Abzan AscendancyAbzan Ascendancy | Art by Mark Winters

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to a brand new Branching Out, where I try to find interesting, uncanny and/or underplayed ideas for you to tinker with!

Today, I'm taking you to a place of martial order and increasing efficiency. It's time to dive into the steppes of Abzan.

Of all the articles in this series that I've written to date, this is definitely the one that has given me the most trouble, almost stumping me. Try as I might, I did not feel like there were many options to choose from. And with good reason.

I had a quick look at all the legendary creatures options in Scryfall that had exactly three colors, and these were the results:

• Grixis: 56
• Naya: 56
• Esper: 48
• Jeskai: 47
• Bant: 47
• Jund: 40
• Mardu: 36
• Sultai: 33
• Temur: 31
• Abzan: 24

As you can see, Abzan comes dead last in terms of available commanders, partners notwithstanding. And yet, the numbers for the most played ones are not too shabby:

• The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom: 22,375 decks, with the most popular themes being Lands Matter (5.9K decks), Landfall (1.2K), and Tokens (1.2K).
• Frodo, Adventurous HobbitFrodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Sam, Loyal AttendantSam, Loyal Attendant: 21,358 decks, with the most popular themes being Lifegain (5.9K decks), Tokens (1.2K), and Food (851).
• Felothar the SteadfastFelothar the Steadfast: 14,726 decks, with the most popular themes being Defenders (1.1K decks), Toughness Matters (597), and Midrange (109).
• Betor, Ancestor's VoiceBetor, Ancestor's Voice: 12,643 decks, with the most popular themes being Lifegain (1.2K decks), +1/+1 Counters (1K), and Reanimator (806).
• Anikthea, Hand of ErebosAnikthea, Hand of Erebos: 12,579 decks, with the most popular themes being Enchantress (4.1K decks), Reanimator (710), and Tokens (569).

Aside from The Necrobloom, all of these were featured in rather recent precons, and loosely follow the deck's initial premise, with a lot of the cards in common with the original list for Felothar and Anikthea.

Let's have a look now at the most popular themes overall:

• Lifegain: 11,494 decks.
• Lands Matter: 8,079 decks.
• Tokens: 6,073 decks.
• +1/+1 Counters: 5,843 decks.
• Enchantress: 5,618 decks.

Enchantress here is almost a false positive, as the overwhelming majority of the decks therein (74%) are led by none other than Anikthea, Hand of ErebosAnikthea, Hand of Erebos.

With all of these insights in mind, let's try devising three fun builds that will likely draw stares from the rest of the table.

Ikra Shidiqi, the UsurperIkra Shidiqi, the Usurper, and Prava of the Steel LegionPrava of the Steel Legion

Let's begin this with a pet deck of mine. I know, usually I try to shy away from the most played themes, but this one's so fun I'm willing to make an exception.

To make things short, this is a lifegain deck that goes tall. A lot of the builds out there focus more on small but steady increments of life. This one does not. It's a testament of the adage "Go big or go home." And with 1,009 decks built at the time of writing, I'd really like to see it gain more traction.

Truth to be told, Prava is almost a figurehead in this brew. In most games he doesn't even hit the field, content to provide the much needed access to white. With that being said, he can clearly save your bacon in the late game, by spewing out two or three tokens that will in turn net you a bunch of life through the primary commander.

Ikra Shidiqi, the UsurperIkra Shidiqi, the Usurper, is indeed the heart and soul of the deck. A 3/7 with menace is not big enough that people will be willing to chump-block with their precious creatures, but her toughness is large enough to net you a lot of life. And that's exactly what the rest of the crew wants to help her with. Most of the creatures in this brew either care about you gaining life, by providing all sorts of advantage – tokens, draw, mana, you name it – or will catapult you well over the 80+ safety net.

All you have to do then is finish off the resistance with a massive boost effect, or put your life to good use by blasting people off from a distance.

Since this is supposed to be played more in a Bracket 2 environment, I haven't added anything that may abuse that huge life influx (I see you, NecropotenceNecropotence), although such shenanigans are totally worthwhile.

The beauty of this build is also that it doesn't have to rely heavily on the commanders to win. There's a plethora of alternative options available to take advantage of lifegain or set up an engine. Trostani, Selesnya's VoiceTrostani, Selesnya's Voice or Verdant Sun's AvatarVerdant Sun's Avatar for example fit the role rather well, while Blossoming BogbeastBlossoming Bogbeast or True ConvictionTrue Conviction are awesome finishers. And these are but a few examples.

To make this work, you'll need:

• Large butts: This is a deck that cares about large toughness above all else, either by it entering the fray or smacking your opponents with. Anything with six toughness and above, ideally with built-in evasion, is more than welcome.
• Lifegain outlets: You'd be surprised at how many payoffs there are for gaining life. You could take the classic Vito, Thorn of the Dusk RoseVito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose / Vizkopa GuildmageVizkopa Guildmage route. Or you could blast players down with the infamous Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir. Or pump your team with Lathiel, the Bounteous DawnLathiel, the Bounteous Dawn or Nykthos ParagonNykthos Paragon. The world is your oyster.
• A decent ramp package: The curve can quickly skyrocket in this brew, so make sure you pack more veggies than usual.
• A few token makers: While optional, these can become a powerful second army if Prava hits the field.

You will like this deck if: 

• You feel lifegain is underrated in commander.
• You like to go tall.
• You like to win through a variety of strategies.
• You like to take your time.

You won't like this deck if: 

• You want to do a lot of stuff each and every turn.
• You don't like pillow-forting.
• You want to rely on your commander to win.
• You feel massive lifegain is unfair.

For those of you who feel like going the extra mile, here's where my current list stands:

Kathril, Aspect WarperKathril, Aspect Warper, AKA The Tank

For this second build, I'd like to take a rather popular commander (3,871 decks, rank #609), and give it a fun twist.

One of the latest brews I've seen for this bad boy is a build focused on going all out Voltron, by making this an absolutely huge threat with all the keywords in the world. In the past, the other iterations I'd seen were more keen on being generous with their board, even with murderous intents for Kathril, in order to do it over and over again.

This take is a bit different. Each and every creature in this deck has one single purpose: to be put into the bin, to make Kathril absolutely huge and swing for the win. There are 11 different keywords that can be used by the commander, and while some are more relevant than others, getting at least eight with double strike can ensure a swift kill for anyone on the board.

This commander has one major flaw, however: it cannot give itself haste. Luckily, green has more than enough outlets able to provide the much needed alacrity.

All in all, this is a rather simple brew to assemble, and an even simpler strategy, one of relentless and inevitable death. Dump half your deck into your graveyard, cast Kathril, start swinging. Easy.

To make this work, you'll need:

• Keywords, keywords, keywords: You don't really have to care about the mana value, since the goal is to put them in the yard. The more, the merrier.
• Self-milling: Those creatures won't fill your graveyard on their own. Nyx WeaverNyx Weaver, Vile EntomberVile Entomber, Buried AliveBuried Alive, Stitcher's SupplierStitcher's Supplier... It's up to you to decide how consistent and predictable you want to make this.
• Haste outlets: You need to start striking hard as soon as Kathril hits the field, lest you give your opponents time enough to find a solution. Crashing DrawbridgeCrashing Drawbridge, Concordant CrossroadsConcordant Crossroads, Saryth, the Viper's FangSaryth, the Viper's Fang, even Instill EnergyInstill Energy all work wonderfully.
• Protection: My favorite way to protect Kathril is to actually flicker it. Not only will this thwart any attempt to end its life, it will also allow it to survive a board wipe.

You will like this deck if: 

• You're in awe of huge commanders.
• You enjoy seeing your opponents struggle to find a solution.
• You like keyword soup.
• You revel in tinkering with your graveyard.

You won't like this deck if: 

• You hate Voltron.
• You hate relying on one single strategy.
• You hate one-shoting players.
• You hate keeping tabs like an accountant on Excel.

Hardy of Myra's Marvels and Tymna the Weaver

For my final trick, I'd like to try something rather different. Take my hand, and let's head into the wonderful world of Rule Zero commanders.

Hardy of Myra's MarvelsHardy of Myra's Marvels is, in my opinion, a true embodiment of the wacky Un-commanders. Something silly enough to stray far from the game, but good enough it can still be playable.

I also like the idea of pairing an illegal commander with one of the most popular ones at his side. And the fact that there are currently only two decks listed on EDHREC makes me all the happier.

The idea is rather simple: play Hardy, then a bunch of cards with a given number of flavor text lines, and provide a massive pump to your team, before swinging in for victory. Getting a 4/3 for four mana is much more appealing when it can also give four +1/+1 counters elsewhere, isn't it? And how about a Dark RitualDark Ritual that gives a massive pump in addition to its mana?

The execution however is going to take a little bit of work. Since there aren't any easy ways to find all the cards with a given number of lines of flavor text, you're going to have to tinker a bit with the Scryfall API.

I'm not going to bother you with boring technical details. Just know that I devised a small script in Python to check for all the cards that have between 120 and 160 characters in their flavor text. While it's not quite the most precise metric, it should be good enough to encompass all relevant cards. Bear in mind that not all are relevant (and probably a bit more). Flavor text templates have shifted over time, so it's a bit of a dig and find ordeal.

Turns out there's a massive number of cards that fit the bill. 1,469 at the time of writing, which should be more than enough for this deck's purposes. If you're curious, I've made a spreadsheet that includes all the relevant cards, that you can find here.

I believe that four lines of text is the sweet spot, but you could probably try going with five. With 250 cards accounting for 161 to 200 characters in the flavor text (same spreadsheet), it's probably doable, albeit much less efficient.

A shame Hardy only cares about spells cast and not cards played. I would have loved for it to trigger with the PlainsPlains from Battle for Baldur's Gate!

To make this work, you'll need:

• Cards with exactly four lines of flavor text: That's the whole premise. Bonus points if you manage to have each and every card in the deck fit this exact constraint.
• Enough creatures: Since the goal is to provide some sort of pump whenever you cast a spell, you need proper targets. Although you could also try to pump an opponent's creature if the need arose.
• Protection: Once your opponents realize how huge your boosts are, they will try to make short work of Hardy. Did you know that CloudshiftCloudshift from The Last Airbender fit the clause?
• An easy-going playgroup:  Since this is a Rule Zero deck, make sure you warn people beforehand that yours is not a legal deck per se. While I don't see anyone giving you grief about that with this silly premise, it's still common courtesy.

You will like this deck if: 

• You like janky ideas.
• You're into decks with hardly any lists
• You enjoy digging deep within the card pool.
• You want to prove you can play Unfinity without Attractions or Stickers.

You won't like this deck if: 

• You want to play by the rules.
• You don't like to play with +1/+1 counters.
• You don't like to rely on your commander too much.
• You're a netdecker at heart.

Conclusion

This was a difficult one! I really hope you enjoyed these various takes on Abzan commanders from all horizons.

Be sure to let me know what you consider to be the best spells for Hardy in the comments.

And don't forget to vote for the next Trim!

See you in two weeks!