The Abzan are one of the clans we'll be revisiting in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. They are warriors and strategists known for their ferocity and resilience in battle. The clan is bolstered by its familial structure as it thrives in the harsh deserts of the plane of Tarkir. On both of Felothar's cards, we see an extraordinary representation of the community and endurance that are upheld by the Abzan's convictions. Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan gives us the ability to sacrifice one for the betterment of the clan, acting as a depiction of the belief that loyalty permeates through death. When Felothar enters or attacks, we may sacrifice a nonland permanent to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature we control.

Counter strategies can be found all over in Commander. Making our creatures harder, better, faster and stronger is a dream that the aggro player has nightly. Let's take a look at 10 cards that help Felothar honor their ancestors and bring their clan victory.

1. Hardened Scales

Hardened Scales is an easy card to include in our deck. Our soul goal is to throw around as many +1/+1 counters as possible, so it only makes sense to double them up as much as we can. Other cards to consider for this slot are Corpsejack Menace, Winding Constrictor, and Conclave Mentor. Remember, redundancy is never a bad thing in Commander!

2. The Ozolith

The Ozolith is a unique support card for our +1/+1 counter deck. When a creature we control with counters on it dies, we get to add their counters to The Ozolith. Then, at the beginning of combat we can take those counters and pop them all onto one of our living creatures. The Ozolith gives us an easy way to preserve counters and power up our board for a massive strike!

3. Abzan Battle Priest

Abzan Battle Priest is just one of many cards that care if a creature has +1/+1 counters on it. In the case of the priest, all of our creatures with counters get Lifelink. In our colors we can take advantage of cards like Duskshell Crawler for Trample, Abzan Falconer for Flying and Mer-Ek Nightblade for Deathtouch. There are plenty of these creatures that offer effects this way and Felothar makes them even better!

4. Inspiring Call

Heroic Intervention is an incredible card, but in this deck Inspiring Call may be even better. For one additional mana we give all of our creatures with +1/+1 counters on them Indestructible AND we get to draw a card for each of those creatures. Saving us from a board wipe is great, but filling our hand is even greater!

5. Kodama of the West Tree

Kodama of the West Tree is a no brainer when it comes to ramping in our deck. In fact, it may incentivize us to play mostly basics in our deck due to how much we want to be attacking with our creatures. As long as we connect with a creature with counters on it we will be able to grab a basic out of our deck and drop it right on the battlefield. Kodama also gives our creatures trample, almost guaranteeing we'll get at least one land.

6. Akroma's Will

Akroma's Will is one of the ultimate finishers in our deck. We almost always want to have our commander out so we'll easily get all of its abilities. This card does it all! It makes our creatures indestructible, gives them protection from all colors and sprinkles on more keywords than you could shake a stick at. If you successfully resolve an Akroma's Will before the damage step, you will set yourself so far ahead that victory is almost certain.

7. Armorcraft Judge

Armorcraft Judge is another monster when it comes to filling our hand. When it enters, we draw a card for each creature with a +1/+1 counter on it. That's it, super simple. At 4 mana it's only comparison is Harmonize, which only draws us three cards. In our deck a card like Shamanic Revelation may be good, but the judge gives us a body on board and a full grip to take into the next turn.

8. Generous Pup

This doggo is easily the goodest boi. Please excuse the poor grammar, but Generous Pup does everything we want in our deck. With Felathor and the Pup on board, anytime we sacrifice a nonland permanent to Felathor's ability, the pup will see a counter put on him and then pop another counter on all of our other creatures. He shares his treats and brings the beats!

9. Hangerback Walker

Hangarback Walker fulfills a need for Felathor, something to sacrifice. As we load up the walker with counters we can eventually sacrifice it and get a monstrous board of 1/1 flying thopters. We can keep a wide board of attackers or use them as sacrifice fodder for our next turn to boost them up even more!

10. Evolution Sage

Evolution Sage is a staple for any green deck that utilizes counters. Any ramp spell also becomes a pseudo Trumpet Blast as long as our creatures have counters on them already. Pair this with Kodama of the West Tree and our creatures will EXPLODE with power.

Today we highlighted a simple +1/+1 counter strategy, but Felothar has plenty of potential! They have both the Human and Warrior subtype, which are both relatively popular archetypes to build around. Would you go for the kindred deck or an overwhelming beat down? How about a sneaky infect build? It's all up to you!