Overview:

This Abzan (W/B/G) deck helmed by Felothar the Steadfast focuses on leveraging high-toughness creatures and defender synergies to dominate combat. The strategy revolves around converting defensive walls into offensive threats using effects like Felothar, Assault Formation, and Doran, the Siege Tower, while generating value through toughness-based lifegain, card draw, and recursion. The deck aims to win via combat with inflated toughness values, supported by explosive late-game plays like Last March of the Ents and Canopy Gargantuan, with alternative lines using Tree of Perdition life-swapping and Catapult Captain burn.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana walls (Sylvan Caryatid, Overgrown Battlement) and value defenders like Wall of Omens. Cast key enablers like Assault Formation or Rolling Stones to enable attacks.
2. Midgame Value (Turns 4-6): Resolve commanders or redundancy pieces (Huatli, the Sun's Heart, Bedrock Tortoise). Use Felothar's sacrifice ability with expendable walls to draw cards. Deploy toughness amplifiers like Stalwart Shield-Bearers and Slagwurm Armor.
3. Late-Game Closers (Turns 7+):
   • Swing with massive creatures empowered by Towering Titan (scales with total toughness) or Canopy Gargantuan (+1/+1 counter distribution).
   • Activate Tree of Perdition + instant-speed toughness reduction (e.g., Walking Bulwark activation) for life total swaps.
   • Recur key pieces with Eerie Ultimatum or Reunion of the House.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and at least 1 early defender (e.g., Wall of Omens, Resolute Watchdog).
• Prioritize enablers like Assault Formation or Crashing Drawbridge over pure defenders.
• Avoid hands lacking both ramp and payoff cards.

Key Tips:

• Use Walking Bulwark to temporarily enable attacks without committing to board-wide enablers.
• Time Expel the Interlopers to clear opponents' threats while preserving your high-toughness board.
• Akroma's Will serves as both a lethal combat trick and protection against board wipes.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Heavy reliance on 3-4 key enablers (Assault Formation, Felothar, Doran) that lack innate protection.
• Struggles against mass enchantment removal (Austere Command, Bane of Progress) wiping multiple toughness/damage modifiers.

Moderate

• Limited instant-speed interaction for stack-based threats (counterspells, combo triggers).
• Vulnerable to flyers without consistent access to Spidersilk Armor or deathtouch from Basilisk Collar.

Minor

• Life-swap combo with Tree of Perdition requires precise timing and setup.
• Some clunkiness with high-CMC finishers like Eerie Ultimatum (7CMC).

Most Important Cards:

• Assault Formation (Primary damage enabler + defender attack enabler)
• Eerie Ultimatum (Mass recursion for key pieces)
• Last March of the Ents (Card draw + creature deployment scaling with toughness)
• Crashing Drawbridge (Haste enabler for surprise attacks)
• Tree of Perdition (Alternate win condition via life swap)
• Canopy Gargantuan (Toughness-based counter distribution)
• Demonic Tutor (Flexible search for combo pieces/enablers)
• Akroma's Will (Protection + combat finisher)
• Heroic Intervention (Critical board protection)
• Stalwart Shield-Bearers (Toughness amplifier for defenders)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Can pressure with early defenders but requires T5+ to establish meaningful threats. Explosive turns with Last March of the Ents or Canopy Gargantuan typically occur T7+.

Resilience: 6/10

• Multiple recursion tools (Eerie Ultimatum, Smile at Death) and protection (Heroic Intervention, Asceticism) mitigate setbacks, but core strategy remains vulnerable to targeted hate.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong card draw (Felothar, Wall of Omens, Last March) and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Three Visits) ensure access to key pieces.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Utter End, Anguished Unmaking) handles threats, but lacks counterspells and struggles against resolved combos.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates focused synergy and strong late-game potential but operates at a casual pace, typically threatening wins via combat or life-swap around T9-11. While resilient to single-target removal, its dependency on fragile enablers and slow clock place it in the upper casual tiers.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0