The modern format is one that intrigues me greatly; it combines the power level of Legacy with the fairness of Standard. Whether one chooses to go off on turn one with Amulet Bloom or beat down with a [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] and three [card]Cryptic Command[/card]s in hand, the Modern world provides the best of both worlds and everything in between. The best part? The fact that the format is eternal means that, excluding bans, players can choose to play a deck for as long as they’d humanly like to.

In recent weeks, a slew of bannings has caused the format to shift in dramatic fashion. While the bannings of [card]Dig Through Time[/card] and [card]Treasure Cruise[/card] were borderline predictable, Birthing Pod’s departure was slightly more intriguing. Suddenly, one of the format’s eternal staples was no more, and players had to adjust quickly before the upcoming modern Pro Tour in Washington.

In the current state of modern, there are three ways to attack the format:

1) Have a linear strategy that’s down right quicker than your opponents
2) Remand the world
3) Have the best tuned Abzan list

Each of these three routs has their advantages and disadvantages. In the case of the quicker rout, a plethora of free wins are there for the taking. A lot of the time the aggressive decks can simply run through the match unopposed. However, given the diversity of the available cards in the format, very specific hate cards are at the disposition of the players, giving them each the sideboard tools required to tilt the scales in the matchup. In addition, these types of decks tend to have less card manipulation, thereby making them more high-variance. Playing the aggressive decks such as Affinity, Burn, Infect, or Bloom is a desirable rout for many, but a litany of players simply don’t feel comfortable losing to specific hate cards or poor draws.

What about [card]Remand[/card] then? The tempo decks that thrive on the use of cards like it (Blue Moon, [card]Splinter Twin[/card], and #TeamGeist to name a few) are an equally fine way to attack the format. These decks benefit precise play and astute knowledge of opposing decklists. However, tempo decks have trouble dealing with the quicker, more aggressive decks and don’t fare so well against the discard the Abzan decks are packing. Overall, despite [card]Splinter Twin[/card] winning the Pro Tour, tempo decks are not faring as well as they have in the past.

Which leaves tuning an Abzan list as the final option. Formerly known as Junk, Abzan is a pure midrange deck: it’s capable of overwhelming an opponent with quick and efficient creatures just as it can grind out a match with discard spells and Liliana. While the lack of flare and the ability to just lose to any deck deters some players, many opt for the consistency of Abzan; as seen by its showing in Washington. However, like any deck that shows up in high numbers, several different variants were present and put up above-average numbers.

Choosing the correct Abzan list to bring to an event is like deciding what type of appetizer to bring to a pot-luck, you have to evaluate based on what everyone else is bringing. Each list has its specific benefits and downfalls against specific matchups, making the understanding of what the field looks like even more crucial.

Abzan Midrange

The most common archetype of Abzan played on MTGO and at the Pro Tour, Abzan Midrange is the equivalent of pigs in a blanket: they’re always a hit but chances are good someone else is going to bring them to the party as well.

Abzan Midrange by Jesse Hampton

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
2 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Path to Exile
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Siege Rhino
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
1 Feed the Clan
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 Stony Silence
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Batterskull
1 Path to Exile
2 Fulminator Mage
3 Aven Mindcensor
2 Damnation
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

The only main change to the midrange build from the Pro Tour is the addition of Tasigur, a card that does some serious work in the deck. Otherwise, most of the pieces are very much intact.

This adaptation of the deck is the most consistent; it can compete with any deck in the format at near 50 percent or better. However, the matchup to decks like Burn and Infect are rather problematic, [card]Inkmoth Nexus[/card] is just a beating while the Burn decks are quicker and benefit off of your shocklands and [card]Thoughtseize[/card]. Furthermore, the mirror can be grueling with little advantage to be gained in the list for either player. Among the few ways to gain an advantage in the mirror is taking out the discard spells first, then worrying about Lilianas. During top 8 coverage of the Pro Tour, both Eric Froehlich and Jesse Hampton opted to keep in copies of [card]Thoughtseize[/card] after sideboarding, largely due to a “lack of other cards to bring in.” While I have high regard for both players, I firmly believe keeping any discard spells in is a subpar decision at best. In a resource battle like the Abzan mirror, having dead draws later in the game is something to be avoided. While the early benefits of such cards is undeniable, ripping a [card]Thoughtseize[/card] off the top in a grindy late-game is the absolute worst.

“Wilted” Abzan

Piloted by the Face to Face Game’s tea, notably Jacob Wilson, this spin on Abzan was specifically designed to beat the mirror and Burn matchups. Playing this list is the equivalent of bringing pigs in a blanket wrapped with bacon to the potluck. Sure, other people definitely brought the appetizer that everyone loves, but things with bacon in them pretty much always get eaten before things without bacon.

Wilted Abzan by Jacob Wilson

[deck]
[Lands]
3 Forest
3 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
1 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
2 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Siege Rhino
4 Voice of Resurgence
3 Wilt-Leaf Liege
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Thoughtseize
2 Chalice of the Void
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Stony Silence
1 Zealous Persecution
2 Sword of War and Peace
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1 Rule of Law
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Leyline of Sanctity
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

The deck uses cards like [card]Wilt-Leaf Liege[/card], [card]Kitchen Finks[/card], [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card], and [card]Gavony Township[/card] to get ahead in the mirror. Additionally, the lack of Liliana and most of the discard spells, which should be taken out after game 1, allows the deck to have more live draws in the first game. With [card]Lingering Souls[/card] becoming the dominant force that it is in the mirror, this list takes the most advantage of the card and allows your Souls to be strictly better than theirs. Finally, Liege and [card]Loxodon Smiter[/card] essentially shut down opposing Lilianas and make discard spells strictly worse.

Wilted Abzan also has a better matchup against the most aggressive decks that traditional jund lists. The addition of four [card]Kitchen Finks[/card] to the full set of [card]Siege Rhino[/card]s all Abzan lists are playing causes nightmares for the burn matchups. Additionally, having access to 4 [card]Birds of Paradise[/card] can be oddly beneficial against the Infect decks for blocking [card]Inkmoth Nexus[/card], giving the Abzan player more time to find a [card]Lingering Souls[/card] or simply push through for a ton of damage. Finally, having access to mainboard [card]Qasali Pridemage[/card] gives an Abzan player an extra tool against Affinity.

While Wilted Abzan definitely has its advantages, there are several matchups that do become worse. While cutting Liliana and a lot of discard spells is beneficial in some matchups, not having access to those cards makes life much more difficult against [card]Splinter Twin[/card], UWR Control, [card]Scapeshift[/card], and Amulet Bloom. Not being able to remove the key cards from the hands of opponents playing these decks makes playing around what they’re doing very difficult. Additionally, the loss of [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] is noticeable in a plethora of matchups; the range that it provides in terms of removal is almost unparalleled.

Noble Abzan

The final type of Abzan worth analyzing, Channel Fireball tweaked the Abzan midrange deck people know and love by adding in [card]Noble Hierarch[/card] and [card]Gavony Township[/card]. This list equates to adding a hint of hot sauce to pigs in a blanket, a slight change can convince the plebeian masses that the recipe is suddenly a whole lot different when it’s really not.

Noble Hierarch by Eric Froehlich

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Forest
2 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
2 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Spells]
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Batterskull
1 Dismember
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
3 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
3 Noble Hierarch
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Siege Rhino
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Stony Silence
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Batterskull
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Zealous Persecution
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Choke
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

In a vaccum, this list seems to have the most benefits. The addition of [card]Noble Hierarch[/card] and [card]Gavony Township[/card] provides the edge in the mirror that everyone is trying to get (not to mention a mainboard [card]Batterskull[/card]) while the access to Liliana and discard spells allows for a more sustainable matchup against the combo-control decks. However, the 1-mana spells in the deck are subpar at best against the Burn deck while in game 1 the risk of drawing into discard spells late is still present. With that said, I personally believe this is the archetype to be on moving forward. As for the list, this is what I am currently playing.

Noble Hierarch by Jake Meszaros

[deck]
[Lands]
1 Forest
2 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
2 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Spells]
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Batterskull
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
3 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
3 Noble Hierarch
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Siege Rhino
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Sideboard]
2 Stony Silence
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Spellskite
2 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Batterskull
2 Curse of Death’s Hold
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Liliana of the Veil
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

The mainboard stays 98.3% the same, the only difference being the addition of a 4th [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] in the place of a [card]Dismember[/card]; I believe Decay is the best removal spell available in the deck. There are noticeable changes to the sideboard, which affect the boarding plan as follows:

Abzan

– 3 [card]Thoughtseize[/card], -3 [card]Inquisition of Kozilek[/card], -2 [card]Liliana of the Veil[/card], +1 [card]Batterskull[/card], +1 [card]Maelstrom Pulse[/card], +2 [card]Curse of Death’s Hold[/card], +4 [card]Fulminator Mage[/card]

While [card]Fulminator Mage[/card] seems significantly better on the play than on the draw (which it is), having access to ways of dealing with opposing Townships or manlands and occasionally living “oops you’re short on land I win” dream, I believe they’re worth having. As for [card]Curse of Death’s Hold[/card], I believe it’s a card that does a lot of work. It single-handedly shuts off opposing [card]Lingering Souls[/card] and makes your creatures better than theirs, all at a mana cost that keeps it out of Decay Range.

Burn

-3 [card]Thoughtseize[/card], -1 Liliana, +2 Leyline, +1 [card]Batterskull[/card], +1 [card]Spellskite[/card]

The burn matchup is still not great, that’s a given. However, by playing around [card]Skullcrack[/card] and gaining access to Leyline things get a lot easier.

Infect

-3 Noble, -4 Rhino, -1 [card]Batterskull[/card], +1 [card]Spellskite[/card], +2 [card]Curse of Death’s Hold[/card], +4 [card]Fulminator Mage[/card], +1 Liliana

Besides pumping a [card]Spellskite[/card] to oblivion, Curse essentially shuts down every win condition the deck has. Most Infect players are not boarding in [card]Nature’s Claim[/card] against Abzan, so usually in game two it will simply end the game. As for the rest of the board, Fulminators are necessary for dealing with Inkmoth and Liliana does more work than [card]Batterskull[/card].

Twin

-1 [card]Batterskull[/card], -4 Rhino, +1 Liliana, +2 [card]Curse of Death’s Hold[/card], +1 [card]Spellskite[/card], +1 [card]Maelstrom Pulse[/card]

Although it may seem odd to board Pulse in, some Twin decks are bringing in [card]Batterskull[/card]. Also it kills [card]Blood Moon[/card]. Once again, Curse does a lot of work in the matchup, essentially shutting down the possibility of the combo while killing pretty much all of the creatures played in the Twin deck. It is critical to play around [card]Blood Moon[/card] in this matchup, more important than the combo itself almost.

Given the plethora of other matchups possible in a format as wide as modern, I’ll stop my boarding plan there. For those who would like to discuss the deck or the sideboard further, feel free to contact me on twitter @JakeMesz.

To conclude, in a format where anything is possible, I firmly believe that the best option is always to pursue consistency. Regardless of which Abzan list one plays, such consistency is there.

P.S.: I really like pigs in a blanket.