The launch of Magic’s latest set, Phyrexia: All will be One, means that it’s once again time to take a look at what new Clerics have been added to the Standard pool. It’s also time to see if any of these will improve the Orzhov Cleric Tribal deck I like to play.

In case you’re just joining us on this journey, know that the last rotation was not kind to my deck with many crucial cards leaving the format and few good replacements have come to light since unfortunately.

To be honest, I haven’t played much with the deck since I made the last changes. The deck has a 73% winrate at the moment but with only 11 games in Standard B01 Play (not Ranked). I’ve won the last 5 games so maybe there is something still to the deck but I still doubt very much it would do as well in Ranked.

With Phyrexia: All Will Be One, there is a total of 10 new cleric cards to consider. Given that we’re playing Orzhov, three of them can be immediately ruled out. The seven that remain include a Legendary Cat Cleric and the following cards:

Given the type of deck I’m playing, cutting Kemba is an easy decision. This is not a Cat tribal deck; nor is it an equipment deck.

Annex Sentry is far more interesting. It is very reminiscent of Brutal Cathar which comes with the same exile ability. I like the fact that it has a toughness of 4. It will be harder to remove from the board than our friend the Cathar.

Cruel Grimnarch feels too expensive. By the time it can enter the battlefield, opponents may not have many cards left in hand.

Indoctrination Attendant also feels expensive but is more interesting. While Toxic 1 is not bad, the return creature to hand ability has limited synergy with the rest of my deck. It certainly has more potential in an Explorer or Pioneer deck where Cleric of Life’s Bond is still legal.

Mandible Justiciar just does not look like a card that I would pull something else out to use instead. Sure it has Lifelink but it is more suited for an artifact deck. Much the same argument can be made for Orthodoxy Enforcer.

Vivisection Evangelist is an expensive card. Without a focused approach using poison counters in the deck, its Corrupted ability will not consistently trigger, further reducing the appeal of this card. Pass.

My first instinct is to replace the recently added Yotian Medics with Annex Sentries. But that means losing some Lifelink depth, something that is needed to build up Voice of the Blessed into a potent threat. I could go deeper along this line and simply cut both Voices and replace them with other Clerics. Alternatively, I could cut the one March of Otherwordly Light and the two Liliana of the Veil, given Annex Sentry’s exile ability. Another option might be to cut the two Valorous Stances and the March, keeping Liliana.

A more drastic change to the deck could be to take on a third colour. Green does offer up a few more clerics with the arrival of the new set but at the cost of a wider mana base. There are no new Cleric cards in either Blue or Red so neither is an option. Back to Green, moving in that direction would likely mean a pivot to a deck more focused on the new Toxic ability. Maybe it’s worth building a separate deck to try this.

In the end, I think I will cut the March and one of the Yotian Medics in favour of 2 Annex Sentries. If the card performs well, I will look to replace more Medics or look at the Valorous Stances instead. More to come on this.

Here is the new deck that I will try once Phyrexia: All Will Be One launches on Arena.

Deck

• 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
• 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
• 1 March of Otherworldly Light (NEO) 28
• 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
• 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
• 9 Plains (THB) 250
• 7 Swamp (THB) 252
• 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
• 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
• 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
• 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
• 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
• 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
• 2 Annex Sentry
• 3 Yotian Medic (BRO)
• 4 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
• 2 Loran’s escape (BRO)
• 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
• 3 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
• 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

Sideboard (which I need to finish up!)

• 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
• 1 Cut Down (DMU) 89
• 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
• 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
• 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20

Feel free to drop a comment below with any suggestions for other changes.