As a big fan of the Historic format, Historic Anthology releases feel sort of like Christmas. You get a nice influx of fun and classic cards interjected into a new format where they get to be things that they never were before. And this time around we get to double up, with an Explorer Anthology released at the same time that is also legal in Historic!

And look who's back!

While it has slidden a little bit in recent times thanks to Modern Horizons 2, Tarmogoyf has long been one of the best creatures of all time, while Siege Rhino was a dominating force in Standard for the entire length of its legality. And Tireless Tracker... what's not to be said about the The Best Card Ever Printed(TM)?

Add these to the many midrange tools we already have in Historic and you've got a deck that mixes the best of old and new!

Time Stamps:

06:29 - Match 1

21:15 - Match 2

36:58 - Match 3

Abzan Midrange | Historic | Jim Davis

• Companion (1)
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

• Creatures (19)
• 2 Chevill, Bane of Monsters
• 2 Knight of Autumn
• 3 Scavenging Ooze
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 4 Tarmogoyf
• 4 Tireless Tracker

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 2 The Wandering Emperor
• 3 Vraska, Golgari Queen

• Instants (4)
• 4 Fatal Push

• Sorceries (11)
• 1 Bloodchief's Thirst
• 2 Maelstrom Pulse
• 4 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Enchantments (4)
• 2 Binding the Old Gods
• 2 Oath of Kaya

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Soul-Guide Lantern

• Lands (35)
• 1 Plains
• 2 Forest
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Castle Locthwain
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
• 1 Lair of the Hydra
• 2 Isolated Chapel
• 2 Sunpetal Grove
• 2 Temple Garden
• 3 Godless Shrine
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 4 Indatha Triome
• 4 Overgrown Tomb
• 4 Woodland Cemetery

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Knight of Autumn
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
• 2 Mazemind Tome
• 2 Graveyard Trespasser
• 1 Thragtusk
• 1 Duress
• 1 Vivien Reid
• 1 Casualties of War
• 2 Portable Hole
• 2 Farewell

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While there were a few tough games there, the power and flexibility of the deck was definitely on display.

While you don't need to necessarily play a bunch of different card types to make Tarmogoyf good, there's a great variety here with lands, enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers all floating around and doing good work. Vraska, Golgari Queen is especially nice with Tireless Tracker clues and the enchantments, providing a great stream of things to sacrifice and draw off of.

And of course, who can forget the sky noodle, Yorion, Sky Nomad. Yorion does double duty in this deck, as blinking cards like Siege Rhino or Binding the Old Gods is awesome, but most importantly just having that extra card is huge for a deck with eight discard spells and a lot of removal. Because you're looking to play a resource-light game by stripping your opponent of their cards, you often end up in a spot where you've traded resources and both players don't have much less. Good thing you've got a Yorion sitting off to the side ready to go!

The best thing about decks like this is that they are infinitely customizable. You can tailor both the maindeck and the sideboard for the metagame you expect, so don't be afraid to tune! Just don't touch those Tireless Trackers!