General idea of the deck: Empty out my opponents hand, kill whatever they do manage to put on the board and grind them out with value cards.
Card selection:
Lands:
Fetchlands: I run 8 fetchlands, to make sure I hit the colors I need in time. Liliana of the Veil requires BB on turn three, whereas Brimaz, King of Oreskos needs WW. When in doubt, I err towards finding black sources.
Shocklands: I run 1 of each of the possible shocklands in mardu colors. This follows the same reasoning as the fetchlands: some key cards demand deep devotion to 1 color early in the game
Basics: In a pinch I ll fetch for these, but mainly theyre here to help me deal with blood moon, and as a valid target for when I get hit by a Path to Exile or Ghost Quarter
Fastlands: the manabase is painfull as-is. I run the fastlands to be a little less punishing on my life total, while still providing multiple colors early on. I only run fastlands with black, because Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are my ideal turn 1 play.
Manlands: I run 4 shambling vents. Again, trying to maintain a life-total.
Creatures:
Dark confidant: card advantage and value creatures are key to this deck. Bob makes sure my hand stays full. Since my games tend to run long (grindy), I might cut some Bobs.
Brimaz: This guy is a beating If he lives. Ive found its best to make your opponents discard their answers before playing it. It can take over a game by itself and doesnt die to bolt. Also, the tokens are perfect to crew a Smuggler's Copter
young pyromancer: Tokens for days
Grim lavamancer: my games tend to go long, so being able to get some value from the GY is awesome.
Other spells:
The burn-suite (bolt and helix): I run so much removal that being pared against a noncreature-deck can be punishing. Therefore, having some of your removal that can also burn your opponents face is nice.
Other removal: path is a catch-all creature removal spell. Sub-optimal in the early game (dont want to give my opponents early ramp), but thats what all the other removal is for. Fatal push has been treating me well (especially since I run a lot of fetches, the revolt is easy to trigger).
Lingering souls: probably the best card in the deck. Its resilient to removal, discard (because of the flashback) and has evasion. It combos nice with Liliana of the Veil (I end up only discarding half a card).
Pure value: Read the Bones and Kolaghan's Command are awesome lategame cards to maintain card-advantage over my opponent.
Discard-suite: Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek make sure I have some control of what my opponent gets to put on the board. One of these are my ideal turn 1 play.
Planeswalker:
Liliana of the Veil is a beast in the deck. It discards (I also discard, but the deck generates so much card-advantage that its ok), it kills dudes and if I get to ult her, its GG
a little note on the sideboard: I know Grafdigger's Cage is a nonbo with Lingering Souls. However, Abzan coco is such a terrible matchup for me that the pro's of having it in the board far outweigh the con's.
