"Abzan Ascendancy:Killing you with Spirit(s)"

"Abzan Ascendancy:Killing you with Spirit(s)"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Among the 5 clans in Tarkir , the Abzan have the reputation of being the hardest to kill and it is not just about their mechanic Outlast.Yes they seem to Steampack themselves and grow bigger but that is not the only reason why they are so deadly. As this enchantment would prove ,not only do the Abzan have spirit even their literal spirits would live on to throttle your throat for the win.

When I looked at this 3 mana cost enchantment I saw some great interactions,Timing is key when using this Ascendancy. The first advantage that it gives is that it would give a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control when it comes into play. Making 1/1's into 2/2's is one thing , giving them abilities like First Strike , Flying ,  Reach  , Lifelink, Trample and Deathtouch is another if you have the pre-requisite creatures that give these abilities already in play.

So the best time to use this enchantment is when you already have a lot of creatures on the battlefield so that they could grow bigger with the +1/+1 counters. Also have at least any of the following enablers like Ainok Bond-kin , Abzan Falconer , Abzan Battlepriest , Mer-Ek Nightblade , Tuskguard Captain and Longshot Squad.Playing the Abzan feels like playing with Slivers because every creatures with a +1/+1 counter gets all the abilities. Imagine the possibility with Heroic creatures!

What I am excited about is the 2nd ability of Abzan Ascendancy and that is the creation of 1/1 flying White Spirit creature token whenever a non-token creature you control dies. Whenever a creature dies , you get a spirit that could basically avenge itself from the afterlife! A creature attacks and becomes blocked you have a 1/1 Spirit , you block a massive attacker you have 1/1 Spirit. Someone spot removes your creature you get a 1/1 spirit as well but I guess my favorite scenario involves Mass Removal. Opponents who feel a bit overwhelmed by the Abzhan army would need to cast a mass removal spell at one point and when you have Abzan Ascendancy already in play you get replacements for all those creatures that died. If an opponent hesitates to cast a mass removal because they already have a massive army of their own , then you could cast the mass removal spell yourself. When you think about it Abzan has white in its colors and have access to End Hostilities and Duneblast. Duneblast adds another distinct advantage since you could choose one of your big creatures to remain on the battlefield while 1/1 Spirit creatures rise all around it.Add to this mix the Hooded Hydra which you could cast in an Abzan deck not only do you get spirit tokens but snake tokens as well! Meanwhile on the other side of the board your opponent is scratching his or her head.

The Abzan would have a decidedly big advantage when it comes to the amount of creatures that would remain on the battlefield thanks to this particular card. It must be tough to kill something that have this much resiliency when it comes to creature production. Among the clans Abzan definitely counts as the toughest.