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.

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