For years I waited in vain for an Abzan commander that spoke to me. Release after release I was met with disappointment after disappointment. Today, that disappointment ends, because we have the dumb, generic value commander I've always wanted. See, back in my day, Abzan was simply called Junk, because it was just a bunch of good junk jammed together, like some kind of Frankendeck. And lo, it was very good.
Thalia and The Gitrog Monster check virtually every box I wanted and then some. Ramp, disruption, card advantage, and a potent blocker all in one card? What were they thinking? I don't care. They done did it, and they can't undone it, so here we are.
I will state the obvious right away: this deck isn't going to win any awards for originality. Jam all the best two mana ramp spells in to deploy our girl and frog on turn 3, poop out a bunch of lands, slow down your opponents, and protect yourself. Attack as necessary to draw cards, recur those lands with Crucible of Worlds, rinse and repeat. The deck practically builds itself. All that said, I can tell you from experience that these sorts of decks often have problems closing out games. Sure, Field of the Dead is a dumb Magic card, and since we're going to be running Thespian's Stage Dark Depths is an easy include, but those generally aren't enough to consistently win games. My previous attempt at an Abzan lands deck had it easy in this regard since our win cons were in the command zone, but that in and of itself can be problematic since it's sort of telegraphed.
So, my biggest concern is finding a fun and effective win condition. Any boring combo is an option, but yawn. Rude Awakening and Sylvan Awakening might work as in the Kamahl and Ravos deck, but will be far less consistent since it would likely require recurring them multiple times for multiple animations. Good ol' fashioned commander damage seems a bit unrealistic. I'm honestly at a loss on this one.
What do we think?
I am completely aware that Frankenstein is the doctor, not the monster. Don't @ me.
but seriously though, I was going to ask the same thing because whenever I see commander like this, my thoughts go to 'how do I win that isn't Voltron?' More of a personal question, because that is what I play the most and I am trying to branch out... which sometime leaves me at a loss with how a deck is suppose to win. It's great to have all the utility and card draw in the world, but the deck ought to be able to end the game somehow.
