Ethereal Absolution Abzan Midrange - Bo1 Deck Guide and Gameplay for MTG Arena - Constructed Ranked

Decklist - https://aetherhub.com/Deck/Public/69464

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When I read Ethereal Absolution, I think of a few cards -

Night of Souls’ Betrayal

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=78991

Engineered Plague

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=13097

But those cards don’t bring up personal memories for me. I was never playing an Elf deck only to see my opponent play Dark Ritual - Engineered Plague on turn one. I never had a traumatizing story like that.

But a card that does bring up memories for me is this card -

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=438584

I was playing an Azorius Spirits list against an Abzan Birthing Pod list in a Pro Tour Qualifier. If I lost this critical game three, I was knocked out of the tournament. My opponent went first, looked at his hand, looked me in the eye and said “this is the best hand ever”.

My opponent used Pod of play Elesh Norn on turn four. Not a single creature of mine would even make it to the battlefield. That was likely the last game of paper Magic I will ever play in my life at a competitive level. I am not salty about it, it happens, but I have not tried to keep up with paper Magic or qualify for the Pro Tour since. A few months after that event I moved from the Indianapolis suburbs, where it was easy to find a tournament every weekend, to the middle of nowhere in Michigan, where I would have to drive or fly for hours to find a competitive level event. That is why I don’t play paper anymore. I love where I like, but I gave up the pro mtg dream to live here. Or so I thought….

MTG Arena top 8 ranked players…perhaps????

Love CGB