Author: Jerome

Transform Your B01 Standard Orzhov Cleric Deck with Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cards

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Pre-release events for Tarkir: Dragonstorm start next Friday! That means that previews for the newest set are done and it is once again time to take a look a closer look at the set and see if my kindred Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric deck will transform into a first tier deck.

Last time round, Aetherdrift only brought two new Clerics to the table. Tarkir: Dragonstorm will easily outdo that, offering up six new Cleric cards for consideration. So let’s see what we have to work with. One, Severance Priest, is immediately out because of the Green pip pip in its mana costs. That leaves us with five to review.

Abzan Devotee
Unrooted Ancestor
Krumar Initiate

Abzan Devotee is a common that could prove useful when it comes to mana fixing. For , we can add either a White pip or Black pip to the mana pool (you could tap for Green pip but it would not be not very useful in this deck).

Unrooted Ancestor is a card that I may try to get into the deck. The challenge is that the current deck is not built around sacrifice. Add Krumar Initiate to the mix and there is now a way to generate cheap Spirits that could power this card. It does require both cards and only generates one spirit per turn.

Maybe I should add Krumar Initiate to the deck and skip Unrooted Ancestor for now. I can use the Spirits for offence and defense instead of sacrificing them. I’ll start there and see if the card cranks out enough Spirits that I could then consider sacrificing some of them. Krumar Initiate also has a bit of synergy with Essence Channeler, giving it flying and vigilance as I lose life.

Loxodon Battle Priest
Venerated Stormsinger
Essence Channeler

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you know I like big creatures. Loxodon Battle Priest is not only one of those but it also can help me grow other Clerics into bigger ones. Is there anything better than a beefy Cleric swinging at your opponent? It is pricey though.

At first glance, Venerated Stormsinger looked like an automatic add. Then I re-read the card a bit more carefully. Sure it generates a 1/1 red Warrior each turn; but it’s only one per turn and it gets sacrificed at the next end step. So, that 1/1 will start to lose value as the game goes on and bigger threats emerge. The additional life trigger is not bad but still feels like less than it promises.

Time to see what I can cut to see if Krumar Initiate and Loxodon Battle Priest. My first choices are Metropolis Reformer and Infernal Vessel. That gives me four slots to work with. I think it will be a straight swap.

As far as non-creature spells, I will take a closer look and see what makes sense. Smile at Death caught my attention as I took a first glance through the list. It would let me return my Clerics to the battlefield given that I don’t have a lot of protection and they tend to die quickly. But two other cards caught my attention despite not going into this deck. Elspeth, Storm Slayer and Ugin, Eye of the Storms, definitely look like good fun. Ugin in particular could finally convince me to look at a colourless Commander deck. But that’s a topic for a future post.

As far as lands are concerned, nothing really jumps out. Many are focused on the three-colour combinations aligned to the Dragonstorm clan wedges. I may look at Dalkovan Encampment and Great Arashin City as they do give me an advantage over regular lands but at the cost of entering tapped. Not exactly a strong proposition!

So here is the deck that I will start to play with as soon as Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards are in my hands or on Arena!

Deck:

Deck:

  • 2 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Fell (BLB) 95
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 3 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 3 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 3 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Krumar Initiate (TDM) 84
  • 2 Loxodon Battle Priest (TDM) 15

Lands:

  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269
  • 1 The Dross Pits (ONE) 251
  • 2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
  • 1 Forlorn Flats (OTJ) 258
  • 1 The Fair Basilica (ONE) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 1 Valgavoth’s Lair (DSK) 271
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252

Sideboard

  • 2 Grand Abolisher (BIG) 2
  • 1 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 1 Pest Control (BIG) 22
  • 2 Lay Down Arms (BRO) 11
  • 1 The Witch’s Vanity (WOE) 119
  • 1 Sanguine Evangelist (LCI) 34
  • 1 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller (BLB) 242
  • 1 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 2 Virtue of Persistence (WOE) 115
  • 1 Moonrise Cleric (BLB) 226

Duel Commander: Commander for Two

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I am primarily a casual Magic: The Gathering player. The great majority of my games are played with my sons at home. We do love our pre-releases but only play a few games a year at the LGS beyond those, especially since North of Exile closed. As I’ve noted in the past, our family Magic games have slowed down as the boys get older and start to establish their own lives.

We most frequently play Commander at home as you may have gathered from many past posts. It’s always been somewhat awkward playing with only three of us but it gets even more challenging when there are only two of us up for a game. Case in point: A recent family trip.

But it does appear that I may have discovered the solution; one that does not require us to move to a completely different format. Have you heard of Duel Commander? It’s a two-player version of EDH where you play with 100 cards, including your Commander and 99 different cards that share the same colour identity. Sounds like Commander, right? Well, there are some differences focused on improving the game for a two-player format. For example:

  • The game has its own curated ban list managed by the format’s community
  • You have two win two of three games for the match win
  • You can swap your commander with another as long as it is already in your deck
  • There are no sideboards.

About that ban list: A number of cards are banned as Commanders only. For example, you can have Arahbo, Roar of the World, Edgar Markov or Winota, Joiner of Forces in your deck but none can be your Commander (There goes my Arahbo deck unless I modify it for another cat).

As with other two-player Magic formats, Duel Commander does not rely on politics and negotiations for you to win the game. Much as in other two-player formats, your deck either has it or it does not – no amount of wheeling and dealing is going to save you here. Whether that’s a plus or a minus is up to you to decide.

Duel Commander has been around for some time. Early versions date back to the early 2000s and the Duel Commander Rules Committee (all volunteers) was established in 2007. It has since then overseen the format, providing regular updates, including the bans as needed. The format may not be somewhat obscure but it is actively supported with the last update coming as recently as January 2025 with regular updates being announced every two months or more frequently if needed.

As far as events, I did not find many but if you’re in France in May, you may want to check out the Team Duel Commander French Cup (Coupe De France Duel Commander en Equipe). It takes place in Saint Aunès, France (near Montpellier) from May 31st to June 1st.

I’ve shared details about Duel Commander with the boys and we are looking at trying it out. The main concern right now seems to be avoiding building more decks as this household is already over-run with regular Commander decks. Given that most of our decks should work as they are, I expect that this will be how our first games will go. If it works and we want to play more, I expect that our competitive spirits will push us to look at decks more optimized to this two-player format.

Lastly, if Two-Headed Giant is your jam, they have rules about how to play it as a non-sanctioned variant. And for those playing online, Duel Commander is officially supported on MTGO (Note: I don’t play MTGO at this time).

More information: Duel Commander official site

What’s better than pulling a Chrome Mox?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Today’s question: What’s better than pulling a Chrome Mox from the new Aetherdrift set?

There are definitely a few answers but my immediate thought when I pulled one was the following: I wish I had pulled this from an actual pack rather than on Magic Arena.

Chrome Mox

The art on the new Special Guest version is pretty sharp but what makes the card desirable is that it is pretty potent (like the other Moxes). It lets you exile another card from your hand as it comes in, giving you an extra mana of the same colour as the card you just exiled. Take a look at EDHRec and you can see that there a few interesting combos to work with.

Given it is not legal in Standard and Explorer and is banned in Modern (and Historic that I typically don’t play), I think its use on Arena will be rather limited – one more reason I wish I had pulled a physical copy as I would look to add to one of my Commander decks.

Anyways, I’ll see what I can do with this, perhaps in Brawl. If/when I do, I’ll post the deck…

Aetherdrift Pre-Release Gameplay: Lessons from My Matches

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Aetherdrift did not impress me during previews. There was something about this vehicle-heavy race-themed set that just did not connect with me. The story behind it and the new mechanics, Start Your Engines and Exhaust, did not impress me either. But, a pre-release is a pre-release and the best way to discover a new set. I hoped that my first impressions would be proven wrong.

Unusually, Noah could not make the pre-release as he was at a robotics competition all day. So, Christian and I were the only ones to head off (in fact, Noah left the house earlier).

Cracking my six packs revealed a pool that left me wondering what kind of deck I would build. A first glance revealed few clear bombs, aside from The Speed Demon. All my colours were low on creatures, especially, red and blue. Green was strong on creatures but none were absolute or even near bombs. With the heavy reliance on Vehicles and Mounts, a good pool of creatures was key in my mind. I did pull two Verges so not all was lost as I’m a firm believer that good mana is at the heart of all decks. Not that you’d believe that when I decided to go with a 16 land deck.

I ended up with an Orzhov deck (seems to be my colour pair these days) built around The Speed Demon, two Streaking Oilgorgers and flyers like Swiftwing Assailant. There was plenty of removal to hopefully keep me in the game while I built my board.

The Speed Demon

My first match of the day was against a Simic deck piloted by an actual content creator (Regular_Zach on Twitch if you’re interested). In our first game, I got to see how Exhaust could work. It proved to be a stronger mechanic than I expected, especially as it kept bringing back the pesky Afterburner Expert.

I also found my deck slow to get started (I had a feeling when I built it) and quickly went down in two games. In the second game, I got to hit Max Speed but it was too late to help me deal with a fierce opponent.

My second game was against an old neighbourhood friend of mine. I discovered in our first game that The Last Ride can be a pretty potent threat. But to be, it does need a bit of strategy and willingness to take some risks. Unfortunately, my friend misplayed it causing it to die when it became crewed. It was only upon rereading the card the next turn that we realized that rather than hitting me for 13, it should have died. We agreed to play on and that I would take the win. The match was a long drawn out but fun affair that left us with little time for our next game.

Back to The Last Ride for a moment. For a single Black pip, you get a 13/13 legendary artifact vehicle. The downside is that it will die if you crew it when your life is greater than 12. But you can still play it before that and use it for card draw while reducing your life to below 13. The lower your life, the bigger the threat. It really becomes a potent foe when your life is low. If you play with your life as a resource, it can be quite the threat but beware as it also dies easily to removal.

Unfortunately, I lost the second game in extra time and we settled for the draw.

My third game was simply ugly. In both matches, I was quickly overrun by a Boros deck built around cheap mana creatures and Start Your Engines. At Max Speed, those little creatures suddenly became bigger threats. In my first game, I could only manage two lands and that hampered my progress and quickly sealed my fate. In the second, I had the lands but my deck’s slow speed simply could not deal with the aggro tempo.

While I ended at 0-1-2 and near the bottom of the standings, Christian found his groove and went an impressive 3-0, losing none of his games! And he managed that with a Boros deck (a combination that he does not play very often).

As for Noah and his robotics competition, his team was eliminated in the first tournament round after clawing back with three straight wins after two losses in the preliminaries.

Next up for us will be the Tarkir: Dragonstorm pre-release. I’m definitely looking forward to this one.

Note: The feature image is again generated by AI.

Aetherdrift Review: Impact on Standard B01 Orzhov Clerics

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Time for my usual new set review to see how I might be able to improve my Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric deck. As always, each new set offers the possibility that we can finally turn this deck into a strong Tier 1 competitor. Alas! While Aetherdrift is better than Outlaws of Thunder Junction when it comes to clerics, it’s not by much. Unless you include the clerics in the Commander sets, there are only two new cards to consider.

Of these two, only one is works in an Orzhov deck. A closer look reveals it to be slightly more than a vanilla 2/2. Granted it throws in Flying and ETB lifelink and indestructible trigger but that will not be enough to displace an other card from my current deck.

Samut, the Driving Force is a card with more upside but unfortunately sports Naya colours. As an aside, I’m not sold on Start your engines! as one of the new mechanics of the set. But let me see how the Aetherdrift pre-release goes before I commit to my current opinion.

Taking a look at Clerics in the Commander decks, there are three additional cards. None of them could go into a Standard deck but they are worth a look as I continue to think about a Commander version of my Clerics deck.

Vizier of Many Faces is as Blue a card as ever so it is automatically out.

Priest of the Crossing is less interesting version of Luminarch Aspirant, a card that was nerfed on Arena (to become an Alchemy card). While the stat improvement and Flying are nice improvements, the fact that some of my other creatures have to die to trigger the pump is enough to pass on this card unless I would be hard-pressed to come up with 99 other cards for a Commander deck.

Wizened Mentor lacks any synergy with the deck and is also a hard pass. Maybe in an Orzhov Zombie deck?

All in all, Aetherdrift will certainly not go down as a favourite for Orzhov Clerics. There simply not enough cards and especially good ones.

With no changes with the launch of Aetherdrift, here is the current version of my kindred Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric deck:

Deck

  • 2 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Fell (BLB) 95
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 1 Forlorn Flats (OTJ) 258
  • 1 The Fair Basilica (ONE) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 1 The Dross Pits (ONE) 251
  • 1 Valgavoth’s Lair (DSK) 271
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 3 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 3 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Metropolis Reformer (MAT) 4
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
  • 3 Infernal Vessel (FDN) 63

Sideboard

  • 2 Grand Abolisher (BIG) 2
  • 1 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 1 Pest Control (BIG) 22
  • 2 Lay Down Arms (BRO) 11
  • 1 The Witch’s Vanity (WOE) 119
  • 1 Sanguine Evangelist (LCI) 34
  • 1 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller (BLB) 242
  • 1 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 2 Virtue of Persistence (WOE) 115
  • 1 Moonrise Cleric (BLB) 226

P.S. For fun, I tried the AI generated feature image tool for this post. Is it possible that some Magic characters have six fingers?

More Dungeons & Dragons in 2025

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

If you follow this blog, you have read how the boys are growing up and more and more doing their own thing. As much as I miss the days where it was Magic all the time, this is how it should be. Still, I do miss the game and have been slow to get into going to the LGS on my own (maybe that should have been my New Year’s resolution).

One thing that I have been doing once in a while is play some Dungeons and Dragons. As far back as 2022, I have played a couple of events a year through TorontoDnD, a local organization that runs a variety of events, mostly one-shots, at various locations through the city. In fact, I just signed up for my first event for the year and am hoping to play more often than I have in the past. It always makes for a fun evening.

Dungeons & Dragons party facing a dragon

I first played Dungeons and Dragons when I was a teenager. To date myself a bit (or a lot), most of my time playing was with the books that had the orange spine (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) although my very first campaigns were run using the basic rules (the red box first released in 1983, I think). Along with the Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide, I had the Monster Manual, the Fiend Folio, and the Oriental Adventures book. I unfortunately let them go before having kids (the good old “I don’t play anymore and don’t think I ever will again”)” story).

Both boys got into the game a few years back. I remember one notable campaign that Christian ran for us one summer at a cottage. Along with the three of us, we had the two cousins. Sitting at the picnic table on a hot summer day between swims at the lake, it was definitely good fun!

Noah in particular got into the game at school and owns many of the 5th edition books. He loves the settings books but I don’t think he’s ever run any campaigns using them. He still plays with a school group where he is the DM. And I’ve borrowed his Player’s Handbook from the time I got back into the game to create characters and relearn the game for my outings.

With the new 5.5 edition that launched last year, I took the plunge and bought the new Player’s Handbook as TorontoDnD is making the switch over to the updated rules next month. I got it on Boxing Day when there was a bit of sale on the books.

More recently, while visiting some friends, I mentioned that I was getting back into the game and one of my friends mentioned that he used to play when he was younger. While he unfortunately does not live close by, we have talked about running a small game the next time he comes to visit. Between him and another friend who sometimes joins me at the TorontoDnD events, we have the start of a group. Maybe I can interest the boys to join us as well. Or I can try to convince one of the boys to run a campaign for us. I should also put more effort into finding a more permanent group to play with so that we can start some longer campaigns.

This is all to say that you may see some Dungeons & Dragons content start to pop up on the site as our gaming diversifies a bit more this year. Don’t worry though, more Magic is on the way!

Christmas Commander 2024

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

A tradition has kicked off for another year. The boys and I had our first Commander game of the 2024 Christmas holiday season after a trip down to the market in preparation for Christmas Eve tomorrow. This afternoon, it was all about slinging spells.

In our first match, I brought a retooled Talrand deck to the fray. Christian brought his Lathril and elves deck while Noah introduced us to Teysa Karlov.

Talrand, Sky Summoner

Christian had the strongest start but a couple of counter spells slowed him down. Noah struggled with a lack of black mana while I focused on simply playing lands and laying low. Knowing that Talrand is susceptible to removal, I simply refrained from playing him while I built up enough mana to protect him. Between Noah and I, Christian did not have a chance to really build up much of board presence. Things changed when I lay down Nezahal, Primal Tide. Despite Christian’s urging to remove it, Noah instead continued to focus on his brother.

It was all going to plan until the boys finally decided to work together and Noah played Kaya’s Wrath to wipe the board. I made the mistake of not saving Nezahal (read the card!) and had to discard a number of good cards.

Mindsplice Apparatus

Fortunately, I had enough in hand to quickly rebuild thanks to my Mindsplice Apparatus, Baral, Chief of Compliance and Haughty Djinn. Flyers do win the game when your opponents don’t have any of their own.

So, Talrand will need to sit out the next game, not that I mind as playing Blue is not exactly how I like to play Magic.

Update #1: The boys each found six packs of the Foundations set under the tree. As a result, our Commander games have been interrupted by a sealed event.

Christian did well, pulling three Mythics: Doubling Season, Rite of the Dragoncaller and Ajani, Caller of the Pride. Noah pulled a single Mythic, while I pulled none. Deck building went quickly; the boys are always good at that while I hum and haw a while before I settle on my deck strategy. In this case, I decided on Sultai with Lathril thanks in part to some relatively decent land cards to help with the mana.

Christian and Noah led off. Noah struggled in his first game with too many lands (and not enough shuffling after building his deck). Christian for his part landed both Ajani and Doubling Season quickly. Their second game was much closer but Christian still won.

Christian then faced me. The first game was a quick one with none of my threats really making any difference as Christian’s flyers simply wore me down. In the second game, it was much closer and I ended up taking it. In the third game, it all came down to the final turn but those pesky flyers once again did me in despite my being able to deal with Ajani quickly and ensuring that he did not become a threat.

One more sealed game to come – Noah and I.

Update: We sadly never did have a chance to play any additional games (it’s late February as I write this). I think it’s the first time that the boys and I did not even finish our mini sealed tournament. Christmas went by quickly and I thought we might be able to wrap up in the first few days of January but school and work started up quite fast and we never found the chance to squeeze in that last game. Something we will look to rectify for the next sealed game.

Standard Lethal Combo in mono-Black

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Since the mechanic Crime was introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I have off and on been playing a mono-black deck in Standard B01. I used the launch of the following sets, Bloomburrow, Duskmourn and Foundations, to see if I could improve on the deck as it is not, despite being fun to play, a Tier 1 deck by any stretch of the imagination.

Since its inception, I have tweaked the deck only a little bit. Among the recent additions are Fell and Bandits’ Talent. The first is a decent creature removal spell and the second fits nicely into the theme of the deck. Another key addition is Unstoppable Slasher from Duskmourn, a card that many decks have a hard time removing permanently.

Fell
Bandit's Talent
Unstoppable Slasher

With Foundations, I again went back to see if there was something I could again add to the deck. While nothing leaped out, I did decide to pair up Unstoppable Slasher with Bloodletter of Aclazotz. I will not claim credit for this impressive combo but will definitely vouch for its effectiveness after feeling its effects first hand.

Why is this combo so powerful? When Unstoppable Slasher deals combat damage to your opponent, they lose half of their life, rounded up. Then, Bloodletter of Aclazotz does its thing and doubles that damage. Between the two of them, that’s fatal damage! Granted it does require that both cards be on the battlefield and that Unstoppable Slasher deal player damage, but it’s not hard to line this up.

Other core pieces like Tinybones, the Pickpocket, Deep-Cavern Bat and Hopeless Nightmare remain in the deck. I’ve also started looking at sideboard additions to see if I can move this deck up to B03.

Tinybones, the Pickpocket
Hopeless Nightmare

Here is my latest mono-Black B01 Standard ‘Crime Does Pay’ deck:

Deck

  • 1 The Dross Pits (ONE) 251
  • 16 Swamp (MH3) 315
  • 2 Tinybones Joins Up (OTJ) 108
  • 2 Tinybones, the Pickpocket (OTJ) 109
  • 1 Mirrex (ONE) 254
  • 4 Deep-Cavern Bat (LCI) 102
  • 2 Demolition Field (BRO) 260
  • 2 Vadmir, New Blood (OTJ) 113
  • 2 Kaervek, the Punisher (OTJ) 92
  • 3 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor (BRO) 95
  • 2 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal (LCI) 88
  • 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (DMU) 107
  • 2 Sheoldred’s Edict (ONE) 108
  • 2 Fell (BLB) 95
  • 3 Bitter Triumph (LCI) 91
  • 2 Skullcap Snail (LCI) 119
  • 3 Hopeless Nightmare (WOE) 95
  • 1 Hidden Necropolis (LCI) 275
  • 2 Bandit’s Talent (BLB) 83
  • 1 Vein Ripper (MKM) 110
  • 2 Unstoppable Slasher (DSK) 119
  • 2 Hostile Investigator (BIG) 10

Sideboard

  • 2 Gix’s Command (BRO) 97
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 2 Gisa, the Hellraiser (OTJ) 89
  • 2 Duress (STA) 29
  • 2 Ruthless Negotiation (BLB) 108
  • 2 Callous Sell-Sword (WOE) 221
  • 2 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102
  • 1 Virtue of Persistence (WOE) 115

1v1 Commander: Squirrels demolish Ruhan

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Noah and I tend to make sure we have a Magic deck or two when we travel. So, when it was time to visit a few universities to help decide which one to apply to, we settled on Commander decks. My wife still does not play (nor do I expect that she ever will or if she does, it will be one of those Hell has frozen over scenarios!) so it was 1v1.

Ruhan of the Fomori
Chatterfang, Squirrel General
Squirrel token

We settled in and revealed our decks to each other. He brought his Chatterfang, Squirrel General deck and I brought my Ruhan of the Fomori deck. Let’s just say that it was not a fair matchup! Tokens everywhere against lumbering giants looking to get equipped before heading off to battle. It was not pretty.

You know that meme, perfectly illustrated by Cardboard Crack, about 15 squirrels taking on Emrakul? Well, you even fewer to take on Ruhan!

Cardboard Crack Emrakul vs Squirrels

We played three games. Not only did I lose all three but none were even close. In fact, all three games took less than hour. And then Noah simply asked, “Do you want to switch decks?” I turned the offer down, knowing that it would just be as one-sided.

Next time, a bit more planning may be required to avoid these kinds of matches! Or do I try for an outright Squirrel ban in the house?

Cartoon credit: Cardboard Crack

Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Deck With Foundations

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

We’re less than a week away from Pre-Release events for Magic’s latest set. Foundations is an interesting that will remain Standard Legal until at least until 2029.

As usual, when a new set comes out, I take a look at what new Clerics are in it to plan for any adjustments to my Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric deck. Whereas Duskmourn only offered three new cards, Foundations brings eight new cards for consideration, three being completely new and five being reprints from previous sets. Seven are playable in an Orzhov deck, with only Vizier of the Menagerie, falling out of immediate consideration being a green card.

Let’s first take a look at the new cards.

Hinterland Sanctifier
Infernal Vessel
Sun-Blessed Healer

Hinterland Sanctifier will fit nicely into decks focused on Lifegain but aside from being a cheap 1/2 at a single , I’m not sure that it is a compelling addition or replacement for Evolved Sleeper in the one mana slot.

Infernal Vessel is a little more interesting. For Black pip, you get a 2/1 that comes back as a 4/3 Demon Cleric when it dies. With the right other cards on the battlefield, it could be a worthwhile addition. I think I will try it but I’m not sure what to pull out for it. I don’t think it is strong enough to replace either Shadow-Rite Priest or Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim. Maybe I pull Essence Channeler or Phyrexian Missionary but both have proven useful. I’m leaning instead to cutting Moonrise Cleric, a three mana card.

Sun-Blessed Healer is an interesting card. A close look at it and you realize that it is very similar to Phyrexian Missionary. The main difference is that it can bring back any target nonland permanent for a kicker whereas the Missionary can only bring back a creature for Black pip. More flexibility but at a cost of two white pips. In this deck, it really does not make a big difference as it comes down to the mana I have available to work with. My statistics days are far behind me but something tells me that I should stick with Phyrexian Missionary.

Let’s take a look at the reprints.

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
Marauding Blight Priest
Nullpriest of Oblivion

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is a card I will want to try out. a 2/3 with Deathtouch for Black pip is not bad but the Sacrifice options offer some good options. Gaining a bit of life could trigger a few abilities, eg, another +1/+1 counter on Essence Channeler, or some useful removal, albeit with a difficult condition, namely having 10 more life than my starting total.

Marauding Blight-Priest is a pretty simple card. I think I will try it as an alterative to Moonrise Cleric if that card is not replaced by Infernal Vessel or something else.

Nullpriest of Oblivion is less compelling. It functions like Phyrexian Missionary in that paying its Kicker cost lets you bring back a creature. Except that it comes in with weaker stats and its Kicker is a much heavier price at Black pip compared to Black pip. Maybe I’ll dust it off at the next rotation if I still want the ability to bring creatures back from my graveyard.

One change that I made during Duskmourn that I did not mention before was that I retooled the mana base, taking out the three Three Tree City in favour of The Fair Basilica, The Dross Pits Scoured Barrens, and Valgavoth’s Lair. I may tweak it further with one or more Secluded Courtyards when Foundation comes out.

I’ve also added a few more cards to the Sideboard in the anticipation that I may try this in B03 at some point.

Here is what I will try out (3 Infernal Vessels instead of Moonrise Cleric) when Foundations comes out:

Deck:

  • 3 Infernal Vessel (FDN) 63
  • 2 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Fell (BLB) 95
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 3 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 3 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Metropolis Reformer (MAT) 4
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 1 The Dross Pits (ONE) 251
  • 2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
  • 1 The Fair Basilica (ONE) 252
  • 1 Forlorn Flats (OTJ) 258
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 1 Valgavoth’s Lair (DSK) 271

Sideboard:

  • 2 Grand Abolisher (BIG) 2
  • 1 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 1 Pest Control (BIG) 22
  • 2 Lay Down Arms (BRO) 11
  • 1 The Witch’s Vanity (WOE) 119
  • 2 Sanguine Evangelist (LCI) 34
  • 1 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller (BLB) 242
  • 1 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 2 Virtue of Persistence (WOE) 115