Magic Monday: Abzan Armor Deck Review

Released as part of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Abzan Armor (atrocious spelling, that) is a Commander preconstructed deck built around the theme of high-toughness creatures and defender synergies. Its face commander, Felothar the Steadfast, flips combat math by letting creatures assign damage equal to their toughness and attack as though they didn’t have defender. The deck leans into walls, lifegain, and recursion, with a secondary commander (Betor, Ancestor’s Voice) offering a more spiritual, graveyard-oriented angle. I actually don’t think that this version of Betor works well with the deck, and I’d rather swap him out for Betor, Kin to All. For the purposes of this review, I’ll be focusing on the deck as led by Felothar the Steadfast.

So, let’s take a closer look at Felothar. She is a 0/5 creature with a CMC of 4. Her abilities are as follows:

• Static: Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power.
• Static: Creatures you control can attack as though they didn’t have defender.
• Activated {3}: Sacrifice another creature: Draw cards equal to that creature’s toughness, then discard cards equal to its power.

In looking at these abilities, it’s pretty clear what she’s meant to do in a deck. Let’s consider the mechanical implications:

• Toughness as Offence: Felothar converts raw toughness into offensive power. A 0/5 or 0/6 creature becomes a substantial attacker without needing power printed on the card, which flips many “walls” into threats and turns conventional combat math on its head.
• Defender Ignored: Defender becomes irrelevant for your creatures under the static effect. Cards that normally stall combat now pressure opponents directly.
• Looting Scaled by Toughness: The activated ability is a scalable looting engine weighted to toughness. Sacrificing a high-toughness, low-power creature yields large card advantage with minimal discard impact.
• Resource Category: Felothar is an engine card rather than an immediate finisher: he increases card quality and board-threat density over time rather than delivering an instant kill.

Okay, so with that established, let’s also think about how we would play a deck led by Felothar. There are some clear steps that we need to take:

1. Establish board of high-toughness creatures or tokens: Early game focus is on defensive bodies and ramp.
2. Use static ability offensively: Attack with walls and high-toughness creatures to apply pressure without committing power-based creatures.
3. Cash in after combat: Sacrifice attacked creatures to Felothar’s activated ability to convert sustained board presence into card advantage.
4. Recur targets: Reuse sacrificed creatures to maintain a steady conversion loop between board and hand.
5. Scale cautiously: Manage activations to avoid over-discarding; prefer low-power high-toughness targets to minimize discard.

Looking at the deck that comes in the box, it does feed into these strategies. Being a precon, there are some issues and oddities, but there are also some definite strengths to be found, including:

• Toughness-Based Combat: Cards like Assault Formation, Wakestone Gargoyle, and Felothar himself turn defensive creatures into offensive threats.
• Wall Synergy: Includes staples like Wall of Omens, Overgrown Battlement, Wingmantle Chaplain, and Walking Bulwark to create a resilient board.
• Card Draw Engine: Felothar’s activated ability lets you sacrifice creatures to draw cards equal to toughness, discard equal to power. This is perfect for wall cards like the included Wall of Roots and Wall of Blossoms.
• Survivability: High-toughness creatures like Indomitable Ancients and Tree of Redemption make the deck hard to crack in combat.
• Flavourful Identity: The deck feels uniquely Abzan; stoic, enduring, and quietly powerful.

Yeah, there are some real strengths here, particularly around that core theming, but there are a few issues as well. The deck is potentially quite strong, but can definitely be improved. Here are a few prominent weaknesses faced by this deck:

• Mana Base: Like many precons, it’s budget-friendly but slow. Taplands and limited fixing can stall early turns.
• Disjointed Themes: Some inclusions (e.g., Indulging Patrician, Hornet Nest) don’t fully synergise with the toughness-matters core. Perhaps these are aimed more at the alternative commander?
• Limited Interaction: Only a handful of removal spells (Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking, Feed the Swarm) are in here. You’ll want more.
• Low Win Pressure: Without upgrades, the deck can stall out or struggle to close games.

The deck isn’t bad. I’d call it good, and mostly thematic. It’s just got the typical issues found in most precons, and would of course be improved by including some good cards from different sets. It could have some real legs with the right upgrades. Here are a few suggestions to get you started, if you’re looking to upgrade your deck:

• Add More Payoffs: Cards like Doran, the Siege Tower (though, actually, he may be a bit redundant…), High Alert, and Tree of Perdition deepen the toughness theme.
• Improve Ramp: Swap in Nature’s Lore, Three Visits, or Farseek for smoother early turns.
• Boost Interaction: Add Generous Gift, Beast Within, or Return to Nature for flexible answers.
• Upgrade Draw: Consider Guardian Project, Toski, Bearer of Secrets, or Momentous Fall to keep your hand full.
• Mana Base Fixes: Add shock lands, check lands, or pain lands to improve consistency.

Abzan Armor is a flavourful and mechanically distinct precon that rewards focused deckbuilding and strategic combat. It’s perfect for players who enjoy turning defence into offence and want a deck that feels different from typical aggro or combo builds. With a few upgrades, it can become a resilient midrange powerhouse that controls the board with sheer toughness and outlasts the competition.

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