Abzan Control SOI (Standard)

Grindy midrange deck. Seasons Past gives us great replayability of our yard, as we all know. Dark Petition lets us tutor out any answer including Seasons Past, Languish, win con.

Why Abzan?
I wanted to play a midrange control deck. My favorite is the Seasons Past deck, however I wanted to squeeze in a little more versatility. I've found the Finkel version has some flaws that my play level struggle with. Obviously, I'm not Jon Finkel. Sometimes I need lifegain to get back in and other times I do not manage my very few wincons properly. So I figured the way to squeeze in lifegain is obviously to go more B/w, however I still wanted to splash green for Seasons Past. I feel it gave me this, plus now I can play Declaration in Stone and Anguished Unmaking which allows me to answer more threats in the format. With the rise of Selesnya/Naya tokens I feel that Declaration is almost a must play. Virulent plague out of the side is not enough on its own.

Some choices in the deck:
1) Sorin- In the colors he is the best powerhouse wincon. The 4 things I could possibly want in this deck from a one of high casting cost card are card draw, direct damage to opponent, removal, lifegain. Perfect for the deck.

2)Linvala in the side- Went with Linvala over Dromoka as the lifegain is immediate and she still avoids Languish. She can however be hit with ultimate price so I will see.

Difficulties:
I've found my real opponent in many games is the clock, especially on MTGO. The deck is so grindy.