Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Warning: Wall of TextThis description is more of a Primer, and as such is rather lengthy and really goes into depth about the deck, how it runs, why it runs, and what it runs on.If you are only interested in why your favorite card isn't on the list or how I think the deck performs, check out the "What Didn't Make the Cut" or the "Final Synopsis" sections respectively.
Why Abzan Constellation?
Hello, everyone. By now you might be wondering why did I decide to brew an Abzan Constellation deck? If you are familiar with the current standard, you know that Abzan is dominating right now. Maybe you looked at some of the GP and PT rankings and noticed that it has quite the presence there. Maybe someone you played against at your local FNM was using an Abzan deck. Maybe you just giggle every time you hear the word "Junk."
And in terms of three-color combinations, it is a toss-up between Abzan, Jeskai, and Naya (hopefully for obvious reasons).
One thing is for sure, in the current meta the best two-color combination is GW. It just offers so much, big, hard-to-deal-with creatures and removal of all kinds. Planeswalkers everywhere. And I'm calling it right now, with the loss of Supreme Verdict and Devour Flesh, Fleecemane Lion is a Standard Sleeper (what a shame that it isn't an enchantment creature].
If we are talking what color gives you the best bang for your buck, it would have to be Blue. Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time fuel your hand, AEtherspouts wipes sides and stops aggro, and Prognostic Sphinx is just fantastic.
But I digress. Constellation? Aren't all the top placing Abzan decks either mid-range or aggro? Yes, they are. In fact, right now the only time you hear "competitive" and "constellation" in the same sentence is when someone is talking about GB Devotion, which is pretty consistent and has its fair share of the keyword. However, while Abzan Mid-Range and GB Devotion are more consistent, this brew can be a bit more explosive and a bit more controlling. I'll explain later, for now: the list.
The List
The list is built from the ground up around three cards Eidolon of Blossoms, Doomwake Giant, and See the Unwritten. The synergy that Constellation provides here is about as close as Junk has been to combo in a while. The way See the Unwritten (preferably with working Ferocious) and Constellation works is let's say you find two Doomwake Giant's in your top eight putting them both on the field would give all of your opponents creatures -4/-4, two Eidolon of Blossoms's would draw you 4 cards, and you still get two 4/6's or 2/2's. Even without Ferocious, See the Unwritten still digs for a threat. The biggest drawback is that the other six or seven cards go into your graveyard. But, with all the graveyard interaction in BG, such as Pharika, God of Affliction or Whip of Erebos this is a non-factor.
The mainboard is designed to get Constellation up and running. The deck can win without See the Unwritten or abusing the heck out of Constellation by just beating face with Doomwake Giant and Siege Rhino.
The mana base is designed to try and minimize the amount of damage we take for our fixing, while still providing what we need.
The sideboard is designed to work well against a variety of strategies. It can help get the edge in the ever stressful mirror match-ups, shut up midrange variants, slow down aggro strategies, and shut down control matches by, well, out-controlling them. In fact, the sideboard is designed to change the entire strategy of the deck into a more control-oriented shell.
Without further ado, onto the card-by-card breakdown.
The Mainboard
Brain Maggot--In a Constellation deck, this card is on par or better than Thoughtseize. Now that everyone has left, let me explain. It performs the same function, killing their combo piece or biggest threat before it even leaves their hand. While it does die to removal and they get the card back, it fuels Constellation, Pharika, and Whip, still disrupts their hand, and at the very least gives you vital information and draw out a kill spell on a 1/1.
Sylvan Caryatid--At this point, does it even need explaining? If you run Green, you run this. It accelerates and fixes your mana, walls against 2/X's, and is hard to remove. The only problem I have is it isn't an Enchantment Creature.
Courser of Kruphix--Much like Sylvan Caryatid, if you run Green, you run this. It helps filter out lands from the top of your deck, offsets the painful mana base we are forced to runs, walls against 3/X's, and IS and an Enchantment Creature (yay). It is good when you are winning and good when you are losing, and is therefore, good all around.
Eidolon of Blossoms--At the very least, it is a 2/2 for four that replaces itself. At its best, it is the single best card draw engine green has had in a long time. With all the enchantments this deck has, your hand will rarely become empty after you drop this. Constellation, Constellation, Constellation. Am I making sense here?
Siege Rhino--One of the biggest reasons this deck even runs White, this card is just pure value. There is debate about what makes a great card, and most agree that if it immediately impacts the board and warrants an answer, it is. Therefore, Siege Rhino is a great card. The turn is comes down, it is a Lightning Helix to the face. As a 4/5 trampler, it avoids most burn and can trade favorably with a bunch of threats. If left unchecked, it can wreak havoc.
Doomwake Giant--This guy is a machine in Constellation decks. This card makes X/1's rue the day they were printed. It shuts down token decks, gets past Hexproof and Indestructible, and can be a repeatable, one-sided board wipe in the late-game. A 4/6 body is nothing to sneeze at either, it walls Polukranos, World Eater and avoids burn.
Pharika, God of Affliction--Insert M. Bison 'Yes! Yes!' meme here. This card will make your opponent frown the turn it comes into play. It helps you recover from a board wipe and gives you something to do after you See the Unwritten. Meeting her devotion requirement isn't hard with cards like Courser of Kruphix and Whip of Erebos (naming just a few), and an indestructible 5/5 for 3 is game changing. Best of all? 1/1's she creates not only have Deathtouch, but are also ENCHANTMENT CREATURES.
Suspension Field--When this card first spoiled, everyone thought, "Why not just use Banishing Light? It hits more things." Then, everyone realized that Khans of Tarkir's wedged based format really slowed down the meta. This, by default, makes bigger, beefier creatures more desirable. This removes big creatures and costs one less. Also, Constellation.
Banishing Light--This card actually complements Suspension Field quite nicely. What Field doesn't hit, this does. It costs one more mana, but as a result, can hit everything but a land. Constellation.
Abzan Charm--Wow. For three mana, you get perhaps too many options. Exile a big threat, draw two, or make a threat bigger, all at instant speed. Oh, you want to +1 your Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker while I have three mana open? Sounds safe.
Whip of Erebos--Give your dudes lifelink and bring back threats for a turn. Given that almost every creature in this deck has an enter the battlefield ability, Constellation, or just is an Enchantment Creature, this card is almost always relevant. I am surprised the Oxford English dictionary hasn't recognized "whip" as a verb meaning "to bring back a creature from your graveyard, causing opposition to panic." Whip your Siege Rhino's and Doomwake Giant's and watch opponents scoop.
See the Unwritten--This card is the top of our curve and the center piece to this deck. It allows for big big comebacks, contributes to Constellation, and enables some graveyard interactions. Sadly, at 6 mana, it is hard to justify having it as a playset. So three are just fine. Read just below The List for a more complete synopsis on why this card is in this deck.
Now for the mana base.
The Mana Base
Sandsteppe Citadel--It provides all three of our colors, with no drawback other than it comes in tapped, making it an automatic playset. Since we have no cards that are 1CMC, this is the ideal turn one land.
Mana Confluence--Mana fixing. This card provides the best mana fixing in standard and doesn't even come into play tapped. Unfortunately, it hurts us each time we tap it, and that can add up fast.
Windswept Heath--If we ran more basic lands (or if Shocklands were still in standard), this would be an automatic playset. But for right now, it is a two-of just for its interaction with Courser of Kruphix.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth--Any deck that has three colors and runs Black uses at least one of these. It makes Painlands a painless source of Black, gives Windswept Heath something to do after we drain our deck of basics, and turns Temple of Plenty into a strictly better Sandsteppe Citadel.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx--It is in here as a one-of because of Doomwake Giant, Whip of Erebos, Courser of Kruphix, and Eidolon of Blossoms. This is strictly experimental and is easily replaced by a Swamp.
Temple of Malady, Temple of Plenty, and Temple of Silence--I am grouping these together because they all basically serve the same purpose. Fixing our mana and setting up our draws. Green and Black are our biggest colors which is why it goes 3-2-1.
Llanowar Wastes--This made the cut as a three of and Caves of Koilos did not, because we don't need white until usually turn four. On the other hand, we need Green and Black as early as turn two. This does not enter tapped, but it does hurt us if we want mana fixing, so no playset.
Forest and Plains--I don't know why these need explaining. Basic lands have been around since the advent of Magic for a reason. Just about every deck has at least a few.
Now for the all-important sideboard.
The Sideboard
- Please note: when I say mirror match-up I am including GB Constellation in this archetype since the strategies are fairly similar. *
Brain Maggot--It is in here as a one-of to complement the three in the mainboard. Usually this is sided in against RG Mid-range or Abzan Mid-range to remove threats, Sylvan Cayatid's, or Courser of Kruphix's. It also has its uses in the control match-up.
Nyx-Fleece Ram--There is no card with Constellation-You gain life, so this is about as close as it gets. This is sided in for the aggro match-ups to wall off their creatures and build up our life total. This card also shines against Jeskai Burn where it survives cards like Stoke the Flames and Lightning Strike and mitigates any damage they do to you.
Siege Rhino--Complementing the three-of in the mainboard, This is here for the aggro match-up or when your opponent sides in enchantment hate.
Suspension Field--One more to keep all those Polukranos, World Eater's and Siege Rhino's away. Did I mention this also hits Courser of Kruphix?
Banishing Light--Two to make a playset for any deck that has annoying permanents. Perfect for the mirror and Mid-range match-ups.
Hero's Downfall--The only reason this didn't make the cut for the mainboard is because it is an instant and not an enchantment. Side in for any Superfriends variants (Planeswalkers galore) or if you see Stormbreath Dragon's coming your way.
Utter End--Unbiased exiling removal that can be used at instant speed, all wrapped up in a package that brings back sweet Vindicate nostalgia.Side in for Superfriends, Mid-range, and the mirror match-up. Also, it deserves to be in here for the incredible burn that is its flavor text.
Stain the Mind--This is in here mainly because the Jeskai Ascendancy combo decks are picking up speed. This also has it's place in the control and maybe even the mirror match-ups (since you have a rough idea of what their playing). It also might provide valuable information as to what exactly they sided in against you.
Extinguish All Hope--While it doesn't work in the mirror match-up and is too slow to counter aggro plans, this card is absolutely back breaking in the Mid-range match-up.
What Didn't Make the Cut
Now that the list breakdown is finally over, here are some cards that didn't make the cut, but have their arguments for being in here.
Elvish Mystic--If we had Birds of Paradise I would try to sneak five of them into my deck. In the current standard, this card is comparable in terms of acceleration but far more restrictive in terms of fixing. This is a three color deck, and I don't require a turn two Courser of Kruphix to function.
Thoughtseize--It was actually down to the wire between this and Brain Maggot for the mainboard and this and Stain the Mind for the sideboard. My argument for Brain Maggot can be found in the breakdown for that card. As for Stain the Mind, it shuts down strategies instead of just slowing them down like Thoughtseize does. Also, I'm not a fan of the loss of two life.
Despise--This card is similar to Thoughtseize, and there for the Brain Maggot and Stain the Mind arguments still apply.
Bile Blight--When we need it, BB is too restrictive on our mana base. Besides, a few turns later we have Doomwake Giant
Brimaz, King of Oreskos--If it was or made an Enchantment Creature, it would be an auto-include. As is, it is a $30 dollar card that doesn't even interact with the deck.
Boon Satyr--In this deck it is just a 4/2 and is occasionally a Bestowed Creature. It doesn't have Constellation itself, but it does trigger it when you Bestow it and when it becomes unattached, which is interesting.
Herald of Torment--Same story as Boon Satyr.
Athreos, God of Passage--While it does scream recurring Constellation, it is dependent on your stuff dying and you even wanting to recast it. Also, you opponent can just take the 3 life loss and make you sit there, blinking like an idiot. Also, the creature has to die, meaning there is no interaction with Whip of Erebos. Pharika, God of Affliction is better suited for this strategy.
Drown in Sorrow--It kills off Eidolon of Blossoms and we already have Doomwake Giant. Next.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion--If her +1 made 1/1 Enchantment Creature tokens then she would be the first card in the deck over See the Unwritten. As is, I can't get her with See the Unwritten, she competes with it for the 6CMC slot, and her -3 kills off out Doomwake Giant's and Siege Rhino's too. She is a great card and all, but she clashes completely with the strategy. Sorin, Solemn Visitor has much of the same problems, but his +1 could beneifit the strategy.
Hornet Queen--This isn't Mono-Green or GB Devotion so 7CMC is a bit too high and would slow down the deck too much. It does get hit by See the Unwritten, but it's only other interaction is with Whip of Erebos (which if you want that GB Devotion is the way to go).
Final Synopsis
This deck on paper seems really resilient and has an answer to just about anything. With the control shell in the sideboard, this deck can turn any match-up into a favorable one. However, playtesting will tell how it stacks up against the decks dominating the current meta.
I wish I had more to say, but I have already described how I think it stacks up to the current Titans of Standard.
Please, leave any feedback as it is all appreciated. I had a lot of fun brainstorming this deck and I will try to make it ASAP.
Thank you.
