Abzan Constrictor Energy (updated) (Standard)

I have previously created an abzan constrictor energy deck for standard that was meant to battle against a standard format with the two greatest threats being Goblin Chainwhirler and Settle the Wreckage. The idea was to cut all 1 toughness creatures in response to Chainwhirler and to play Shalai, Voice of Plenty to combat Settle the Wreckage. In testing the deck did alright, however it became obvious that you want Glint-Sleeve Siphoner in the maindeck. I had x4 in the sideboard, but found I sided them in for every matchup except versus Chainwhirler decks. Since GSS came in about 70% of the time, then it is much better to just play it main board and play a x4 alternative in the side for Chainwhirler matchups.

The deck focuses on abusing Winding Constrictor or Llanowar Elves (like most recent Constrictor decks). The added versatility of working off of both a +1/+1 subtheme and an energy subtheme gives the deck a lot of versatility and variation in gameplay. Some games you drop a Llanowar Elves and start dropping large creatures on turn two. Other games you wait on a turn 2 Constrictor (this approach is a turn slower but everything that follows is fully abused.

Here are some sample common turn sequences I've seen in testing:

1-Llanowar Elves, 2-Jadelight Ranger (4/3), 3 two 2 drops, 4 Shalai or Hydra.

1-tapped land, 2- Constrictor, 3 Jadelight Ranger (6/5), 4 Shalai or Hydra (6 energy)

1- Greenbelt Rampager, 2 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner + Rampager, Rihkar or Ranger, 4- 4 drop creature or two 2 drops.

1-Llanowar Elves, 2- Servant of the Conduit + tapped land, 3- Jadelight Ranger/Rishkar + 2 drop creature, 4- Verdurous Gearhulk

There are many more sequences that are powerful that pop up, these are just examples of how explosive the deck can be. It is not uncommon to have over 12 power on the board or to have 6+ energy banked going into turn 5.

Another common occurrence I've found is that many of the decks out there now wait on using their removal, which can be painful for opponents once a Shalai or Hydra hit. I myself tend to wait until turn 5 to play my removal most games, once my board has been built. (of course some games you can fit a Fatal Push or Seal Away in amongst your creatures.

Major sideboard plans:

Nissa, Vital Force- better play than Gearhulk vs control or Dimir Midrange as it can get our threats back (thus keeping threats out of The Scarab God's reach) and cannot be targeted by TSG.

Thrashing Brontodon- upgrade over Rishkar vs vehicles or decks playing white removal enchantments.

Hapatra +Authority of Consuls- replaces Siphoner when playing against Goblin Chainwhirler decks.

Deathgorge Scavenger- mostly for Dimir Midrange matchup to keep the graveyard clear

Cast Out- If you would need x4 copies of Vraska's Contempt for a matchup, then you may consider siding these in.

Cast Down- I wanted to have access to a different cheap removal spell since Seal Away and Fatal Push both have limitations.

Duress- if Fatal Push is bad in a matchup then Duress is probably good. Great against the midrange-control decks in the format.

Notable exclusion:

You might have noticed that there are no Walking Ballista's in the deck list. The idea is that although Ballista gets the boost from Winding Constrictor, its main purpose is to pick off small creatures. I believe the fact that Goblin Chainwhirler is the dominant card in the format makes Ballista less necessary. I have read many articles in the past that discuss this topic: if certain types of cards are driven out of a format (in this cast 1 toughness creatures) then you do not need to have a significant gameplan for those cards because the meta is removing them for you. I believe this is the case here.