“Look into my eyes, spoken out true name.“
Art:Angelic Chorus
by Jim Murray
We are back again with the non-budget upgrades for Abzan armor, for this list we are looking at cards that are fifteen dollars and up, because of this this list is definitely more geared to a player who is willing to invest a little bit more into the deck, it is worth noting that with the current list with the budget upgrades will function very nicely, these are just additional enhancements that will certainly make the deck better. Without further ado, let’s get it!
Table of Contents
Our Decklist so far:
If you checked out our article from yesterday (Link Here) covering the budget upgrades, these have been added to the list and this is the current form of the decklist:
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Abzan Armor Precon Decklist!
Non-Budget Upgrades:
Add:
Most copies on TCGPlayer range from 20 to 25 Dollars.
Cut:
Last March of the Ents is truly a bomb in this deck and when cast can easily end the game, we tend to not only draw a ton off of it but being able to dump our hand gives us a combat advantage that makes it really hard for our opponents to recover from, this card is a bomb in the deck and absolutely can win games on its own. The reason we cut Tip the Scales is we already have some good board wipes that barely affect us like Expel the Interlopers
and Slaughter the Strong
, I don’t think that Tip the Scales is worth it in this deck.
Add:
Most copies on TCGPlayer range from 20 to 25 Dollars.
Cut:
Card draw is something that is always tough to get, especially in Abzan, Sylvan Library really is the perfect answer for this, card selection and optional card draw is pretty good, we also gain a decent amount of life passively by playing this deck so we don’t have too worry about paying for cards, this is a bomb for the deck and a very nice source of card draw and card selection. After doing some testing, Swiftfoot Boots just feels pretty ok a lot of the time and kind of bad a lot of times. We have a decent amount of recursion in the deck, and the hexproof and haste really just aren’t worth it. I say cut it.
Add:
Most copies on TCGPlayer range from 15 to 20 Dollars.
Cut:
Card selection and tutoring are two things that not only come at a premium in magic but can make your deck so much better. While we don’t go super overboard with expensive tutor effects, I think that Worldly Tutor is very strong and can help set us up for some very strong turns. The main reason I cut Bulwark is that we almost always have our commander out, and if we don’t, we are pretty much in full blocker/defender mode anyway. Bulwark is just not a card that’s better than Worldly Tutor, and I think it deserves that spot.
Add:
Most copies on TCGPlayer range from 15 to 18 Dollars. (This is a preorder price, so definitely subject to change)
Cut:
Betor is just insane for this deck. Ten, twenty, and forty are all achievable numbers in this deck, and the effect on this card is just great, whether it’s just card draw, untapping, or if we are lucky and have a big board, taking away half an opponent’s life. Betor is also a great attacker/blocker, truly the whole package for a deck like this. I am a big fan of Faeburrow Elder, but only being able to take advantage of it partially just feels rough, and we have a lot better mana dorks that fit better into the deck. Faeburrow certainly isn’t bad, but I think Betor is far better for the deck.
Add:
Cut:
Robe of Stars is a card that is provides a lot of utilyt to our deck, not only do we get a toughness boost which in this deck is just more damage we also can phase a creature out as needed which is quite strong especially since EDH is a format that is pretty heavy on single-target removal, Robe of Stars certainly isn’t going to change the world but it can allow you to save creatures that would otherwise die. I am not a big fan of Nyx Fleece. While it does interact nicely with our sub lifegain package, I still don’t think it’s worth it. It has comparable stats to the other two drops in our deck and is just not great.
The Final Decklist:
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Abzan Armor Precon Decklist!
Conclusion:
This is our completed decklist, I tested this deck quite a bit and had around a 65% win-rate which is quite good for an upgraded precon, while this certainly isn’t a CEDH deck it is a pretty strong deck that can do quite well at a lot of different tables, while control can be a tough matchup we really excel against creature decks, this is a really fun deck and whether you go for the budget upgrades, non-budget or both its a great list and a great time! Stay tuned and TAP IN!