Abzan Partners: Human Counter-Strike

Commander / EDH* BGW (Abzan, Junk) Casual Counters Humans Multiplayer Tribal

cooner

Creature (34)

• 1x Abzan Battle Priest
• 1x Abzan Falconer
• 1x Anafenza, the Foremost
• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Bastion Protector
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Champion of the Parish
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Dearly Departed
• 1x Devout Chaplain
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Dragonscale General
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Gideon's Avenger
• 1x Hanweir Militia Captain  ^Flip
• 1x Honored Hierarch
• 1x Juniper Order Ranger
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon"
• 1x Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip
• 1x Meren of Clan Nel Toth
• 1x Metallic Mimic
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Thalia's Lieutenant
• 1x Thraben Doomsayer
• 1x Vigor
• 1x Warden of the First Tree
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer
• 1x Winding Constrictor
• 1x Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Artifact (3)

• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring

Land (35)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 4x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Murmuring Bosk
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 6x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Scattered Groves
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Wooded Bastion
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Instant (8)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Putrefy
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Sylvan Reclamation

Commanders (2)

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Oversold Cemetery
• 1x Pernicious Deed
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Privileged Position
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x True Conviction

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Maelstrom Pulse
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Vindicate

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Sideboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Tymna the Weaver

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Maybeboard

Creature (12)

• 1x Adaptive Automaton
• 1x Benalish Marshal
• 1x Bounty Agent
• 1x Devout Chaplain
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Hero of Precinct One
• 1x Obsessive Skinner
• 1x Orzhov Advokist
• 1x Pir, Imaginative Rascal
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Tuskguard Captain

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Abzan Ascendancy
• 1x Beastmaster Ascension
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Evolutionary Escalation
• 1x Gleam of Authority
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients
• 1x Shared Triumph
• 1x Sylvan Library

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Harsh Mercy
• 1x Increasing Devotion
• 1x Patriarch's Bidding
• 1x Skyshroud Claim

Instant (3)

• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Crush Contraband
• 1x Windgrace's Judgment

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This is my version of a human tribal EDH deck with Ravos, Soultender and Reyhan, Last of the Abzan as its generals. Ravos, Soultender and Reyhan, Last of the Abzan go great together because Reyhan, Last of the Abzan abuses your creatures death triggers and Ravos, Soultender lets you retrieve your dead creatures, letting you abuse Reyhan, Last of the Abzan even further. Besides human tribal, this deck has most of its emphasis put on Reyhan, Last of the Abzan , so abusing +1/+1 counters is mostly what this deck does. This deck operates as a mid-range deck with many value creatures that get more powerful the longer the game goes on. Some of the power-house human/counter cards in this deck include Mikaeus, the Lunarch , Thalia's Lieutenant and Juniper Order Ranger which all continuously grow with +1/+1 counters. There is also a decent draw and removal package to give it consistency, however, this deck lacks control elements so you will usually want to play it aggressively and try to end the game quick. This deck also includes some other non-human counter related creatures that were too good to pass up, such as Kalonian Hydra and Archangel of Thune as well as powerful human cards that have nothing to do with counters, like Eternal Witness and Serra Ascendant .

This deck also has the alternative commander option of Anafenza, the Foremost . I like having Anafenza, the Foremost as a commander because they are bonkers with Mikaeus, the Lunarch and Hardened Scales however they are simply too oppressive of a commander against graveyard decks in the more casual meta I play.

Play this deck if you like.... human tribal, +1/+1 counters, spot removal, graveyard play, partner commanders and mid-range decks.

Paris Mulligan Show

This deck maintains it tempo by playing creatures that grow with +1/+1 counters. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan lets you generate tokens but is still slow compared to other creatures in this deck such as Forgotten Ancient , Kalonian Hydra or Mikaeus, the Lunarch . You will usually want to play Reyhan, Last of the Abzan only once you already have another creature in play, with tokens on it, that you want to keep protected (proactive). You will then want to play Ravos, Soultender once there is a creature in your graveyard so you can abuse Reyhan, Last of the Abzan 's triggered ability. Keep in mind that you want to accumulate as many counters as quickly as possible so you can run down your enemies before someone wraths the board, negating Reyhan, Last of the Abzan 's triggered ability by leaving no creatures to move tokens to. The longer your creatures stay in play the stronger they get, so expect removal. The best way to deal with removal is by replacing your creatures, either with draw or by retrieving them from the graveyard. In your opening hand go for; 3-5 land/ramp card, any draw cards and 1-4 other good cards noted bellow.

Notable Cards Show

( Hardened Scales ) is the best card in this deck in my opinion. The vast majority of cards in this deck that place counters only place 1 at a time which basically makes this card a 1 mana cost Corpsejack Menace . This played on your first turn will make your army grow out of control quickly.

( Corpsejack Menace ) straight up doubles the effectiveness of most cards in this deck, including Hardened Scales . It is amazing to have both of those cards in your opening hand.

( Serra Ascendant ) is a 6/6 lifelink flyer that can be played on turn 1 that is only made better by this deck because it is a human. Why this card isn't banned in EDH, I don't know.

( Mikaeus, the Lunarch ) combos nicely with many cards that allow you to put a +1/+1 counter on each of your creatures each turn. The card is too good for a counters themed deck.

( Kalonian Hydra ) left in play for too many turns will quickly end the game for obvious reasons.

( Privileged Position ) is one of the few cards in this deck that grants protection to your humans (and everything else). Unfortunately Steely Resolve couldn't be included in this deck because it counters Reyhan, Last of the Abzan 's triggered ability and Anafenza, the Foremost 's triggered ability.

( Survival of the Fittest ) is a powerful creature tutor. It also lets you put Dearly Departed into your graveyard which is pretty useful.

( Yisan, the Wanderer Bard ) grants powerful tutoring for a very nice tempo of big scary humans. Bellow is the list of possibilities this card can tutor for.

-Yisan Chain-

(CMC 1) Champion of the Parish , Honored Hierarch , Mikaeus, the Lunarch , Serra Ascendant , Warden of the First Tree , Weathered Wayfarer (CMC 2) Dark Confidant , Hanweir Militia Captain  , Mayor of Avabruck  , Metallic Mimic , Thalia's Lieutenant , Winding Constrictor (CMC 3) Abzan Falconer , Anafenza, the Foremost , Bastion Protector , Champion of Lambholt , Devout Chaplain , Eternal Witness , Gideon's Avenger , Thraben Doomsayer (CMC 4) Abzan Battle Priest , Corpsejack Menace , Disciple of Bolas , Dragonscale General , Forgotten Ancient , Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon" , Meren of Clan Nel Toth , Ranger of Eos (CMC 5) Archangel of Thune , Juniper Order Ranger , Kalonian Hydra (CMC 6) Dearly Departed , Vigor

Other Combos Show

( Mikaeus, the Lunarch ) + ( Anafenza, the Foremost , Archangel of Thune , Dragonscale General , Forgotten Ancient , Gavony Township , Cathars' Crusade )

( Archangel of Thune ) + ( Abzan Battle Priest , True Conviction )

( Survival of the Fittest ) + ( Dearly Departed , Meren of Clan Nel Toth , Ravos, Soultender , Oversold Cemetery )

( Ranger of Eos ) + ( Champion of the Parish , Honored Hierarch , Mikaeus, the Lunarch , Serra Ascendant , Warden of the First Tree , Weathered Wayfarer )

Date added	7 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 57 - 1 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.22
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Experience Token, Human 1/1 W, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Wolf 2/2 G
Folders	EDH, deck ideas, EDH Decks, Tribal EDH Decks