Valor Outside Akros version No Empo Is Not Done Milking This Strategy Because There Is Nothing Much Else That Works That Hasn't Been Invented Yet

3 x Retreat to Emeria
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zandikar
2 x Planar Outburst
1 x Tragic Arrogance
2 x Emeria Shepherd

1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer

4 x Blisterpod
4 x Gatecreeper Vine
4 x Elvish Visionary
2 x Evolutionary Leap
1 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 x Reclamation Sage
4 x Eyeless Watcher
2 x From Beyond
1 x Greenwarden of Murasa
1 x Woodland Bellower

1 x Oblivion Sower
1 x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

5 x Plains
2 x Swamp
6 x Forest
2 x Canopy Vista
2 x Sunpetal Grove
2 x Mortuary Mire
4 x Evolving Wilds


Strategy: Same same. But different. But STILL the same. Only thing different is that you can ramp and swarm via eldrazi scions.

Hey guys! I've been gone for a long while but I still think about NGA often, lol. Since the IOS version of Duels finally got repaired after something like 3 months of nothing I've been playing Duels again. I hope everyone has been doing well and I also hope some banned members see this post! Now, down to business!

My favorite deck to play of all time was my 4-color control deck in Duels 2015. I've wanted to re-create this deck for Origins and have finally been able to do so with the new expansion (obviously not to a T, but certainly similar). wasn't cutting it this time around (or at least atm) so it has become an Abzan deck. I did browse through the discussion board and have found a couple decks that were somewhat similar but not quite the same. So here's the list below and I'll give a detailed card-by-card analysis along with a couple notes where I have kind of evolved from my beginning lists after the analysis. It has been dominating the AI and been winning extremely consistently in ranked as well (I've played around 50-60 games by now).

Nebula's Abzan Control
3 x Gatecreeper Vine
3 x Elvish Visionary
2 x Evolutionary Leap
3 x Reave Soul

1 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 x Nissa's Pilgrimage

2 x Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
2 x Languish
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

2 x Outland Colossus
2 x Zendikar's Roil
2 x Planar Outburst
3 x Angelic Edict
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

1 x Oblivion Sower

2 x Gaea's Revenge
3 x Plated Crusher

3 x Plains
3 x Swamp
7 x Forest
1 x Canopy Vista
2 x Woodland Cemetery
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Sunpetal Grove
4 x Evolving Wilds


About the Deck

The main game-plan, like it's "predecessor", is to stall and destroy until you can either overwhelm with tokens (new to this deck as opposed to the linked one) or to get hexproofed fatties on the board to shortly afterward dominate and win. Sweet and simple.

Card Analysis

Gatecreeper Vine - Simple enough, it's a decent chump blocker and a mana-fixer. Getting the right kind of mana is obviously important in any tri-color deck. It also goes well with Evolutionary Leap.

Elvish Visionary - Another chump blocker and card-draw. We need some sort of presence early on against fast aggro decks, this helps provide that early protection while keeping our hand full. As above, it is also a great Evolutionary Leap target.

Evolutionary Leap - This is, in a round about way, a "tutoring" card. Before you flame me I know that it is not a true tutor, but it's about as close as we have and it does it's job extremely well in this deck. This card has been here a while now and I'm sure everyone knows it's effectiveness with chump cards or using it in response to any sort of destroy on your big guys.

Reave Soul - This is our last line of defense for quick aggro and also works great for flyers which can be a bit of a nuisance as well. This was one of my latter additions to round out the deck and has been great since it's addition. If you wanted to switch some cards around a single one of these might be a good choice.

Nissa, Vastwood Seer - She's amazing and basically an auto-include in nearly any deck that runs green, lol. She grabs a Forest, once triggered she is a card drawing machine and of course her other abilities are helpful in other situations (just be careful not to give your opponent the 6/6 lands.......lol)

Nissa's Pilgrimage - I know, it really isn't the best card in the world, but we need mana and ramp and this is basically the best we got. If we ever get Cultivate it will be in this spot but until then, it does it's job well enough to keep it's place here. Trust me when I say 3 is needed and any more or less is too much/not enough.

Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - This was the last card to make it into my "finalized" list and it was the last missing piece without a doubt. It is a 4-drop which this deck needed, it has reach (I was originally looking for a flyer but this filled in perfectly, I needed more protection vs. flyers), and very good power/toughness at 3/4. On top of that it can offer a little life-gain from time to time (not it's sole purpose but it can work well) and gives the Elvish Visionary or Nissa a nice little boost. I even won a game on the back of Dwynen with a couple Visionaries while keeping the opponent's board clear.

Languish - It's a great early sweeper which can turn the tide in one fell swoop.

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - I've read arguments on this thread about Gideon not being that great in a control deck, one response was "A 4-mana +1 +1 emblem". That could not be farther from the truth. This guy can win games, or at least stall them long enough to get what you need. He's a lot more versatile than people give him credit for. The tokens are great for chumping and/or Evolutionary Leap. He can do a lot of damage on his own as a 5/5 Indestructible, and his +1+1 Emblem is awesome when we have tokens/elves out. On top of that, he's still there after a sweep. I'm always happy to see this guy end up in my hand.

Outland Colossus - Perhaps the best bang for your buck when it comes to getting what you pay mana for. If he happens to hit your opponent's face even once it will usually win a game on it's own (especially with a couple destroys). This is basically the first of our finishers in the deck. Oh, and getting this guy out on T4 after a Nissa's Pilgrimage is just awesome.

Zendikar's Roil - With all the mana tutoring/ramping this enchant is awesome. It also works amazing with Evolutionary Leap. It can easily overwhelm your opponent and also works well to flood the board along with Gideon's tokens. Works well with Evolving Wilds.

Planar Outburst - Another sweeper and when you can afford the awaken cost it is even more deadly (which is probably more often than one might think).

Angelic Edict - IMO one of the most underrated cards in duels. It doesn't allow pesky creatures to go into the GY (as it exiles) and it can also get rid of an enchantment if that is what's giving you problems. It's versatility and denial of GY shenanigans is amazing.

Ob Nixilis Reignited - Just pure awesomeness. It kills creatures, can draw cards...much like Nissa, I don't think anything running black would not include this guy. He is insane.

Oblivion Sower - This guy is just awesome. He has great synergy with Zendikar's Roil as well. the 5/8 body can block nearly anything without dying. He is always a welcome addition to the battlefield.

Gaea's Revenge - Basically hexproof 8/5 with Haste. A true finisher. This guy (and the next guy) is one of the main reasons we want Nissa's Pilgrimage at some point before T7. Everyone knows how brutal this guy is.

Plated Crusher - See Gaea's Revenge and replace "Haste" with "Trample". He has 1 less attack and 1 more toughness. We've generally caused so much havoc by the time this guy comes into play it is just too much, especially with the trample. Chump blocking only helps so much. Again, a true finisher.

Lands - The mana-base has been perfect. You might be able to switch a couple things around but overall I've yet to have any trouble. My lands get out consistently, as needed, and I have plenty of options to thin the lands from the deck to my hand/board to get to the meat and bones of the deck. Of course Evolving Wilds works great for not only getting what you need atm but also has great synergy with Zendikar's Roil.

Evolution/Thoughts About the Deck

The first iterations worked pretty well, but I could tell something was missing. I started without any Reave Soul or Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen. In their places I had another Angelic Edict, a 5th "sweeper" with Tragic Arrogance, a Woodland Bellower, and a couple Kothophed, Soul Hoarder. I also tried Emeria Shepherd. I may be a card or 2 off, I messed with numbers of Visionaries and Gatecreepers, etc. Anyhow, the main problem was with really good, quick aggro and/or flyers.

Both Kothophed and Emeria were good cards, but often too little too late. I needed something sooner and that's when Dwynen filled in even more perfectly than I could have imagined. The Bellower was also nice to have around but every time I dropped him on the board I felt that while he was good, he was just a little lacking and making room for something like Reave Soul was a perfect choice. 5 sweepers was often too much, although 4 seems perfect (and I still sometimes think about adding the 5th back in). I really want the 4th Edict back but having 3 Reave Soul has really helped the early-game and vs. flyers (most flyers, especially early when they hurt the most, are 3 or under power).

I'm sure there may be a couple slight changes here and there that may tailor towards someone's playing style or something I missed that would work well but so far this deck has been amazing! I easily win 80% of my ranked games with my finalized version. It has an answer for everything and is hard to fight back against. Nothing's perfect, especially me, lol, but this is as perfect as I can get (at least for me). ;P

Feel free to discuss and enjoy!

Ok.. been putting a little work into a Life Gain/Drain/Pain thing.. and it's got another little wrinkle in it too.. Timmy fliers.

The plan is to gain a bunch of life and eventually, turn all that lifegain into damage with lololololDefiant Bloodlord. But.. that simply can't be the whole game plan.. we have to have early game and alt win cons. Early game we have Serene Steward, Kalastria Healer, Lantern Scout, Drana's Emissary and Malakir Familiar for lifegain/drain/counters/evasive damage. We also have Gatecreeper Vines/Natural Connection for fixing, and Evolutionary Leap for blanking removal/getting value. Mid game there's not a lot going on.. Gideon, Ob Nixilis, and two Angelic Edicts (the only removal). At six+ mana things get Timmy with Kothophed, Emeria Shepherd and Defiant Bloodlord bringing my evasive damage, reach, card draw and recursion. Also.. Nissa's Renewal for thinning, and it's a wild smack to the face with Bloodlord out. I'm not getting much value out of it currently bc I don't have many basics. The mana is something I'd like input on for sure (more plains for Steward/Shepherd).

Anyway.. I present to you: Timmy Lifegain

2 x Serene Steward
4 x Kalastria Healer
3 x Gatecreeper Vine
2 x Evolutionary Leap

2 x Lantern Scout
3 x Malakir Familiar
1 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 x Drana's Emissary
3 x Natural Connection

1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

2 x Angelic Edict
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

2 x Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
2 x Nissa's Renewal

2 x Emeria Shepherd
2 x Defiant Bloodlord

2 x Plains
3 x Swamp
2 x Forest
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Canopy Vista
2 x Woodland Cemetery
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Sunpetal Grove
1 x Mortuary Mire
1 x Golgari Guildgate
1 x Orzhov Guildgate
1 x Selesnya Guildgate
4 x Evolving Wilds

My Timmy lifegain is going in the Abzan direction too although I was pretty successful last night with the Healer Front combo, if you have a Malakir out as well so much the better so I def recommend you include that. I will post my list later today after some more tweaking.

But how well has this build worked? I also like the idea and Defiant Bloodlord but i just feel like the card is just too expensive and bad for it's cost. I really do hope that there would be good working deck with this

It's a work in progress. At the moment its about to go straight up Orzhov.. I'll report back after testing.

Which, unfortunately, Barney stomped while I was playing a version of it against him last night. :-/

The best looking one was almost pure aggro. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it though.

I'm definately taking the Abzan route aswell for Allies.

Wanted to make little different Abzan deck and make use of Elemetal Bond. Deck has little few to play in first 2 turns but can handle RDW and other aggro pretty well because on turn 3 and after u start to drop superior creatures. Deck also has some lifegain that quickly shutdowns aggro deck hopes of victory. Only real loss in my testing was agains BG Elf that started to spam tokens really fast and i didn't draw Butcher or Nixilis to stop it.

This build can easily use Felida Cub and Marauder multiple times if needed. Elemetal Bond actually works really nice here and keeps ur hand full of playable cards truth the game. One think that could be added is Suppression Bonds that could deal with planeswalkes and possible Ulamog but main plan here is to finish game before Ulamog or at least stall opponent lands with Acid-Moss. I know that Gilt-Leaf Winnower is not that much played card but in this build it has been really good and fits in nicely. Menace is also great because Retreat to Kazandu can easily buff creature to lethal dmg and that has won me several games when opponent haven't been able to block or has to sacrifice multiple creatures for nothing just to stay alive.

Lands are always one thing that can go wrong in 3 color deck but i feel that this deck lands are pretty solid and i haven't have that much problems with right mana.

Gameplay with this deck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0U_6iOZ14Y

Midrange Abzan

Deck list:
3x Felidar Cub
4x Gatecreeper Vine
2x Gideon's Reproach
1x Liliana, Heretical Healer
3x Fleshbag Marauder
1x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4x Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3x Blood-Cursed Knight
3x Retreat to Kazandu
3x Elemental Bond
2x Woodland Wanderer
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Gilt-Leaf Winnower
2x Brood Butcher
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Greenwarden of Murasa
1x Emeria Shepherd

2x Plains
2x Swamp
5x Forest
2x Shambling Vent
2x Canopy Vista
2x Woodland Cemetery
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Sunpetal Grove
2x Mortuary Mire
1x Golgari Guildgatee
1x Selesnya Guildgate

So ugh... Why Retreat to Kazandu over Retreat to Emeria

Yeah that was one thing i had to really think but i choose to go with Kazandu because turn 4 main play is Acid-Moss or Woodland Wanderer. Also because there is basically nothing in first 2 turns i really want to have something on turn 3. Didn't want to go too heavy on 4-5 mana spells and that lifegain has been really useful when playing with RDW or stuff like that (won me few games alone). Deck is trying to swing win with "big" creatures and don't really have use for 1/1 tokens. But either way both i think will work really good in this just need to have enough enchants to trigger Cursed Knight.

We need you back, buddy, there aren't enough quality posts like this anymore. We're dealing with "Beast Brews" in this thread FFS!

Anyway, since I have the tournament up and running I haven't had time to properly brew/playtest so I'll definitely be grabbing other people's lists for the next little while. I'll start here.

Also, get an Xbone, it's where the cool kids play.

You can eat chit and die Matt!

reported

Even if it were true, 4 mana for a nonremovable +1/+1 to all creatures is not a bad deal at all.

Are there cards that remove Emblems coming up?

Lol, thanks Hakeem! I look forward to your input! And I'll work on the xbone thing. ;P

And true enough Mythic, the "worst case" with Gideon is still pretty solid! I have no idea about anything able to remove emblems. I would assume something worded "remove target permanent" or something along those lines could remove and emblem.

there will probably never be cards that remove emblems considering emblems have no qualities other then their effect, the player that owns them and that they sit in the command zone

Emblems aren't permanents

That's what I thought, which is why I stand by saying that 2WW for that effect is very good.

how good his -4 is would depend on how many creatures you run, but that really doesn't matter considering Gideon is the single best card in our pool, and if your deck can get to WW on turn 4 consistently you had better be playing him no matter what your archetype is