Abyssal Persecutor, Abyssal Persecutor & more Abyssal Persecutor

Is it the new Baneslayer? Certainly it's the face of the new Worldwake standard. A 6/6 creature with flying and trample seems to be one of the best ways of crushing your opponent at the moment.

Thinking about the Big Lug, here are two decks that try to make the most of the guy, while also abusing some of his friends:

BUG Stompy

// 24 Creatures

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Putrid Leech
4 Nulltread Gargantuan
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Abyssal Persecutor

// 14 Spells

3 Spell Pierce
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Explore
3 Into the Roil

// 22 Lands

3 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Forest
5 Swamp
3 Island

Sideboard

4 Bone Splinters
4 Bloodghast
4 Duress
3 Whiplash Trap

This is a semi-rock deck that plans to get down the Persecutor on turn 3, likely with Spell Pierce mana backup. It is possible to play it on turn 2 with Lotus Cobra, Explores and Fetchlands, but it's unlikely.

Nulltread Gargantaun is an unrealised beast in the format. A 5/6 is absolutely nothing to sniff at, able to battle with and come out on top of any of the Thoctars. Meahwhile it can be used to bounce both the Persecutor once it has done its job or the Gatekeeper if you want to get extra value out of it. Even playing it on T2 and bouncing a Birds of Paradise isn't the worst move in the world as you immediately apply pressure and force your opponent into defence mode.

The mana is probably a little clumbsy, and the removal is light on, but once you're swinging in with a couple of 5/6s and 6/6s, who really cares?

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At the opposite end of the colour spectrum is this use for Abyssal Persecutor

Monoblack Abyssal Control

// 20 Creatures

4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Abyssal Persecutor

// 4 Enchantments

4 Soul Stair Expedition

// 2 Planeswalker

2 Sorin Markov

// 10 Spells

3 Grim Discovery
4 Bone Splinters
3 Tendrils of Corruption

// 24 Lands

12 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
4 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard

4 Duress
4 Doom Blade
3 Marsh Casualties
4 Vampire Hexmage

Talk about abusing mechanics here. I'd be surprised if your opponent can ever keep a creature on the battlefield. Meanwhile every time you sac a creature, you're getting value out of Kalistria Highborn, Bloodghast, Grim Discovery and Soul Stair Expedition. It's imcremental card advantage at its best.

The sideboard has been thrown together and could do with some work - Dead Reckoning, Nemesis Trap and Quest for the Gravelord are all possibilities - but I think the core of the deck is solid. There's something about the idea of beating an opponent over the head with Persecutor, then using Sorin's ultimate to force your opponent to kill it, that I love.