Gonna try to contribute at your list a bit!
But I'm probably the least experienced aroud as far as deckbulding is concerned, I'm only proposing some interactions with single cards you might have missed, hoping I'm in the right
I've some personal questions, first of all, given the fact you have tried the deck some times: At what point of your plans do your games end? At which turn? 6th turn? 12th? And how many permanents were you usually able to amass under Abdel? Where you at that point far from a winning position or relatively close?
Aside from this, back to your list:
Random wincon thoughts:I really liked
cathars crusade, but I get the budget problem... (and really like the
cloudshift replace)
Moreover, I'm not sure how much mass removal is played in your pod, and so how much is viable the idea of closing out the game with some very huge soldiers. Maybe it is less powerfull than I thought, if you put it out. Wasn't it enough for the
crusade to hit the battlefield to immediatly puts you in a favorable spot to win? (after a couple blinks more)
I think
restoration angel was a combo piece with Abdel... I'm in the wrong? Like
felidar guardian! With a third piece of the like of
cloudshift /
Ephemerate. Or
far traveler too. I'd suggest to swap it back, putting the
flickerwisp out.
The combo should work like this:
1)Preparation: you cast the
felidar guardian (or the angel), his etb targeting abdel, blinks abdel. Abdel exiles the
felidar guardian under him and everything else he was already exiling.
2) Starting point: Abdel exiling
felidar guardian targeted by a
blink effect (
far traveler,
cloudshift...)
3) resolve the
blink, abdel exits and enters back, all permanents (most importantly
felidar guardian ("fg")) he was exiling enter the battlefield.
4) Arrange triggers on the stack as you
wish: fg's trigger targeting abdel first, abdel's trigger after.
5) Resolve abdel's trigger exiling fg (and creating one soldier)
6) Resolve fg's trigger exiling abdel
7) so returning abdel and fg on the battlefield
repeat 348579834759 times creating 348579834759 soldiers.
9) Hope none has a response.
RemovalI'm gonna stress again on the likes of
oblivion ring,
fiend hunter,
journey to nowhere,
leonin relic-warderThey are not at all temporary removal with abdel, with a bit of work included...!!! Look at that:
1) you cast
oblivion ring (obr), his etb tirggers targeting and exiling what you want
2) later you cast Abdel; his etb triggers and exiles obr. Obr's leave the battlefield trigger (ltbt) triggers and unfortunately returns what was exiled.
3) This is a new starting point though.
4) You
blink Abdel while he is exiling the obr. (with
far traveler or
cloudshift)
5) Resolution: Abdel exits and returns back
6) "Sort of state base action": Obr enters back
7) You have at this point their two etbs to put on the stack as you desire: obr's first (stating his target) and abdel's second
Resolve Abdel's trigger, exiling obr.
9) Obr's ltbt triggers and returns nothing on resolution.
10) Finally you resolve the obr's etb and
exile his targets. Forever.
At this point every time you
blink Abdel (
blink and not
flicker, like
flickerwisp) you have a free removal under it. With a bit of preps you have so gained a far better
Loran of the third path. But I don't know if this is so reliable as I make it seems.
I'd slot in an
oblivion ring and a
journey to nowhere, slotting out a
prison sentence and a
lay down arms.
MichellaneaI'd slot out a
brute suit for a
Honor-Worn Shaku (Mana!!!!)
I'd slot out a
thundering chariot for a
Flywheel Racer (mana!!!)
In the protection section I'd
consider Your temple is under attack and
Blacksmith's SkillAshnod's altar would probably be a good mana card, with a bit of preparation...: helping you cast the most expensive spells exploiting some soldiers...
Hero of goma fada Morganator 2.0 suggested seems better to me than selfless spirt, but maybe I'm overstimating your capability to
blink at instant speed when you need it.
Maybe a
justiciar's portal?
Ok I'm out sorry for the wall of text XD