara, Lair Scavenger"}},{"insert":" mostly acts as a payoff for creatures with counters leaving the battlefield, providing consistent card draw. She can also focus herself on one opponent, collecting +1/+1 counters throughout the game, and swinging hard with menace for commander damage.\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel"}},{"insert":" is our consistent source of the mechanic that I'll be referring to as \"haven\". This mechanic involves safely exiling a creature you control until Yannik leaves the battlefield. What makes Yannik special is that she converts the power of the exiled creature into +1/+1 counters that can be distributed to any number of creatures, including herself. These two commanders create the backbone of a powerful value engine.\n\nSince we're in green, I went with a pretty standard land ramp package, including staples like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Farseek"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cultivate"}},{"insert":", as well as lesser played options, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Beneath the Sands"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Path to the Festival"}},{"insert":". Creatures also fill this role, with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Clifftop Lookout"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Farhaven Elf"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sutina, Speaker of the Tajuru"}},{"insert":". What I didn't include is cheap mana dorks and mana rocks, and yes, there is a good reason for this. I've avoided using any artifacts or enchantments, so I could confidently run wipes like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fade from History"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bane of Progress"}},{"insert":". This will severely punish certain strategies and put us in a much better position on the board. I've also avoided including any nonland permanent under 3 CMC, so I could safely run "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Culling Ritual"}},{"insert":", which typically catapults you into the lead if your deck is built around it.\n\nI used a few tricks to help use that turn one and turn two mana, while keeping every creature at 3 or more CMC. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rift Sower"}},{"insert":" can be suspended on turn 1 and come down on turn 3 with haste to provide ramp. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Beastbond Outcaster"}},{"insert":" can be plotted on turn 2 in order to be cast on a later turn, when we need the card draw. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sarulf's Packmate"}},{"insert":" does something similar, while using the \"Foretell\" mechanic.\n\nMidgame should consist of building up your board state and drawing cards in the process. The nice thing about the \"haven\" mechanic is its resilience. If you have a couple of creatures exiled by other creatures, a board wipe from your opponents is only going to \"release the hounds\", if you will. Most of the haven targets have great ETBs, so watching them hop back onto the battlefield after a board wipe is going to be quite demoralizing for whoever cast it.\n\nThere is a backup win condition in this deck, if combat damage doesn't look feasible. Four separate infinite combos can put you at a great advantage and help close out games. The first combo involves "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Felidar Guardian"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Restoration Angel"}},{"insert":". It's pretty self-explanatory; you let each creature bounce the other one an infinite number of times. You'll still need an ETB payoff to make use of the combo. Our first option is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ketramose, the New Dawn"}},{"insert":" for card draw. You'll have to be careful with this option though, since he'll drain your life total for each card drawn. The other option is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Champion of Lambholt"}},{"insert":", which will receive an infinite number of +1/+1 counters and become unlockable.\n\nThe second combo involves either "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Felidar Guardian"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Restoration Angel"}},{"insert":" and two haven creatures. The eight haven creatures you can choose from are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glorious Protector"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Werefox Bodyguard"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"All-Fates Stalker"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Faceless Butcher"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Changeling Titan"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lumbering Battlement"}},{"insert":". Start off by having your first haven creature exile the blinker (Felidar Guardian or Restoration Angel). Next, cast your second haven creature and use its ETB to exile your first haven creature. This will release your blinker back onto the battlefield. Use it to blink your second haven creature. Since both haven creatures will now enter the battlefield, they'll both trigger. Resolve the first haven creature's ability by exiling your blinker. Let your second haven creature's ability resolve, exiling your first haven creature. Repeat the process and infinite number of times. If "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel"}},{"insert":" is used as one of your haven creatures, you'll be able to distribute an infinite number of +1/+1 counters to any number of creatures. If "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward"}},{"insert":" is used as one of your haven creatures, you'll get an infinite number of Soldier creature tokens. If "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glorious Protector"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lumbering Battlement"}},{"insert":" are used as one of your haven creatures, you'll be able to exile an additional creature and return it to the battle field an infinite number of times, which works great with creatures like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Knight of Autumn"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ravenous Chupacabra"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Skirmish Rhino"}},{"insert":", among many others.\n\nThe third combo uses a one of your blinkers (Felidar Guardian or Restoration Angel), one of your haven creatures (preferably Yannik or Abdel Adrian), and a one-time blink spell ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ephemerate"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Acrobatic Maneuver"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pegasus Guardian // Rescue the Foal"}},{"insert":"). Start off the combo by using your haven creature to exile your blinker. Then, cast your one time blink spell on the haven creature. Both creatures will enter the battlefield and trigger. Resolve your haven creature first by exiling your blinker. Then, resolve your blinker's trigger by blinking your haven creature. Repeat the process an infinite number of times.\n\nThe last combo is simply using 3 of your haven creatures to exile themselves in a loop. Creature A exiles B. B exiles C, which releases A. A comes down to exile B, etc. You can keep repeating this cycle as many times as you'd like. This one is best used with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel"}},{"insert":" to put infinite +1/+1 counters on your other creatures or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward"}},{"insert":" to generate an infinite number of soldier creature tokens. If neither of those are available, you could also make this combo work with a haven creature that exiles additional creatures, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lumbering Battlement"}},{"insert":". It can scoop up any one of the useful ETB creatures, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Clifftop Lookout"}},{"insert":" to ramp out all your lands, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ravenous Chupacabra"}},{"insert":" to clear your opponents' creatures off the board, or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Skirmish Rhino"}},{"insert":" to win you the game.\n\nFinally, I'd like to highlight some cards we haven't covered yet and explain why they work so well in this deck. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abzan Falconer"}},{"insert":" works surprising well here, considering we are trying to spread counters out onto multiple creatures with Yannik. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Minthara, Merciless Soul"}},{"insert":" capitalizes on our blink strategy, helps boost the number of +1/+1 counters we get from Yannik, and ensure we're getting card draw from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar"}},{"insert":". "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ketramose, the New Dawn"}},{"insert":" acts as a backup commander to replace Nikara, and reaching his seven or more exile prerequisite is very easy with the number of haven, warp, plot, foretell, adventure, and suspend creatures in the deck, along with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abzan Charm"}},{"insert":". "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Purestrain Genestealer"}},{"insert":" is a powerhouse in this deck, providing consistent ramp and an ideal haven target, since it comes with +1/+1 counters. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sutina, Speaker of the Tajuru"}},{"insert":"'s use for ramp is obvious, but her second ability can really come in handy when you want to pull one of the MDFC lands back into your hand.\n\nI was admittedly spectacle at first about whether or not this deck could function in a bracket 3 game. After thorough testing and refining, it feels like a resilient machine that doesn't even rely on the graveyard, which is something you've come to expect with this color combination. Nikara and Yannik are a home-run design in my book, and we have a lot of old and new cards in the game that really let them showcase what they're capable of.\n"}]}