This is a deck I've wanted to make ever since Assault Formation came out in Dragons of Tarkir. The gameplan is to load the field with high toughness blockers early game, then get out either Doran, the Siege Tower or Assault Formation and start swinging with your now powerful attackers for game. I will frequently refer to this board state as Buttfight, since creatures will be assigning damage using their butts (their toughness). The deck uses Abzan colors (green, white, and black) in order to play Doran. This opens up some other options as well. Here I'll explain the purpose of each card in the deck.
Assault Formation: One of the two cards that makes the deck work. Turns your blockers into beaters. Especially nice since it activates your defender creatures as well. It even has a little boosting effect for 3 mana in a pinch. The most important card to grab with Commune with the Gods.
Doran, the Siege Tower: Assault Formation on a stick. Comes out ready to swing with his 5 toughness for 3 mana. Has the added benefit of being searchable with Treefolk Harbinger.
Birds of Paradise: Helps with mana fixing and slight ramp, and can become a valuable blocker against flying creatures later in the game. He can even help the aggro once Buttfight comes in.
Treefolk Harbinger: Our other one drop creature, it helps make sure you can get Doran or a forest when you need them. It can also search Murmuring Bosk which is nice. Basically becomes a 3/3 for one mana. Just wish it added to the hand instead of the top of the deck.
Path to Exile: Our last one drop, this is simply our creature removal. Gets around indestructible. Super efficient and instant speed. What else needs to be said?
Commune with the Gods: Helps dig through the deck 5 cards at a time, searching mainly for Doran or AF, or for threats once you have those out. Dumps the extra cards in the graveyard so it might have good synergy with Gurmag Angler which I might end up trying out.
Spellskite: One of the best cards in the deck. An efficient blocker that becomes basically a 4/4 attacker with Buttfight online. He can also protect the Buttfight cards from some removal spells as long as you have 2 life to spare (or have an untapped Birds of Paradise or Sylvan Caryatid).
Abrupt Decay: Our other removal spell. Again super efficient and instant speed, and hits most common threats in modern. Also difficult to prevent it.
Sylvan Caryatid: Provides a little bit of extra mana while also acting as a decent wall thanks to hexproof.
Wall of Omens: An efficient defender with 4 toughness for 2 mana that also produces card advantage when it enters the battlefield. Definitely considering running 1 or 2 more of these.
Wall of Shards: An efficient 1/8 defender with flying that can quickly become a major attacking threat as early as turn 3 with AF.
Tower Defense: A versatile instant card that can either bolster your defenses in a pinch, act as surprise removal during combat, or help you swing for game with a field of Buttfighters.
Kin-Tree Invocation: A 2 CMC sorcery that can get out an efficient beater token. Can be a backup win con if Buttfight doesn't stick. Ideally you copy the stats of Tree of Redemption or Wall of Shards, though it's technically above the curve even if you only copy a harbinger or caryatid.
Nylea, God of the Hunt: Can help you swing for game by giving your creatures trample. She can also boost your creatures in a pinch, and become a powerful indestructible attacker in her own right.
Tree of Redemption: A very strong blocker that turns into our strongest vanilla attacker with Buttfight. It can also help stabilize the game against early aggro with its tap effect. The ideal target for Kin-Tree Invocation.
Lands: Murmuring Bosk is perfect as our treefolk tribal land, being searchable by our fetchland Windswept Heath or by Treefolk Harbinger to provide us with all the colors we need. We run one each of swamp, plains, and forest to prevent the deck from being crippled by Blood Moon. We also run Temple Garden and Overgrown Tomb as our searchable shock lands. A few Sunpetal Grove round out the deck by providing the 2 most important colors. Gavony Township is a nice mana sink when we want to start powering up our creatures. Ghost Quarter helps snipe utility lands or Urza lands and the like.
Next is the Sideboard, which I admit I haven't put too much thought into yet:
Anguished Unmaking: More versatile removal spell if needed.
Wrath of God: Our most accessible creature board wipe with our available colors. For use against decks that like to go wide or that use creatures that can't be targeted. The reason it's not in the main deck is because this deck generally likes to keep our own creatures on the field, building up potential threats for when we drop Buttfight.
Leyline of Sanctity: Can help against burn, especially if you get it in your opening hand.
Grafdigger's Cage: Slows down decks that rely on cards like Collected Company or that use cards in the graveyard.
Raking Canopy: Helps deal with flyers. Slows down decks that rely on small flyers.
Mwonvuli Acid-Moss: Can help against Tron by blowing up Urza lands or utility lands, and also ramps you a little bit.
Ghost Quarter: See Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, minus the ramping part.
Next are some cards that are possibilities but have been so far omitted for various reasons:
Tarmogoyf: Likely the best beater in modern, it would probably fit in this deck quite well. It would even get a slight benefit from Buttfight since its toughness is always 1 more than its power. I admit that the main reason it has been omitted is because I'm not looking to buy a playset anytime soon, but there is also a question of whether or not it could reach relevant power levels quickly enough unless I get lucky with a Commune mill.
Gurmag Angler: Another good beater, the main problem with it here is again a lack of consistency at filling up the graveyard, in this case to pay its delve cost. Despite running a couple mana dorks, this deck doesn't really have the ramp necessary to hard cast this one in a timely manner.
Disowned Ancestor: A possible one drop option that can reliably boost himself. At this moment I prefer the utility that Birds and Harbinger bring to the 1 CMC slot, but it could happen.
Nyx-Fleece Ram: A solid 0/5 for 2, with a nice little life gain ability if it sticks. I could see myself either putting it in the side against burn, or replacing some of my current 2 drops with it.
Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek: Both fulfill the same purpose. Ideal if you get them in the opening hand, they help shut down your opponent's strategy so you can set up your field unimpeded. I might consider running these over the current removal suite of Path to Exile and Abrupt Decay.
Other maybeboard additions to come in the future after suggestions hopefully.
I would like any opinions and suggestions you may have. Let me know if you think this has any competitive potential, or if I should hold onto it as a casual deck.
