Thanks for enduring the wait until Wednesday to learn more about the Abzan- boy would they be proud of you! The Abzan clan on Tarkir revere the endurance of the dragons, and their symbol is a pair of crossed dragon scales to embody that reverence. The desert-dwellers stick together- after all, a dragon doesn’t just have ONE scale, it has lots! And most of all, they endure. They outlive. They Outlast. The Abzan mechanic is called Outlast, and it rewards you for sticking out for the long haul. Outlast will be printed on the card, followed by a cost- what that means is you pay the listed cost AND tap your creature to put a +1/+1 counter on it. This can only be done any time you could cast a sorcery- so, during your own main phase while the stack is empty. You can’t Outlast in response to things- you’ve just got to hunker down and wait out the storm, as it were. Outlast gives you a game plan even if you’re low on threats in hand- you can easily grow the threats you HAVE! On top of that, the Abzan are used to enduring the onslaught of their enemies, and coming out the other side stronger. Many of their cards give some kind of bonus to your creatures that have a +1/+1 counter on them- and it doesn’t have to have come from Outlast! Another spell or ability could have put the counters on the creature, or maybe it entered with those counters itself (like a Hydra, perhaps). The Abzan don’t care much- they’ll help it out either way. As far as rules and possible hangups, Outlast isn’t all that complicated- just remember that it does have the Tap symbol in the cost, so summoning sickness stops it dead; and remember that it’s “sorcery only”. You can’t do it in response to your opponent’s spells or abilities, and you certainly can’t do it during your opponent’s turn! Armed with this knowledge, join the Abzan and weather any storm the other Khans can throw at you.

Tune in tomorrow when we visit the mystic monasteries of the Jeskai clan, and discuss their Prowess ability!

Today’s Rules Tip written by Trevor Nunez