Midrange deck with a core focusing on Planeswalkers and creatures swinging big. The black splash was originally for Abzan Charm and Sorin, but the removal suite works really well against other midrange decks, especially the mirror, as my opponent often won't have as many answers as I do. Additionally, almost every single card in the sideboard is black, as the flexibility that it can give you is unparalleled, which is the reason my mana-base is almost a third black sources, to accommodate for the sideboard.
Incredible board presence, surprisingly robust control of flow and the enemies board state, however it has a hard time without sideboard against heavy control.
Win Conditions are:
- Elspeth -7, as always
- Actually just Elspeth in general. Girl is (was, rip) nutso.
- Dwayne "The Roc" Johnson/High Sentinals swinging over for lethal
- Sorin buffing a large board and out-racing with lifelink
- Dropping Ajani onto a sizable board that includes a High Sentinals (Gush)
- Ajani +1 (Three Tokens) into Ajani +1 (Three Tokens) into Sorin +1 and turn the table sideways
Sideboard Win Cons:
- Ashen Rider resolves
- Go huge with Empty the Pits during their end-step, hopefully with a Sorin on the field
- Clear the way with Garruk/Emblem and swing huge
- Ashen Rider resolves
No but seriously. Ashen Rider is a fucking monster, I really really love the card. With a 25 land base and 4 mana dorks, 8 mana isn't unlikely. To top it off, the card is almost a guaranteed 3-for-1, and will destroy in matches that last between 10 and 15 turns. Seriously a monster to fear.
Mentor of Heroes was picked over Steadfast purely because the card advantage is amazing in a deck that otherwise has few ways to draw cards, as well as his first +1 being a very potent aggressive or defensive tool, especially if you have another copy waiting in hand. Two turns of that treatment, and your creature gets +9/+9. Played on curve with High Sentinals, that's 6 damage turn 5 and 12 damage turn 6, or turns 4 and 5 respectively if I ramped with Sylvan.
Liliana was a late addition, but the discard is really strong in matchups with powerful threats (IE: The mirror), and can really disrupt people's plans later on. (Note: Once in the late game VS a black deck, if they are relatively tapped out and have only one card in hand, please make them discard it. It is 90% of the time going to be an Empty the Pits, and you'll make some grown men cry if you manage to make them throw that one away).
Awesome deck, has reliable and consistent draws, the manabase is very obedient and it plays really well. Sideboarding is so delicious and the deck is incredibly flexible when it comes to matchups and tailoring mid-match to play to the opponent's weaknesses. Also cost me an arm and a fucking leg to put together from scratch, but it was well worth it.
<b>What to look for in an opening hand:</b>
Never, ever keep a one land hand. I don't care if you have a Sylvan, I don't care if it's a scry land, I don't care if you're on the draw. Don't do it.
The deck has a huuuuuge peak at 3 mana, and you definitely want 2 lands in the opener. A Sylvan is optimal, as it lets you curve your threats out sooner and is a godsend for fixing, but beggers choosers etc etc.
Typically, any hand with two lands, a Sylvan and Anafenza/Courser is going to pan out really, really well.
<b>Turns, Curves and Tempo:</b>
Ideal curves are as follows.
Turn 1: Land
Turn 2: Land, Sylvan
Turn 3: Land, Sylvan, Brimaz, Courser, Sorin or Sentinals
Turn 4: Land., Wingmate, Sorin, Ajani, Liliana or Elspeth
Theoretically you can get Ashen Rider out turn 4. If your opening hand was Ashen Rider, 4x Sylvan and two lands, as well as the top two cards of your library being another two lands. I really really want that to happen one day.
<b>Matchups and Advice: </b>
While it sucks having to hold off on playing creatures or threats to leave mana open for removal, there are some threats that need to be answered quickly. Against Mardu/Jeskai on turns 4 and 3 respectively, it is very important to respect the power of Butcher and Rider, as they will fuck you sideways every time. Leaving mana open to deal with these threats before they pay themselves off is paramount, even if you have to miss a land drop from not playing Courser.
Control matchups turn into a bit of a grind-fest, however with Wingmate Roc, Elspeth and Brimaz, there are plenty of ways to flood the board, and in the event of a board wipe all the threats are viable on their own (With maybe the exception of Roccy Balboa), so they can be placed onto an open board and still cause a ruckus. Speaking of control matchups...
<b>Sideboarding: </b>
Sideboarding is fuuuuuun! For control matchups I typically like to throw in the Lilianas and one or two Garruks, depending on the opponent's reliance on PWs. In the mirror, both Garruks are thrown in and dropping them down turn 6 or even 5 (!) to ruin Elspeth's day is aaaaalways satisfying.
Against Rabble-red (Which admittedly isn't as present after rotation) Drown in Sorrow is, of course, fantastic. Hero's Downfall is less powerful in that matchup, so it normally goes down to 3 or 2 copies and Wit's End is miserably bad against decks with low-cost/value cards, as they're happy to make the tempo trade.
Against the much scarier Jeskai Tempo decks that are all the rage with the kids nowadays, Bile Blight is an absolutely amazing addition. One of the best answers in standard to the pesky Mantis Rider, this card rocks my socks off, and I am considering running four in the sideboard although I'm not sure what I'd get rid of for it.
Silence the Believers takes the place of Utter End in the mirror matchup or against the Monsters decks that are on the rise, as resolving a strived Silence normally wins you the game, as the tempo swing is completely absurd, and the equip/aura hate is a plus.
Fleecemane is something still being experimented with, but I like the idea of swapping it in over Sentinals against early aggro decks, as having a 3/3 body turn two can work wonders against Rabblemaster and the like, although as always it doesn't help me much vs Coarser/Brimaz. However, it can become very sticky late game and with so many ways to buff it hard, it can pose a serious threat later down the track if not answered early, and it's versatility means that it won't be a dead draw (or as dead of a draw) later on. Will playtest it and see how it performs, might just be that Nyx-fleece rams are the better option. Something 3x "fleecy" is going to be there, the details are tomorrow-me's problem.
EDIT: Have since subbed out Fleecemane Lion for Abzan Ascendancy in the sideboard, as AA does the same job (Fight removal) in arguably a better way. While it sucks for the opponent to clear the board with Anger of the Gods, against a deck that runs 15-20 ways to remove creatures (Which I have encountered) or a control deck that runs board wipe, this card could do serious wonders. I still feel like Fleecemane has a place in this deck, I'm just trying to work it out at the moment.