Sans Red Nadu

Also known as: Abzan Blue Nadu, Bant Black Nadu, WUBG Nadu

Nadu is a creature combo deck seeking to build an overwhelming board or outright win using Nadu, Winged Wisdom and an unbounded targeting effect like Nomads en-Kor or Shuko. Due to the density of tutors for assembling A + B, the deck can leverage a toolbox of other creatures to have a flexible gameplan in various matchups.

Although the deck usually employs a midrange gameplan with a combo pivot, one of its strengths is the ability to present a win as early as turn 2 or 3 with the right opener of moxen and mana dorks. As a result, opponents face a conundrum where they can lose to the midrange plan if they mulligan for the combo plan and vice versa. Brightglass Gearhulk and Urza's Saga are two marquee cards which emphasize this strength — both are potential 3-for-1's capable of threatening midrange beats while assembling half of the combo, which can exhaust the opponent's removal before beating them with the remaining half.

The deck is favored against fair non-blue decks due to its ability to stall the board with midrange threats before going 'over the top' with the combo. Blue midrange and control matchups tend to be more even and are highly dependent on the skill of both pilots. The deck performs best when it is the fastest combo in the room, as it can struggle against more all-in decks like Citadel Storm, Breach Storm, Time Vault, or Paradox Academy due to reduced disruptive elements and limited ability to race faster decks.

The black splash of hand attack and Opposition Agent seeks to shore up the combo matchup at the cost of some percentage points against fair non-blue decks, resulting in a flatter matchup spread.

The most common point spreads involve a pair of moxen, Nadu, Urza's Saga, and a pair of flexible points dependent on pilot preference. Common options include Natural Order, White Plume Adventurer, Gifts Ungiven, Reanimate, and Strip Mine.

— written by cymbalman