Anafenza...best khan yet!
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Sept. 2, 2014, 1:01 a.m. by VampireArmy
I mean. None of the creatures do the whole control thing. And a turn 3 4/4 isn't the most conducive to the long game - given that she can single handedly have the game won in a few turns. Her counter placing mechanic is a bit weird too because the creature has to be tapped - implying that it has to attack as well. Doesn't seem very 'endurance'-like to me if they want you to win as fast as possible!
Having said all of that about theme, there is no denying that she is very good. Very very good. I like how she counters the BUG one. That's a kick in the balls.
September 2, 2014 1:32 a.m.
ChiefBell is right, Anafenza just hates SOO HARD on Sidisi it's not even funny. And here I was hoping that Delve could be a decent deck. Now we know why Sidisi is a 3/3 for 4 and Anafenza is a 4/4 for 3....
Also, some people are talking about her in Pod? Does this happen every spoiler season that a decent creature is an "auto include for Birthing Pod
in Modern"? I understand the synergy, but I'll believe it when I see it happen.
September 2, 2014 1:36 a.m.
Well the Abzan mechanic is outlast so there doesn't necessarily need to be another attacker to have a tapped creature
September 2, 2014 1:37 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #10
seems like abzan is leaning to some weird mid-range deck where you control the board while you beef up your guys then swing
September 2, 2014 1:39 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #11
also she's weird for pod as she competes for 3 drop space and you cant just pod her away like you can with finks
September 2, 2014 1:40 a.m.
"Hey Sidisi, actually we're just printing you for fun, have this Anafenza to play with!"
September 2, 2014 1:57 a.m.
omnipotato says... #13
>people thinking abzan was going to be control
It's clearly Jeskai, centered in blue. Abzan is centered in white so it makes total sense that their khan is an efficient weenie.
September 2, 2014 3:25 a.m.
Quadsimotto says... #14
I like this card. As a three drop.. Junk or "Abzan" seems to have a lot of neat toys to play with. As if it wasnt strong enough to do really well without the tools that have been spoiled so far.
September 2, 2014 3:35 a.m.
Yesterday I was like: "Uh, yeah, Sidisi, let's go with Jace, the Living Guildpact , Nyx Weaver , Satyr Wayfinder , Courser of Kruphix , Pharika, God of Affliction , Strength from the Fallen some beefy delve guys and awesome removal like Sultai Charm . This is going to be cute and awesome and even if it's not T1 I still want to play it."
Now I'm like: "F*CK YOU WIZARDS!"
Seriously... why do they even print something cute like Sidisi and then make a card that hates the crap out of it?!
September 2, 2014 3:44 a.m.
omnipotato - funny that people think that...... especially after wizards literally said abzan is about control. What idiots!
September 2, 2014 3:58 a.m.
@omnipotato wizards announced that the Abzan clan had a focus on control, it's not speculation.
@ChiefBell the outlast mechanic requires you to tap your creature so it doesn't necessarily imply that they have to be attacking as well. I was looking forward to playing junk next standard season, but I've been unimpressed with what I've seen so far. The outlast mechanic is lackluster and feels more like a limited ability. I don't like that I spend a turn playing my creature then the next turn in order to activate the outlast ability I spend more mana and tap my creature. Then if I can still do it profitably, 3 turns in I can attack. People got excited about that new Herald of Anafenza
(the one drop rare with outlast), but I'm not a fan especially now seeing the clan leader. You get a 1/2 on turn one yeah, but I don't see when it becomes profitable to activate the outlast. It cost 
w and tapping your creature to activate the outlast, so on turn 3 would you rather spend 3 mana and tap your creature to get a +1/+1 counter and a 1/1 token or would you rather be casting Anafenza which is a 4/4 for 3 mana. I do kind of like the idea of a junk walkers deck with Sorin spoiled but it kinda sucks the new board wipe is a 5 drop like Liliana Vess
and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
. Feels like a slot that could get clogged, Ajani is great to dig for Elspeth and with both of them on board you pump out 2/2 tokens every turn instead of 1/1's and Liliana could add to a Walker control deck with her discard and ability to dig for anything like a board wipe or Elspeth. Decisions will have to be made lol.
September 2, 2014 4:06 a.m.
I think outlast is a bit oddly placed. It's obviously an attrition mechanic where you play your 1 or 2 drop and you play cheap killspells to stay on top while you buff it up. However it does seem a bit to much like putting all your eggs in one basket when instead you could be casting a diverse range of threats. Regardless of the mechanic the colours are strong.
September 2, 2014 4:15 a.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #20
I love her; my girlfriend is going to get jealous. Although for flavour reasons, I'd prefer to see her vigilant.
September 2, 2014 7:02 a.m.
Nice curve...
Seems fine. Get some use out of your lategame Elvish Mystic s?
September 2, 2014 7:19 a.m.
I still think that Sidisi is a lot better. Ana has a very narrow ability and a very narrow mana cost. However, I started out hating the abzan mechanic. Seeing it get more support is very nice.
September 2, 2014 8:19 a.m.
Except ana is a hard counter to sidisi, rendering her better.
September 2, 2014 9:48 a.m.
I don't want Abrupt Decay to rotate so I could throw it at anyone using Azafena, keeping me from having fun with Sidisi :(
September 2, 2014 9:51 a.m.
That is like saying that there is no better spell than Counterspell , since it is a hard counter to every other spell.
Do not examine the cards played against each other. This is wrong. The fact she can exile creatures (creatures not already in the grave) means absolutely nothing. Sidisi gives you a more profound effect for the mana cost and is good on its own, unlike Ana, who needs another creature, otherwise she is just a worse Loxodon Smiter . The power of Ana is way lower than her color requirements point it out to be.
September 2, 2014 9:59 a.m.
Your right but it means that she's super relevant in some match ups. I mean you can fuck about with a 4 drop 3/3 if you want. Or you can just smash face with a 3 drop 4/4 that buffs other attackers.
I'd rather just win the game than screw around with the graveyard.
September 2, 2014 10:14 a.m.
Especially in standard, it is VERY unlikely to have her out on turn 3. The mana fixing we have is minimal, and all lands that multicolor, except painlands and fetches, come in tapped. Having 3 colors and her out on turn 3 will be super difficult.
Sidisi gives value the moment she enters on turn 4, which is much more likely to happen than having all three colors on t3. If you play realistically Ana on t4, and the opponent answers on t4 with sidisi, it is likely the opponent will have more power on the battlefield.
in any case, standard will be a lot slower.
September 2, 2014 10:20 a.m.
That is true. Ana also favours the long game though. Whereas sidisi is somewhat hit and miss. Well, they're both a bit hit and miss
September 2, 2014 10:24 a.m.
rho.reduction says... #29
Yeah, too narrow an effect. Unless you build around the outlast ability she doesn't really win a game. She needs support from the archetype to be really good. Not to say a 4/4 beater isn't good by itself, but when did you ever concede to the turn 3 loxodon smiter?
Best I can see from her is something like:
Turn 3: play anafenza
Turn 4: play something, swing to put counter on it
Of course, I look forward to being nearby the game where this comes out against the delve deck. tableflips-r-us
September 2, 2014 10:31 a.m.
You don't need to use outlast - swinging with a creature raps it and buffs it too.
September 2, 2014 10:37 a.m.
Now, that said anafenza has a casting cost that is better for Chord of Calling and Yisan. And I like her casting her that way a lot more than her coming out on turn 4 "naturally". Ana + chord is what I would call a counter to Sidisi.
September 2, 2014 10:38 a.m.
rho.reduction says... #32
ChiefBell so green/white aggro splash black for Anafenza? I can dig it. Get your Soldier of the Pantheon and Fleecemane Lion ready, people!
September 2, 2014 11:16 a.m.
Yeh. Look at abzan charm too. Great finishers to selesnya aggro. You can play a tempo deck sort of. Gw aggro with b for removal.
September 2, 2014 11:20 a.m.
I still fail to see how Abzan wants to "outlast your opponent" when their Outlast mechanic requires to tap. It seems like the deck can only function competitively with Ivorytusk Fortress since you can only Outlast as a sorcery, it's a worse level up mechanic. Aggro decks would run you over. It also seems like too much investment to beef up a creature only to get it kill spelled or board wiped. Maybe run bant with Prophet of Kruphix and those mono white outlast weanies. At least your lands and creatures untap more often with an easier mana cost that the elephant. Flash in creatures on your opponent's turn to outlast em on your turn.
I was really curious how Abzan would be, but so far it's kinda underwhelming. Yeah the graveyard exiling is kinda relevent, but I don't think people would dedicate half of their sideboard to extra copies of Anafenza and 4 Tormod's Crypt just incase they get a Sultai match. So even her 2nd ability is kinda irrelevant.
I'm not giving up on Sidisi though. There will always be graveyard hate, just have to deal with it (even though GY hate usually always seems to overpower the effectiveness of gy decks). Not like Black runs kill spells and Blue runs counterspells. We only have 4 Sultai cards so we're not really clear on what Sultai really does besides a self miller and some pretty bad delve creatures.
September 2, 2014 11:23 a.m.
You don't have to outlast if you're about to be run over by aggro. That's a stupid statement. The first strike guy creates tokens when you place counters on him. That's a chump blocker. You should only be spending spare mana on outlast not all your mana. WB is the best colour for removal anyway so in that respect it is aiming for long game.
September 2, 2014 11:30 a.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #36
Question for Legacy players: Would you sideboard Anafenza against Dredge or Reanimator decks? Just a thought, she clocks them and hoses their strategy, and is pretty hard to remove. Not sure what I would play it in though.
September 2, 2014 11:31 a.m.
She's bit too pricy surely. Wouldn't you go rest in peace?
September 2, 2014 11:36 a.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #38
Rest in Peace is what I immediately thought of as better, but the 4/4 in an aggressive deck may be worth the cost. Again, I'm not sure if there are Abzan-colored aggressive decks that anyone plays.
September 2, 2014 11:38 a.m.
I'm not sure if the outlast mechanic will really play much of a constructed role, but I do think the clan itself could be quite good. It seems to be pointing to a strategy of early defense, building up your boardstate with tokens and counters, then overwhelming opponents. Sorin, Solemn Visitor , Ajani, Mentor of Heroes , Elspeth, Sun's Champion , & Ajani Steadfast all look well suited for an Abzan deck.
Anafenza's second ability looks more like a bonus than anything else. The biggest issue is finding room for her with Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Courser of Kruphix already competing for the three drop slot(s).
September 2, 2014 11:41 a.m.
Yeah, she's definitely better at aggro than either of them.
September 2, 2014 11:46 a.m.
I got confused between 2 outlast cards and made a mistake in one of my comments. I am in hospital though so you know....
September 2, 2014 12:07 p.m.
LordOfDispair says... #44
Decently strong card, but I feel like the flavor is way off, where it was just the opposite with a couple of the other Khans
September 2, 2014 12:20 p.m.
She perfectly embodies GW with counters. And graveyard exile is pretty GW too. Don't see much B in there though. She's not very off flavour. She's pretty white and white is the central colour
September 2, 2014 12:34 p.m.
Strategically it's a bit off. As you've pointed out, ChiefBell, she's really good in an aggro build; this clan looks like it wants to be more defensive. May we see two different Abzan decks? The color combination could definitely support an aggro build.
September 2, 2014 1:11 p.m.
Yeh. The whole outlast this is a bit odd. I mean she does help with that though. She just happens to help with you attacking too!
VampireArmy says... #2
Paging ChiefBell
September 2, 2014 1:02 a.m.