Midrange decks: From BW back to Abzan

Many said and designed post rotation BW decks. I take the idea of hand disruption + Removals + Mid range creatures - the traditional black based control decks which dated back to the era of Fallen Empire and Ice Age (1995).

The deck usually arrange card types in this way:

4 - 8 Hand Disruption

8 - 12 Removals

4 - 6 Draw Spells

8 -12 Creatures

Transplanting to the coming Standard, it looks like:

Hand Disruption:

Transgress the Mind 3 

Duress 3

Thought-Knot Seer 4

Removals:

Grasp of Darkness  4   Spatial Contortion 4

Anguished Unmaking 3

Descend upon the Sinful 2 Declaration in Stone 2

Ruinous Path 3

Draw Spells:

Sorin, Grim Nemesis  1

Ob Nixilis Reignited 1

Read the Bones 4

Creatures:

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar 4

Archangel Avacyn 2

Mindwrack Demon 4

Even without testing, I can tell this kind of deck is very slow and vulnerable in the first few turns. No matter how good your late game removals/finishers are, you can't survive in the first few turns, you lose. Then I picked the best part(removals/draw/disruption) and turned it into a Abzan deck.

The first try is BG splashing white:

It has Sylvan Advocate as the best 2 drop defense, as well as a boost for Shambling Vent/Hissing Quagmire in late game.

I also add Den Protector + Deathmist Raptor package

 

Mindwrack Demon vs Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Although I have collected a number of Kalitas, I am inclined toward Mindwrack Demon.

The 4/5 survives Chandra's -4, Languish, Exquisite Firecraft and Grasp of Darkness. Its self-milled cards can be returned to hand by Den Protector.

Kalitas needs more cards to make it good in Standard. If Vampire decks and Zombie decks don't do well, I will sell all my Kalitas, even with a loss.

The deck list:

(Arranged by mana cost)

Duress 3

Transgress the Mind 3

Sylvan Advocate 4

Deathcap Cultivator 4

Den Protector 3

Deathmist Raptor 3

Mindwrack Demon 4

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet 1

The Gitrog Monster 2

Sorin, Grim Nemesis  1

Ob Nixilis Reignited 1

Declaration in Stone 2

Anguished Unmaking 4

Ruinous Path 2

23 Lands

A new mana dork.

This card is ok in late game. If I cast Gather the Pack, the Gitrog Monster filters all the lands from the 5 cards and give me more cards.