Welcome to Abzan in Modern!! I have grown to love this deck and have stuck with it since the banning of Pod.
First: Abzan is known as the "70% Deck" and my recent noting of my match statistics has shown that perfectly. Abzan doesn't have any insane "win 10/10 games" matchups, but with tight play, and a knowledge of your deck and your opponents' it has the ability and power to beat anything. It is a very "fair" deck in Modern. What does this mean? It means there are no shenanigans. Just great cards mashed together that disrupt the opponent through discard, removing troublesome permanents, and casting highly efficient threats. The goal is to grind out the opponents resources and be the last player with a threat on board or cards in hand. How do we achieve this?
CORE CARDS
Inquisition of Kozilek // Thoughtseize: Discard spells help disrupt the opponents game plan and give you perfect knowledge for how to navigate the turns following. Numbers between the two can change, but I have always preferred a 3-3 split.
Tarmogoyf: Fair.card. This is nothing more than a gigantic beatstick, but if left unanswered (say because you snagged a kill or counter spell on Turn 1 ((See above)), this monster is capable of winning a game all on it's own.
Liliana of the Veil: Lili is completely ridiculous. She pressures the opponents hand and removes creatures. Almost always a 2 for 1, and if left unanswered, the -6 can severely cripple the opponent, if not win you the game. +1 discarding Lingering Souls is the little things that make life great.
Lingering Souls: While we're on the subject, this card is three quarters the reason you are in White. This card is unreal against so many decks, providing you so much value it isn't fair. Even against things where it's just okay, it's still insane. It can't really be countered efficiently. Can't be discarded. I have never not played 4.
Path to Exile: The other quarter. This card is grade A removal. Lighting Bolt is certainly better, but Path does have merits. It kills big things and does so cleanly. Wurmcoil Engine, Primeval Titan, Celestial Colonnade, and Restoration Angel are just a few targets where Path excels. If anything it's the best removal in White and that justifies a 4 of.
THE REST
The beauty of Abzan is the rest of the 75. If you have the core package, the rest of the list is as flexible as need be. Aggro full of Burn and Zoo? Siege Rhino. Company and Dredge? Anafenza, the Foremost. Jeskai and Jund? Loxodon Smiter. These are just a few examples, but being in 3 colors and having access to all the best cards means the deck can be tuned to whatever the meta may be!
Deck Statistics
Abzan Statistics
Stats for matchups aren't 100% accurate right now because I have only recently begun to take note of this decks performance.
Hope you enjoy the deck! If you do give it a try and Junk 'em Out! As always, comments, suggestions, and +1s are very welcome! :D
