When thinking in Orzhov, the most common denominator would be aristocratic humans, ravaging vampires, or a combination of both; using alternative ways to deal damage to your opponents by draining them of their resources and life points.

However, with the introduction of Abigale, Eloquent First-Year in Lorwyn Eclipsed, a shift in the traditional “drain and gain” strategy is presented. 

Instead of relying solely on the painfully slow accumulation of low damage, she provides a burst of damage to deal with her enemies. By nullifying the detrimental effects that comes with low-cost high-power creatures. 

Abigale’s Premise

The core strategy centers on the triggered ability of Abigale, Eloquent First-Year. When it enters the battlefield, up to one target creature will lose all other abilities it has and then you put a flying, first strike and lifelink counters on that creature. 

This strategy exploits powerful, low-cost creatures that carry significant mechanical drawbacks. Often, these creatures lack evasion or threaten the player with negative consequences.

Because Abigale triggers upon on ETB, blinking her will jumpstart her offensive. This deck functions as a Blink (or Flicker) archetype. While using the traditional strengths of white protection to keep her army on the field ready to strike.

Core Gameplay

In the early-game, you should focus on your mana acceleration. While Abigale is a two mana commander, Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are there to ensure that Abigale and all those creatures with drawbacks can be casted as soon as possible. It is also during this time that low-cost utility creatures like Helpful Hunter are a must to maintain your resources. This prepares the board for the commander’s arrival.

Once the game transitions into mid-game, you should play Abigale, Eloquent First-Year. At this point, even a single low-cost creature with a drawback, such as Rotting Regisaur or Lupine Prototype, becomes a major threat. Spells like Cloudshift or Ephemerate are there to trigger Abigale while she’s on the battlefield. These spells are essential, as they would allow Abigale to turn more creatures into powerful and more often than not, unblockable threats.

Your endgame is characterized by having powerful and evasive creatures. You’ll be aiming to close the game by powerful combat phases, while maintaining your life total up-high. If by any chance your opponents can block your flying army, the deck counts with a little infinite combo that would produce an infinite amount of tokens.

Decklist

We’re looking into a middle of the road Bracket 3 deck. It has a late game two-cards infinite combo. It will set you off around $170, but you could bring it down to $100 with some work. 

Creatures You Should Look After

High-Stats, Major Drawback

As Abigale can turn any creature into a flying monster, this deck follows the idea of provide massive bodies for minimal mana investment, at the cost of several major drawbacks. 

Abyssal Persecutor is a primary example. It is a 6/6 for four mana. Its drawback prevents you from winning the game. However, once Abigale enters the battlefield, it will become a Flying, First Strike, Lifelink 6/6 Demon. 

Archfiend of the Dross like Abysal Persecutor is a high-risk, high-reward 6/6 demon for four mana, that will make you lose the game once he loses all his oil counters, but Abigale will neutralize that clock.

Death's Shadow, while more often than not will be a pretty small creature for one mana, Abigale will turn it into a 13/13 Flying creature that will most likely secure your victory against one opponent per turn.. This turns it into a one-shot threat. Similarly, Phyrexian Soulgorger offers an 8/8 body for three mana. Its cumulative upkeep is difficult to maintain. But then again, Abigale will nullify this ability.

Rotting Regisaur is a 7/6 for three mana. It will make you discard a card at the beginning of your upkeep, but then again, Abigale will turn this drawback into a 7/6 flying monster. 

At this point you should know how this deck will work, cast your powerful but self-harmful creatures and turn them into virtually unstoppable threats for your opponents. 

Value and Blink Triggers

As you must have noticed, blinking Abigale is the key to victory in this deck, but we could also take advantage of blinking many other creatures that have powerful ETB effects.

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward is a very efficient way to capitalize those blinking effects, when he enters the battlefield he will exile any number of nonland permanents you control, and then putting that same number of 1/1 white soldier tokens. Not only would he help you control your own creatures if Abigale is unavailable, but will also populate your battlefield.

Skyclave Apparition will handle problematic nonland permanents. By blinking it, you’ll be able to remove multiple threats, while leaving your opponents with measle Blue Illusion tokens.

Loran of the Third Path helps you remove artifact and enchantment threats, while also functioning as a political tool for drawing cards. Charming Prince offers flexibility. It can scry, gain life, or blink another creature. 

Disciple of Bolas will help you draw a humongous amount of cards by sacrificing one of your powerful creatures to the God-Pharaoh.

Helpful Hunter provides you with early card advantage. 

Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant, don’t let the little moogle fool you, by paying 2 manas and tapping it, you could gift your Archfiend of the Dross to an opponent when it has only one Oil Counter, effectively killing them in their next Upkeep.

Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist will be working as a graveyard Abigale, by returning target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield, turning it into a skeleton and removing all other abilities it has. Basically she could be turning a Death’s Shadow into a 13/13 skeleton as early ar turn 4.

Artifacts Ready for an Adventure

As is mostly expected from any strixhaven student, Abigale is always prepared for her journey with artifacts that could help her.

Mana Rocks

Abigale being a two-mana commander doesn’t need to rely heavily on mana rocks to stay ahead of the mana curve, but at the end of the day, what’s a commander deck without Sol Ring and Arcane Signet? They ensure you could cast other more powerful creatures early on.

A Good Student is Always Prepared

Being a blinker commander, abigale must take advantage of her ETB as much as she can, that’s where these artifacts come into play.

Sword of Hearth and Home this hefty priced card is a must for Abigale. Not only will it provide her with protection from green and white, but also will blink her any time she deals combat damage, and also will fetch you a basic land.

Assault Suit, like Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant will allow you to give an opponent one of your creatures that still have their drawback active, and it will also prevent them from sacrificing it.

What is a deck built around ETB effects without Panharmonicon? It doubles every ETB effect you trigger. This makes Abdel Adrian and Skyclave Apparition twice as effective. 

Conjurer's Closet provides a free blink at the end of the turn. Effectively triggering Abigale at least once per turn. 

Crashing Drawbridge grants haste to the army. This allows ground threats to strike immediately.

Well of Lost Dreams converts life gain into cards. And this effect is pretty powerful in this deck as virtually all your creatures have lifelink.

Blade of Selves will create myriad copies of your equipped creature. This results in a massive influx of ETB triggers.

Enchantments Worthy of a Good Student

As we have been discussing, we want to capitilize blinking Abigale and any ETB powerhouse we have on the battlefield. This deck runs only 6 enchantments, half of them are for exploiting this blinking interaction, while the other half helps you stay relevant during all the phases of the game.

Blink and You’ll Miss It

Any time you blink your commander you’ll be empowering your creatures, so, let’s exploit that.

Airbender Ascension is one of the new cards coming from the ATLA set that will allow you to airbend one creature when it enters.

Airbend works by exiling a specific target, in this case a creature, and allows its controller to cast it again by paying two generic mana.

More often than not the target of the Airbend ETB will be Abigale, allowing you to cast her again from exile without paying the commander tax.

Airbender Ascension true form is revealed after it has four or more quest counters on it; you’ll be putting quest counters on it every time a creature enters the battlefield under your control.

After it has four or more, Airbender Ascension will turn itself into a Conjurer’s Closet in enchantment form, allowing you to blink one creature at the beginning of your end step.

Teleportation Circle works exactly as Conjurer’s Closet, but costs one mana less and by being an enchantment it is by itself more difficult to remove.

Finally Far Traveler will turn your commander into a Conjurer’s Closet for three mana.

There’s so Much to See

While blinking is a must for this deck, at the end of the day, drawing cards and dealing damage is the pivotal way to win the game, these enchantments aim to help you do exactly that.

Light of Promise, an aura that will give enchanted creatures an amount of +1/+1 counters equal to the amount of life you gain, remember, Abigale gives one lifelink counter with her ETB, making any creature exponentially powerful thanks to that.

Phyrexian Reclamation, is a one mana enchantment that will allow you to bring back any creature from your graveyard to your hand by paying two manas and two life.

Finally Phyrexian Arena will be your most crucial drawing engine in this deck, drawing you an extra card every turn at the cost of one life point.

What is a Good Student Without Spells of Her Own?

While this deck is a creature heavy one, it still has room for some impactful Instants and Sorceries to help you in keeping the upper hand of the game.

Sorceries

Fateful Handoff will provide you with some hefty card draw effect, by drawing you an amount of cards equal to the mana cost of target creature or artifact you control, and then gifting that permanent to an opponent.

Helping Hand, Recommission and Unearth are here to help you reanimate Abigale, thanks to the fact that she’s just a two mana cost creature, letting her enter your graveyard instead of putting her in the command zone could prove to be an advantage.

Instants

Seven instants should be enough to manage your commander.

Acrobatic Maneuver, Cloudshift, Ephemerate, Scrollshift and Slip on The Ring are your classic blinking effects at instant speed.

Except for Cloudshift, every one of them comes with their own extra effect, like drawing you a card in the case of Acrobatic Maneuver and Scrollshift, rebound it in the case of Ephemerate. Or letting The Ring tempts you.

Dark Ritual is a powerful staple in black to ramp up mana, while Fracture will help you deal with any troublesome artifact, enchantment or planeswalker.

Just One Combo and Make It Infinite

Not every commander deck should have an infinite combo, but if you can put at least one, and not break the core of the deck, then it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 

This deck uses an infinite combo that would give you infinite ETB, LTB and infinite 1/1 white soldiers. It uses Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward and Eldrazi Displacer to make it. 

Abdel-Displacer Loop

For this combo to work you need Abdel Adrian, Gorion’s Ward in your hand, Eldrazi Displacer and both Sol Ring and Arcane Signet on the battlefield. The combo works as follow:

• First, cast Abdel Adrian, Gorion’s Ward.
• In response to his trigger, tap Sol Ring and Arcane Signet generating two colorless and one colored mana.
• Resolve Abdel’s ETB and exile any number of nonland permanents you control, make sure to exile Sol Ring and Arcane Signet.
• With the three mana you have in your pool, activate Eldrazi Displacer ability, targeting Abdel Adrian.
• The Displacer blinks Abdel Adrian. This causes all cards exiled with it to return. Effectively untapping Sol Ring and Arcane Signet.
• Abdel’s ETB trigger will enter the stack again and you should follow the combo again from the second step.

This combo will result in infinite 1/1 white soldiers tokens. Furthermore, it results in infinite ETB triggers. This can be exploited with Abigale, slowly turning those tokens into Flying soldiers, Charming Prince to scry through the entire deck. Or destroying every single artifact on your opponent’s side with Loran of the Third Path.

Mana Base and Lands

Playing Orzhov means you don’t have powerful ramping spells, that’s why this deck runs 23 basic lands, and lands that could capitalize the huge amount of basics.

Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse and Vibrant Cityscape would be your best friends when it comes to fetching some basic lands and thinning your deck.

Myriad Landscape will help you search for two basic lands of the same type.

Shattered Sanctum, Isolated Chapel and Shineshadow Snarl are the perfect basic lands matter cards for this deck.

Finally this deck also runs a good amount of utility lands, like Bokuja Bog to help you destroy an opponent’s graveyard, Nesting Ground to move counters between your creatures.

Vault of the Archangel to give a creature you control deathtouch and lifelink until EOT, and Rogue's Passage to turn one creature unblockable until EOT.

Closing Words

In conclusion, Abigale, Eloquent First-Year offers a refreshing departure from the standard Orzhov grind. By viewing severe drawbacks not as liabilities, but as untapped potential waiting to be refined.

This deck presents you with the opportunity to have a battlefield presence that is as resilient as it is lethal. Whether you are soaring over ground stalls with your powerful creatures without drawbacks or generating an overwhelming legion through your only infinite combo, this deck rewards precise timing and bold tactical shifts. 

Abigale, a student from Strixhaven has proven herself extremely useful in their trip to Lorwynn, by refining her ability to blink herself and others away from harm.