Pioneer: Abzan Greasefang - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

When the first cards from Aetherdrift were announced, one of the biggest bets from the Pioneer community was that the cards in the set, especially the vehicles, would make Greasefang, Okiba Boss decks catapult to Tier 1 of the Metagame.

After its release, however, the result and consensus is that most of the new artifacts do not compensate for the slots of other cards that one of the most famous combos of the format already runs. While some lists bet on Valor's Flagship as a one-of, most lists stick with the package of Parhelion II and Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, and the deck failed to reach the top of the Metagame in any of its variants.

Today, there are three versions of Greasefang: Mardu () with Fear of Missing Out and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Esper() with Stubborn Denial, Consider and a dozen variants between lists with Monument to Endurance and others with Abhorrent Oculus or even versions with the beatdown of Raffine, Scheming Seer, and the one we cover today in this article, Abzan (), with several self-mill effects added with efficient recursion and Esika’s Chariot as a complementary threat.

This list follows almost the same pattern as the Abzan Greasefang variants since the release of Overlord of the Balemurk, which gave the archetype more resilience with an efficient late-game threat. Numbers can vary in mill effects, with Grisly Salvage and Cache Grab competing for slots with Witherbloom Command, which has become a more important card in a Bounce Metagame.

One-ofs can differ from one Metagame to another and are common targets for Traverse the Ulvenwald, and Liliana of the Veil no longer appears in as many lists, but the option of having a Planeswalker as a reusable one-of with Overlord of the Balemurk that works well against Azorius Control and Midrange is interesting for a broader Metagame like ranked games.

The goal of this build is simple: mill cards to put a vehicle in the graveyard, cast Greasefang, Okiba Boss and return the vehicles to the battlefield. Ideally, a Parhelion II will be the first target, guaranteeing 13 damage in combat with two more 4/4 tokens on the board to end the game the following turn, but cards like Skysovereign, Consul Flagship or Esika’s Chariot allow for attrition plays instead of focusing entirely on the combo-kill, and combined with the Overlord, guarantee a constant flow of threats and card advantage in the late game.

Maindeck

The combo. Don’t leave home without it.

The entire list revolves around Greasefang, Okiba Boss, either by discarding Parhelion II or other vehicles. The ideal game plan involves casting it on turn three and getting the most out of the card before your opponent has a window to respond. This doesn't mean you have to always follow this line: forcing your opponent to play around Greasefang gives its controller virtual extra turns, which can be exploited with proactive plays like Esika's Chariot, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Overlord of the Balemurk.

Parhelion II is the combo enabler, but it's also the worst card in the deck. It's nearly impossible to cast it for its mana value before the game ends, and drawing multiple copies of it with no way to discard is the biggest punishment possible in this version.

Esika’s Chariot is the complementary threat. Returning it with Greasefang means you have ten power on the board spread across four permanents, and its mana value makes it easy to cast. Some lists opt for three copies of it and one of Valor’s Flagship or Thundering Broodwagon, but having a fair plan to complement the combo is more important than using cards that sound a bit win-more for this version.

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship helps control the board against creatures and Planeswalkers while it’s a relevant threat on the board or when reanimated by Greasefang. Its cost is also easy to pay, and its ETB effect is essential in games against Aggro to the point that sometimes it is preferable to reanimate it than a Parhelion II.

The mill.

Overlord of the Balemurk does a bit of everything Abzan Greasefang wants: it is a late-game threat, a cheap mill effect that puts Greasefang in hand when needed, and has two types of permanents for Traverse the Ulvenwald, making it extremely useful in all variants of the combo today.

Cache Grab competes with Grisly Salvage for the complementary mill slot. While Salvage puts an extra card in the graveyard, Grab lets you pull Liliana of the Veil or Esika’s Chariot from among the milled cards, in addition to having a less greedy color requirement. The choice between one or the other is up to each player, but most lists opt for Cache Grab.

Witherbloom Command can only return lands and mills fewer cards than the other effects, but it compensates with several flexible modules, such as draining life from the opponent for Aggro, dealing with an X/1 creature, or resolving nonland permanents with a mana value of two or less, including Rest in Peace or Stormchaser’s Talent.

The discard.

Raffine’s Informant provides a cost-effective and cheap looting deck, and it also grows to a 3/2 when a nonland card is discarded, making it a good blocker against Aggro and a good early game clock against Control.

Liliana of the Veil complements the plan of discarding vehicles while draining the opponent’s resources, and her sacrifice ability is excellent in games where the opponent casts one threat at a time.

Bitter Triumph requires an alternative cost between life and discarding cards. It is common for the latter to be chosen, and dealing any creature or Planeswalker for two mana is a great cost-benefit.

Thoughtseize is Abzan Greasefang’s main first-turn play to extract information from the opponent’s plans while removing the most important card from your hand. It's worth noting that Seize chooses the target player and can be used on its controller to discard Parhelion II, and then cast Greasefang, Okiba Boss to reanimate it.

Can't Stay Away can return Greasefang, Okiba Boss from the graveyard for a low mana cost and is commonly used to play around removal and/or counterspells.

Traverse the Ulvenwald guarantees a land drop early in the game, and can search for Greasefang for one mana as the game goes on, in addition to providing access to some toolbox creatures.

Glissa Sunslayer offers a bit of everything for the current Metagame: it's an excellent blocker against Aggro and Midrange, a source of card advantage against Control, and a way to deal with enchantments from Bounce lists.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is another threat for longer games and punishes attrition games where the opponent has already been pressured by the combo and/or by Esika's Chariot and other creatures, in addition to offering a necessary life gain against Aggro and functioning as a response against Treasure Cruise and Artist's Talent.

Takenuma, Abandoned Mire functions as the fifth copy of Overlord of the Balemurk, offering a mill that can return Greasefang or another creature to its owner's hand.

Boseiju, Who Endures is the best answer to unwanted artifacts and enchantments, and doubles as an early-game land drop. Picking it up with Traverse the Ulvenwald to use the Channel ability is a common play pattern.

Abzan Greasefang's mana base tends to feel a bit confusing. Ideally, all lands should enter untapped at the right time, generate more than one color, and not be too punishing to the life total.

Since there are no perfect duals that meet all these requirements, the best option is to diversify the amount of duals of each type as much as possible, focusing on Shock Lands and Fast Lands while Pathways and Mana Confluence help to facilitate access to the right colors.

Sideboard

Fatal Push and Temporary Lockdown make up the anti-aggro and go-wide package in the Sideboard, ideal for games against Rakdos Prowess, Atarka Gruul, Mono Red Aggro, Selesnya Company, Humans, among others.

Vanishing Verse complements the above removals against Aggro, but also plays into matchups against Bounce and other attrition archetypes where large monocolored permanents need to be dealt with, such as Nykthos Ramp or Rakdos Demons.

Knight of Autumn deals with artifacts and enchantments, provides extra life against Aggro, and its body makes it never a bad topdeck, all while being found with Traverse the Ulvenwald.

Reckoner Bankbuster is the main source of card advantage in the Sideboard and plays into most attrition games where the combo-kill is easy to answer, especially against Rakdos Demons and Azorius Control.

Liliana of the Veil complements the attrition in the Sideboard, being essential in Control games and against some Big Mana, but loses effectiveness against Bounce.

Unlicensed Hearse is the answer of choice against graveyards. Some lists opt for Leyline of the Void, but the slots that are compromised to start with it in the opening hand are extremely punishing in a broader Metagame, where not all the best decks are focused on graveyard interactions.

Damping Sphere delays some turns of Lotus Combo and Quintorius Kand lists, and some turns is all we need to close the game on these matchups.

Rakdos Demons

IN

OUT

Dimir Bounce

IN

OUT

Atarka Gruul

IN

OUT

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Rakdos Prowess

IN

OUT

Lotus Combo

IN

OUT

Nykthos Ramp

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!