Deck Tech: Orzhov Spirits

Ever since I discovered magic, the Orzhov Syndicate has been my favourite guild (Dimir coming close though). And with that I mean the lore and story behind them as well as the cards and color combination themselves. So, it won't come as a surprise to you that my very first commander deck is an Orzhov style deck. In this week's blogpost, I will show you my commander deck: Orzhov Spirits.

The Basics

Since this is a Commander deck, the first thing we need is a Commander. (Commander is a Magic The Gathering format in which players use a deck containing 100 cards. It is also played singleton, that means that you can only have one copy of each card, except for basic lands. Of that 100 cards 1 card can be your Commander, your Commander can be recasted multiple times, each time for two gray mana more, and should fit in your decks techniques and tactics.) 

My idea for a tactic revolved around the mechanic we first saw in Ravnica Allegiance: Afterlife. 

Afterlife is a triggered ability and includes a number. When a creature with afterlife dies, it creates that number of 1/1 black and white Spirit creature tokens. My Commander should be a creature that makes this ability better and in turn transforms the deck into an engine. 

The Commander

And the Commander of the deck is....

Teysa, Orzhov Scion!!!

Just think of the possibilities with this card. Combine it with a card like Knight of the Last Breath which has an afterlife number of three. Now, when Knight of the Last Breath dies, it creates three white AND BLACK Spirit creature tokens. Well, now that we have those black and white spirits, what can we do with them? You might ask. It is very simple. Firstly we use the first ability of Teysa, Orzhov Scion; we sacrifice these spirits to exile a threatening creature an opponent controls. But those spirits were black, so that triggers the second ability, which in turn makes three more white spirits. Those creatures can be sacrificed to our Commander again to exile yet another threatening creature an opponent controls!

More Spirits!

To make this tactic more aggresive than it already is, we need more spirits. A great card to start with is another Teysa, but a more recent one: Teysa Karlov.

Imagine having this on the board while using the example I used above. When the Knight of the Last Breath dies, it creates SIX black and white Spirit tokens, instead of three. This happens because of Teysa Karlov's ability; If a creature dying causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability trigers an additional time. This means that when you sacrifice the now six black and white Spirit tokens to Teysa, Orzhov scion, you will instead of six, now get TWELVE White Spirit tokens back. These can also be used to exile your opponent's creatures but with that second ability of Teysa Karlov(Creature tokens you control have vigilance and lifelink), it can also be tempting to use all of those spirits for the attack.

Now all we need is cards that make us more and more spirits. Any card with Afterlife will do. Lingering souls and Belfry Spirit can also really boost up our Spirit engine, especially in early to mid game. Requiem Angel gives us a big threat on the board and another white spirit factory.

There and back again

Since we'll be having a lot of spirits coming and going on the board, we need a way to put that to use.

These cards are pretty self explainatory; when something dies we gain one life and the opponents lose one and when a creature enters the battlefield we gain one life. Other cards that can give us benefits from creatures entering the battlefield are: Mentor of the Meek and Spirit Bonds.

Enhancing the spirits

You know what's more threatening than twelve 1/1 flying Spirit creature tokens? Twelve flying 2/2 Spirit creature tokens vigilance. With Call For Unity, you could be looking at a bunch of flying 5/5 creatures in a couple of turns. With Inspired charge you could surprise an opponent with a critical blow.

Sacrifice!

Sure you could exile opponent's creatures with all of that spirits but there is a lot of other fun stuff you can do with them to. Like use one of them to drop a 6/6 flying trample for four mana. Or make Bloodmist infiltrator unblockable. Maybe give Pitiless Pontiff deathtouch and indestructible to block that not-so-threatening-now looking creature your opponent is attacking with.

Other win conditions

Sure, all of this spirit summoning and sacrificing is fun but if the rest of the players at the table start teaming up against you, it can become challenging. That is why the deck also allows you to win under different circumstances.

With revel in riches, you can win the game by owning ten or more Treasure tokens at the beginning of your upkeep. Cards like Pitiless Plunderer and Smothering Tithe can help you get those ten treasure tokens faster. And even without the Revel in Riches card in play, you'll make good use of that extra mana.

Great additions

The revenge card of Revival/Revenge can really give you an egde on your opponents and is a great addition to this Commander deck. Cards like Ethereal Absoltion and Debtors' Knell, also put some more power in the deck. And if the rest of the players manage to get a lot of powerful creatures on the board, you can use the Martial Coup to destroy them, get white Soldier tokens and probably get some more spirits because your black creatures died.

Some removal cards will also do great things for this deck

Full decklist

	Black	White	Multicolored	Total
Creatures	-Pitiless Plunderer -Priest of Forgotten Gods -Vindictive Vampire -Skeletal Vampire -Silumgar Assassin -Gravewaker -Orzhov Racketeers -Pontiff of Blight -Orzhov Enforcer -Deathbringer Regent -Bloodmist Infiltrator -Demon of Catastrophes 12	-Belfry Spirit -Ministrant of Obligation -Bishop of Rebirth -Forbidding Spirit -Twilight Panther -Forerunner of the Legion -Impassioned Orator -Mentor of the Meek -Requiem Angel 9	-Imperious Oligarch -Basilica Bell-Haunt -Deathpact Angel -Grasping Thrull -Sin collector -Angel of Despair -Orzhov Pontiff -Arvad the Cursed -Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts -Knight of the Last Breath -Teysa Karlov -Pitiless Pontiff -Ghost Council of Orzhova 13	34
Instants/Sorceries/Enchantments	-Revel in Riches -Eliminate the Competition -Devouring Greed -From Under the Floorboards -Read the Bones -Cast Down -Rise from the Grave -Ill-Gotten Inheritage -Palace Siege -Stab Wound 10	-Smothering Tithe -Scent of Jasmine -Guardian Zendikon -Profound Journey -Lingering Souls -Spirit Bonds -Call for Unity -Inspired Charge -Intangible Virtue -Martial Coup 10	-Conscrate/Consume -Pillory of the Sleepless -Despark -Final Payment -Mortify -Ethereal Absolution -Debtors’ Knell -Revival/Revenge 8	28
Planeswalkers	-	-	Kaya, Bane of the Dead	1
Lands	16x Swamps	16x Plains	Orzhov Guildgate Orzhov Basilica Scured Barrens Forsaken Sanctuary	36
Commander			Teysa, Orzhov Scion

Here is the full deck list.

Thanks for reading this week's blogpost. Make sure to check in next week for a brand new blogpost. Also check us out on Instagram @GoblinGathering. Bye!

5 roleplay tips for Dungeons and Dragons

Having a hard time roleplaying your characters? Does your DM want you to RP(roleplay) more? We have got you covered. With these tips, you will be able to immerse yourself more in the story and get that inspiratin you so well deserve.

Tip number one: Backstory

Make a well thought out backstory for your character first. What did your character do before he was an adventurer? Why did your character become an adventurer? It's your character so you should know everything about him.

Tip number two: Traits

Before actually playing your character you will want to know what he's like. So think of interesting personality traits, bonds, ideals and flaws. Pick the ones that fit your character the most or formulate your own. Say you want to make a half-orc barbarian, give him the personality trait that say "I like to smash things instead of solving them with words". This will help creating interesting interactions with your character and the world.

Tip number three: "What would my character do?"

When making a hard decision in game, always ask yourself this question: What would my character do? Sure, you want to take all of the gold and buy that sweet new weapon at the blacksmith but your lawful good paladin might want to take it back to the rightful owners...

Tip number four: Describe your action

Before rolling the dice to make the attack, describe how you try to wield your weapon into the enemy's skull. Describe what your magic looks like and how it hits the enemies. Doing this will also give the other players at the table a clear image of what your character is doing and how he is doing it.

Tip number four: Use voices

The usage of silly voices can often seem intimidating for players. Yet, it is one of the best ways to make your character come to life. Try using a low and serious voice for your dwarf paladin and a high and excited voice for your chaotic halfling.

Tip number five: Interact

As much as D&D is a roleplaying game, it is also a game of interactive storytelling. Interacting with the other players at the table as your character is a great and fun experience. Explaining to the intelligence -3 half-orc that throwing the halfling rogue at the locked door will probably not open it and is a bad idea, whilst being a elf wizard, is a great experience. You and your friends will make memories you will never forget and that is why Dungeons and Dragons is so great!

Thanks for reading this week's blogpost, we hope you have fun and use some of these tips the next time you play DnD. Check in next sunday for our new blogpost. Bye!

Top 10 war of the spark cards

War of the spark is currently the newest set in standard. It is one of the most unique sets out there, because it has a planeswalker IN EVERY PACK. With a total of 36 planeswalkers in the set, War of the spark has more planeswalkers than any other set had. Today, we are going to show you our top 10 favourite cards from this set.

Number 10: Kaya's Ghostform

Kaya's Ghostform is a great black enchantment aura. With a cost of only one black mana, this card can make your creature or planeswalker come back when it dies or is put into exile. How great is that? It makes all those removal spells a lot less threatening.

Number 9: Widespread brutality

The amass mechanic builds a Zombie Army-a single creature that gets bigger and bigger as more lazotep-coated Eternals join the horde. Widespread Brutality adds to your zombie army and helps ensure that it is the last creature standing.

Number 8: Ugin, the ineffable

Nicol Bolas's his twin brother and eternal enemy, comes to the aid of the Gatewatch. Ugin's powerful colerless magic can manifest spirits and exile threatening enemies. And if you're playing a colerless deck, Ugin's greatest strength quickly becomes clear-all your spells cost 2 colerless mana less!

Number 7: Finale of Devastation

The "Finale" cards come in the five different colors. Every single one of them is a massive X-spell. The green finale is probably the most powerful card of the five. It can put a powerful threat on the board and if X is ten or more, your creatures become extremely powerful, unleashing disaster in all directions. The finale of the game won't be far behind.

Number 6: Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Krenko has always been a beloved character in Magic. We were very excited to see that he got another card in War of the Spark. And it is good...very good. With al these proliferate and "Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature" type spells, Krenko can very quickly get out of hand. And he's a goblin...

Number 5: Gideon Blackblade

The death of Gideon in War of the Spark makes the card even more memorable, since he's probably not getting another one. Gideon is another beloved character, so we we're happy to see that his card is pretty good. It is great in mono white aggro decks.

Number 4: Ilharg, the Raze-Boar

A 6/6 trample for five mana? Sounds pretty cool right. Boar gods are so much fun. Killed or put into exile? No worries, he's coming back. If he swings, you get a free creature drop and attacking, that pops back to your hand. This is an awesome addition to Gruul color decks.

Number 3: Nissa, Who shakes the world

Being one of the most powerful planeswalkers and a member of the Gatewatch, we expected a good card. But this is great! Forests create double mana and her plus one ability is putting three counters on a land, untapping it, giving it vigilance and giving it haste. And her -8 is even crazier, forests get indestructible and you can get any forest you want out of your deck and put in on the battlefield tapped. This card is great and I'm happy that I got a foil version of it!

Number 2: Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Liliana has got four abilities. Her static draws you a card every time you lose a creature, even a token. Her +1 makes you a 2/2 zombie token. Her -4 makes each player lose 2 creatures, and drawing you more cards in the process. And her -9 is just insane and basically says "Congrats, you have won the game".

Number 1: Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Here he is. The ultimate bad guy, Nicol Bolas. The more planeswalkers there are on the battlefield, the stronger Nicol Bolas becomes. His other abilities are powerful as well, giving you extra cards, destroying other peoples creatures and winning the game in an instance.

So that was it, our top 10 war of the spark cards. Comment your favourite card down below! Make sure to check in sunday next week for the new blogpost. Bye!

The Dungeons and Dragons books ranked

Today, we are going to rank the Dungeons and Dragons books from most necessary to least necessary. The Dungeons and Dragons core set books have been out for almost 5 years and since then, loads more books have been coming out. In this post, you will find out which books are right for you and which books you need.

Tier One: Necessary

The Player's handbook

Interesting characters are the foundation of a great story. The Player's Handbook is the first book to have come out in Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition. The Player's handbook provides you with loads of classes, races, backstories, flaws, bonds, ideals and character traits to build fun characters with. The Player's handbook also contains all of the basic rules, needed to play Dungeons and Dragons. Since the basic rules can be found in this book, it is the most necessary out of all Dungeons and Dragons books and every player of the game should have a copy.

The Monster Manual

A great Dungeon Master can't play without a copy of the Monster Manual behind his(or hers) dm screen. This book provides Dungeon Masters with over a hundred monsters to face their adventurers with. The Monster Manual is the second book to have come out in Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition. No Dungeon Master can go without his(or hers) menagerie of monsters, that's why this book is in the first tier.

Tier two: Great additions

The Dungeon Master's guide

This core rulebook for the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game features advice and rules for Dungeon Masters of all levels of experience, with a particular focus on running adventures and campaigns. It also provides Dungeon Masters with hundreds of magic items to award players in their campaigns. It is a great addition and can certainly help create wonderful stories for your players to emmerse themselves in.

Xanathar's guide to everything

Xanathar's guide to everything provides extra depth for players, with additional subclasses for adventurers, and nifty tables, extra rules and more magic items for Dungeon Masters. This book is another great addition for your Dungeons and Dragons book arsenal. It can definitely make your games more interesting.

Tier three: Expansions

Volo's guide to monsters

My personal favourite Dungeons and Dragons book, Volo's Guide To Monsters, provides players with monstrous races and dungeon masters with more monsters and lore for classic monsters such as hags, kobolds, goblinoids, beholders, giants and mind flayers. It is a great expansion to your collection and these monsters can suprise the players who know every monster in the Monster Manual.

Mordenkainen's tome of foes

This book is another great expansion to your Dungeons and Dragons book collection. It contains more lore on classic Dungeons and Dragons races and lore about the blood war, an ancient conflict between demons and devils. It also contains more monsters to throw at your Adventuring Party. This is a great pick for a dungeon master who wants to up their Dungeons and Dragons game.

Guildmasters' guide to Ravnica

If you're looking for a book to set your Dungeons and Dragons campaign in a Magic The Gathering setting, look no further, this is it. This book contains lore on the Magic The Gathering world of Ravnica. It's contents help you build characters and write stories fitting in the Ravnica setting. It also contains a short adventure(it took us about two sessions to complete) called Krenko's Way.

Thanks for reading our blogpost. Make sure to check in next sunday for the new blogpost. Also check us out in Instagram: @Goblin_Gathering. Bye!