Genesis: Battle of Champions returns to Kickstarter

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A year after Genesis: Battle of Champions died and was resurrected, it looks like the game is making a slow and steady comeback. Edge of Exile Entertainment (EOE), the new owners, released a new expansion set late last year (Invasion) and are now getting the next one ready, hoping to get it out soon. They celebrated their 50th livestream episode a week ago and used the occasion to announce some “big news.” A new Kickstarter campaign is kicking off on July 8th.

This is not the first Kickstarter for Genesis, Battle of Champions. Back in 2022, the world was a different place. The game was still run by Haunted Castle Gaming; we were still dealing with the repercussions of COVID 19; interests rates were starting to climb to levels unseen in a while. The campaign closed with more than 600 backers (666 to be precise – read into that what you want) and nearly CA$350,000 raised.

Things promise to be different this time around. The new ownership wants to try something very different with this campaign. Unlike the previous one, this upcoming one will not offer booster boxes. Instead, it will focus on various exclusive backer rewards. As Jason Malott, EOE President, explained during the livestream, the idea is to offer products that will not cannibalize LGS sales but offer complimentary products for fans of the game.

The Kickstarter is expected to launch on July 8th, a bit later than Canada Day. A nice touch if it would have happened as Genesis is a Canadian-made game.

In terms of funding tiers, we will get exact information when the campaign goes live but up for grabs will be:

  • T-shirts featuring new art for Champions such as Erika and Oni
  • A Kickstarter exclusive playmat. The design is not finalized but it could be a map of Jaelara
  • Tokens featuring your backer or content creator name
  • Character cards based on your appearance either in Metamorphosis or Cataclysm
  • New Exert tokens from the same creator who made the commemorative Invasion Release Day ones
  • Kickstarter exclusive set of non-foil alternate art Champions appearing in Metamorphosis
  • Serialized set of alternate art of each Champion appearing in Metamorphosis
  • A very limited ultimate tier where you will get a chance to guest host on the Genesis BOC livestream

EOE hopes to raise at least $40,000 with the Kickstarter campaign. The funds will be used to accelerate plans, including getting Metamorphosis, the next set, to market faster (“hopefully before the cold weather,” according to Jason. Other plans for the funds include the launch of organized play and getting listed on TCGPlayer.

EOE also shared their Plan B should the Kickstarter fail. This includes delaying the release of Metamorphosis and organized play, possibly into next year. They also have alternative fundraising plans. Here’s hoping that they will not be needed.

I’ll update this post once the Kickstarter is live with more information on the different tiers.

Update:

A few new details:

  • The Kickstarter is expected to kick off on July 8th
  • Special discounts will be offered for the first 24 hours
  • If the campaign goal of $40,000 is reached, Metamorphosis will immediately go to the printers
  • Stretch goals for $45,000, $50,000 (including an enhanced Organized Play program), $60,000 (with OP promo packs), $70,000 (special commemorative exert tokens) and $150,000 (to get onboarded on TCGPlayer.com)

Update #2 (July 8th, 2024):

The Kickstarter campaign is live! It looks like a good start with the campaign almost 20% backed already!

Standard B01: Does Crime Pay?

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My go-to decks in Standard B01 currently are a Red Prowess deck and a Selesnya Enchantment deck. The former is something I picked up a while back based on the meta. The latter is one that I have been playing for a while and enjoy playing.

It’s time for a little variety. While I do play a few other decks in other formats, I decided to build a new one focused on the new Commit a Crime mechanic introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction for Standard B01.

Commit a crime is well represented across Blue, Black, Red and Green. It’s no big surprise that there is only one White card using the mechanic. For my first build, I decided to go with a mono-Black build focused around Tinybones, Vadmir, New Blood, Kaervek, the Punisher and Gisa, the Hellraiser.

Kaervek, the Punisher
Gisa, the Hellraiser

From there, I added a few additional cards that should complement these nicely. Among these are Tinybones, the Pickpocket, Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor and Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal. I also threw in Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (which is almost an auto-include in Black decks these days).

Tinybones, the Pickpocket
Gix, Yawgmoth -Praetor
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal

From there, I filled out the deck with cards to go and commit crimes. It’s the usual mix of removal spells and others that target my opponent.

Deck

  • 2 Tinybones Joins Up (OTJ) 108
  • 2 Tinybones, the Pickpocket (OTJ) 109
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 4 Deep-Cavern Bat (LCI) 102
  • 3 Vadmir, New Blood (OTJ) 113
  • 2 Kaervek, the Punisher (OTJ) 92
  • 2 Gisa, the Hellraiser (OTJ) 89
  • 3 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor (BRO) 95
  • 2 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal (LCI) 88
  • 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (DMU) 107
  • 2 Gix’s Command (BRO) 97
  • 2 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 3 Bitter Triumph (LCI) 91
  • 2 March of Wretched Sorrow (NEO) 111
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

Lands

  • 2 Demolition Field (BRO) 260
  • 2 Mirrex (ONE) 254
  • 2 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 18 Swamp (MH3) 315

I have played 10 games in Standard Play to get a sense of how the deck works. I won 7 times (70% win rate) so far. A good start but it’s time to take it to Ranked and see how it fares against the top decks in the meta.

In the meantime, a few observations from those first 10 games:

  • The deck feels a little top-heavy with 9 cards costing 4 or more mana. I may lighten it up a bit, perhaps with Preacher of the Schism.
  • Aclazotz is a great card. It is one of those that needs to be removed quickly or it can put the game away. I don’t like playing against it but I sure do like watch it resolve.
  • I may add one or two more Instant or Sorcery spells and cut the corresponding number of creatures (21 at the moment).
  • I might look to make it a Dimir deck to give me a few spell options. On the creature side, perhaps Lazav, Familiar Stranger or Nimble Brigand. Both cost 3 mana and could help with my first point above.

Anyone else playing a Commit a Crime deck? How is it going ?

Five cards looking for a Commander deck

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I use my local LGS website’s wish list feature to keep track of cards that I’m interested in. Everything from cards that I want for an existing deck, think are neat enough to build around or even both, to ones that might be a good gift for one of they boys (maybe they made a mention in passing at the dinner table for example) might end up on that list.

After my last post about Modern Horizons 3 cards that could fit into decks, I had a look at my list and it occurred to me that some of them might fit into Commander decks.

Steel Seraph

I wanted to play Steel Seraph as soon as I saw it during previews during Brothers’ War. The Prototype mechanic is neat – Similar to Kicker but offering essentially what is a downgrade option instead of an upgrade. Much like Kicker, offering a lower mana cost to get a less powerful version of the card opens up a number of options during game play. Do you go for the cheaper mana cost and benefit earlier or do you wait until later in the game? With Prototype, the ideal is when you have a way to pull the card out of the graveyard as it returns in its full-powered version.

Paying to have a 3/3 earlier in the game is not great value but it can help smooth out game play and has decent evasion. The full version is not cheap either but is definitely worth experimenting with. I love Steel Seraph’s flexibility, offering the choice of Flying, Vigilance or lifelink at the beginning of combat on my turn opens up options. Flying is a good offensive trick, Vigilance gives you the ability to attack and still defend while lifelink is useful when you’re taking a beating. And here you have all three on one card!

I think this one is headed into my Kaalia of the Vast Commander deck. Probably at the expense of a demon or dragon as this deck continues to morph more into an Angels deck every time I make a change.

Ocelot Pride

Ocelot Pride

This one is a new addition to my wish list after the Modern Horizons 3 previews. A 1/1 Cat for that adds First Strike, lifelink, Ascend and the ability to crank out 1/1 white Cat creature tokens whenever you gain life during your turn cannot be bad.

The price as it stands certainly proves that. At CA$30 for the cheapest variant (as I write this ahead of next week’s release), I’ll likely sit on this and see if it comes down in price. Considering the card was selling for CA$40 a bit earlier, I think there is room for it to come down further and then slide into a deck.

As for what deck, I don’t have a tokens deck so this may be a card asking me to build one. Maybe Darien, King of Kjeldor. Not sure mono-white would last long in our house though; the boys would quickly go after it if only to put me on the back foot. And the cost to bring it back would quickly become unaffordable. How about Neyali, Suns’ Vanguard instead? Giving your attacking tokens double strike sounds like something fun to me. And a bit of card replenishment is not bad either.

Neyali, Suns' Vanguard
Grand Abolisher
Animar, Soul of Elements

Grand Abolisher

When I first saw this card, I immediately thought it was perfect for Commander, especially with the decks that the boys love to play. Disrupting their plans is a strategy that I have oft thought about. This card would certainly do that, if only during my turn. Maybe I should pair it up with an Esper Sentinel.

This feels like a cool card in search of a deck for me to play it in. One thing it has going for it is that it is a Cleric.

All I know is that I want this card. But it will stay on the wish list until I think of a deck that will welcome it with open arms.

Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant

Kurbis has been on my wish list for a while. I can’t quite remember how it ended up there but I suspect it had something to do with +1/+1 counters. Giving itself some counters upon entering the battlefield is okay but it’s the second ability that stands out. Removing a +1/+1 counter to prevent damage to another creature with a +1/+1 counter on it is a useful little ability.

Revisiting the card for this post, I thought at first that it might be a good fit into my Animar, Soul of Elements deck but it will likely fit better in my Atraxa deck where it could protect the creatures around it. Giving it some further thought, it might be better off in a different deck altogether. Maybe in the same deck as Ocelot Pride?

Envoy of the Ancestors

This is another new addition to my wish list. It caught my eye given it is a Cleric. For , you get a 2/3 creature with Outlast . Combine that with its ability to give modified creatures lifelink and you have a pretty strong candidate for any deck that relies on counters on Equipments and Auras.

It might be a good fit into my Atraxa deck. Or maybe it is time to build a Commander deck built around Clerics. Wait a second! Grand Abolisher is a Cleric too! Hey, I already have two cards for my new Cleric Commander deck…

Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant
Envoy of the Ancestors
Basking Broodscale

Bonus card: Basking Dreadscale

There is a lot of early interest in this card. While Adapt is not quite as potent as Outlast given that it can only really be used once, Basking Broodscale’s second ability, namely creating a 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature token every time a counter goes on plays nicely with mechanics like Proliferate.

So, we have yet another card that could fit nicely into a +1/+1 counter deck even though that’s not what is driving the current interest in the card.

The key takeaway today seems to be that I need to build a Cleric Typal deck as well as one for +1/+1 counters. And I probably need to clean my wish list a bit as well…

Exploring Modern Horizons 3 Singles for Commander Decks

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Modern Horizons 3 is just around the corner with pre-release events starting June 6th. I have been keeping an eye on the previews despite this being one of those sets that I will skip. While Maro would say that this is “not be the product for you,” I simply say that it’s prohibitively expensive. A pre-release event at my LGS would set me back CA$70 while a Play Booster box is on sale for CA$399.99. Too rich for my blood or that of the boys. We might get a few packs but I suspect that we will hold off until Bloomburrow comes out.

So, back to the previews. I am looking to see what singles I could pick and drop into a few of my Commander decks.

First up, Ruhan of the Fomori. I have not made any modifications to this deck in a while. One card in particular stands out in Modern Horizons 3 that I will look to slot into it is Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury. Paying for a 6/6 is not a bad cost for a card that immediately gets sacrificed. Why, you ask? For the additional Escape cost (along with five cards to exile), you get a sorcery speed Lightning Helix each time Phlage enters the battlefield or attacks.

Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
Lightning Helix

Unfortunately, it’s the only Giant in Ruhan’s colours (and only one of two Giants in the whole set).

I’ve seen recommendations to add Lavaspur Boots from Outlaws of Thunder Junction but I’m on the fence on that one. It’s a cheap equipment but not sure what I would pull out to slot it in. Let’s see what happens.

Next up, Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice, which I played with against the boys earlier this week (won one and lost one). Nothing leaps out at me at first glance but I really should look to get a Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, into the deck. Sure, it will have a target on its back as soon as it enters but its ability to double +1/+1 counters on each creature I control is pretty sweet albeit expensive.

Bristly Bill, Spine -Sower

Modern Horizons 3 is more generous when it comes to elves than giants. There are five in total, including the new Eladamri, Korvecdal. I want to try to see if the card draw outweighs the disadvantages (like not having any removal protection and being susceptible to so many removal threats). An addition to the deck that could easily become a quick exit.

I’m not much of a Blue player. If anything, it is a colour that I will splash but I do have a Talrand, Sky Summoner deck that I like to pull out every once in a while to try to frustrate the boys. It is not well tuned and has not done well in the past but it has won a few times.

When it comes to Talrand, I wish Christian had told me that he was going to sell his Swan Song as I would have picked it up from him for this deck. With Modern Horizons 3, I may look to add Strix Serenade as a variant of that card (or maybe I pick up both). While the swan counters Enchantments, Instants, and Sorceries, Strix Serenade instead counters Artifacts, Creatures, and Planeswalkers. A 2/2 bird can be a more-than-fair tradeoff depending on what is getting countered.

The other card I would like to get for Talrand is Harbinger of the Seas. The thinking here is simply to slow my opponents down by messing with their mana base.

I will need to dust off a few other decks to see how they could benefit from new Modern Horizons 3 cards (or price drops due to reprints). For now, I will update my deck lists and post them on the site when I get all these new cards. Some of these are not cheap so it may be a while yet.


Goodbye stickers and Attractions from Unfinity!

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It’s not often that entire mechanics get banned but that’s exactly what happened with the latest banned and restricted announcement. Before revealing which mechanics, yes, not one but two, will no longer be able to grace your pauper, legacy and vintage decks, let me just say that I am not sorry to see them go. So, without further ado and assuming that you came here to get your banned and restricted announcement rather than from more official channels, gone are Attractions and stickers, both from the Unfinity set that came out in October 2022.

If there ever was a time that Maro was right when he said that “This product is not for you,” this was it. Insert whatever product you want in that sentence and there will always be some things that are not for you. The Magic ‘un’ sets are such a product for me. And the latest one, Unfinity, was even less of one than previous ones. I simply did not like the mechanics and concepts it introduced.

Forcing unsets into legal formats with the retirement of silver borders was a poor decision in my mind. Right out of the gate, it introduced unnecessary complexity with the new acorn and non-acorn cards. Acorn cards were not legal in Constructed formats unless specifically allowed (so, no easily discernible border and a bunch of exceptions on top of that). Magic is already a complicated game; there is no need to introduce more especially when it is so haphazard.

And even more of a head-scratcher were stickers. We (okay, I) spend all this time making sure our (my) cards remain in pristine order and now Magic wanted to stick things on them. Say what? Hard pass, even in the name of silly fun (call me a humbug, my kids already do!). Stick them on the sleeves instead, you say. Yeah, that could work but still annoying. Your cards end up looking garish! And if there is one thing I don’t like, it’s garishness (is that even a word?).

Unfinity also came with Attractions. These were a new type of card that did not go into your main deck but into a different one called the Attraction deck. They did not even have normal Magic backs. They were artifacts but without a mana cost. And no, you did not cast them but relied instead on other cards to bring them into play. They also had lights numbered 1 through 6 in the lower right corner used to decide if an action triggered based on die roll. Just writing all this made my head hurt!

I had no interest in such mechanics. The boys were equally unimpressed and we simply skipped the set. As Maro had said, this was not a product for us. But with the new rules that some of these cards could make it into “traditional” formats, there was the chance that you could run into some of these cards in a regular game. Kind of like now when you run into a Dr. Who or Warhammer 40K card in a Commander game (Still feels odd to me but that’s a topic for another day).

The set also came with other mechanics. If you want to read more about them, check out the original article outlining all the Unfinity mechanics.

It all felt very forced and the acorn cards felt like an attempt to extend the life of the set by jamming some of the cards into other formats. So, this family let our wallets speak and skipped the set. And frankly never looked back on it until this ban announcement.

WOTC acknowledged that its experiment with unset cards went too far. It also confirmed that we will not see something similar again in the future:

When we released Unfinity, we knew that its partial legality in Magic‘s broader formats was an experiment with risks. The concept of widening a set’s appeal to more players is at its core a good one. Moving forward, we won’t be revisiting this kind of experiment any time soon.

Not all mechanics are great. For every one that enriches the game, there are some that instead take away from the game. It’s good to see that WOTC has finally recognized that Unfinity had no business being legal in regular formats and being anything more than an unset.

All right, enough old man ranting for one day!

Easy come, easy go for the monkeys!

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It was Outlaws of Thunder Junction pre-release time yesterday. As per tradition, we headed off to play at Face to Face (no more pre-releases in the North now that North of Exile has permanently closed). Christian went 2-1 with a bye while Noah and I went 1-2 but we did have fun as usual. Maybe a story for another time but Noah was somewhat annoyed when one of the players he faced did not want to split the two packs as most people do (especially as he lost).

Christian also took the opportunity to sell a few cards as he is building a new Commander deck who will be fronted by Rakdos, the Muscle. Definitely a Commander suited for the type of games that he likes with his ability to sacrifice another creature to go exile cards equal to its mana value from the top of target player’s library so that you can play them until your next end step.

Unfortunately for him, he did not pull Rakdos, the Muscle at the pre-release or from the box that we always crack open. But it so happens that Noah did, even pulling the Showcase version. I expect that there will be some intense negotiations in the next few days.

Rakdos, the Muscle

To build up his deck, Christian sold some cards while at F2F. Among them were two monkey pirates that caused some grief about a year ago. Yes, Christian sold his two Ragavan, Nimble Pilferers! He got a price that he was satisfied with as well. And with the way WOTC seems to be reprinting most good cards with wild abandon, I expect that the price may continue to drop as it reappears in some future sets (perhaps in Modern Horizons 3 later this summer?).

I’ve always told the boys that these are their cards and that they can do what they want with them. This is even more relevant now that one of them is an adult. But I wish he had said he would sell them and given Noah a chance to get his hands on one after last year’s drama.

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

Noah now has a part-time job and could easily have either traded some other cards for one or bought it off his brother. Fortunately, time has rubbed some of the sting out and Noah did not look too upset to hear that the monkeys had left the building.

Especially after the Curse of the Box Opening turned to Christian this time around. While Noah pulled seven Mythics and I another five, Christian only pulled two. I pulled what is at the moment the most valuable, a Terror the Peaks (my second as I also have the one from Core Set 2021. Almost enough to take the sting out of the fact that there are no Clerics in this set.

Anyways, all this to basically say that the monkeys came, they spent a bit of time with us and have now left for some new adventures. They leave behind a very angry-looking Demon Mercenary that I do not look forward to facing in one of our future Commander games.

Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal in Outlaws of Thunder Junction

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This will be a very short installment in our Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal adventure. While with a new set comes the promise of new cards and hopefully a strong deck, this latest set fails to deliver. Why? you ask. Well, simply put, there are no Clerics in Thunder Junction. Nary a one! Not even one! But it still finds room for squirrels? Don’t believe me? Have a look at Scryfall and see for yourself.

I’ll take a look at other cards that could slot into the deck to work alongside the clerics. Maybe I should look at the new Saddle mechanic. Can you imagine the fear when a Cleric mounted on a Bounding Felidar, a Bridled Bighorn or a Caustic Bronco comes riding at their opponent?

More seriously, I think I may look at the new Commit a Crime mechanic and see what options there might be.

For now, here is my unchanged Orzhov Cleric Typal deck:

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 2 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Sanguine Savior (MKM) 230
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20
  • 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

North of Exile: When a good LGS closes

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One of my favourite family traditions is the one where we rent a cottage every summer. The family, either just the four of us or with friends or extended family, enjoy some quality time together normally in Ontario but sometimes as far out as New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. It is always a great time.

Back in 2017, we rented a cottage on Georgian Bay. We’ve done so a number of times as we love the area and the awesome beaches (despite it not being seashore – inside joke with my wife). Much as we had done before, have done since and will likely do again, we were in the area that summer for a bit of R&R with toes in the sand and sun on our faces.

On one of our small day trips, we drove by a place called North of Exile on Main Street in Penetanguishene. Bright green sign that could not be missed. Lo and behold, a game store! The boys and I immediately knew that we would be checking it out. And when we did the next day, we found out that they had been open for all of three days (if I recall correctly – certainly less than a week).

As we checked things out, I got talking with Jason, one of the two owners of this new store. Just a general conversation but a pleasant one. We bought a few things, including Magic cards of course, and returned to our vacation. Jason invited us to come back. And did we ever – This was but the first visit in what became an annual stop.

From that point on, every summer, we either stopped in if we were renting in the neighborhood or we planned a trip up at some point to take part in a pre-release or some other event. The highlight was probably our ‘Boys trip’ in 2019 when the boys and I went up for a couple of days, including two nights playing Magic at North of Exile. The boys still talk about that trip! Ask them if they would prefer to stay at the local Super 8 or a fancier hotel elsewhere and the answer might surprise you!

Things began to change after that. First there was COVID. Then, North of Exile moved from Penetanguishene to Midland and a bit later, they got out of running Magic events and selling Magic cards, focusing instead on Genesis and Pokemon. On this side, the boys grew up and there was less time for family Magic (I may need to rename the site). But we still managed at least one trip up every year. We do like our traditions in this family!

When COVID hit, Jason launched a weekly Twitch stream and ran online Magic events through Arena. It was not the same as a visit to the store but gave me a chance to get to know Jason a bit better and continue to play the game I love so much through some challenging times. It gave me a sense of what might have been if North of Exile was not so far away.

Unfortunately, there won’t be a trip North this year (well, not to go play Magic at least); Jason and Janis announced the closure of the store earlier this month:

Every time I visited North of Exile, I told Jason I wished it did not take 2 hours to get there. It was the kind of LGS where I would have spent far more time had I had the chance. I suspect the boys would have also – Maybe one of them would have worked there! It was not too small, not too big and the community they built was a special one. Friendly and supportive. And welcoming of the strangers dropping in once or twice a year.

As much as I love our LGS here in Toronto, it is bigger and feels like less of a community. Maybe I need to spend more time there but North of Exile felt like a place where I belonged from our first visit. It just felt easier to get to know people there (maybe a reflection on Toronto itself?). I think Jason and Janis’ vision fostered that in their community. Being in a small town probably helped but I would like to think it was how they approached what an LGS should be that really enabled this.

Things change; that’s a given. The closure of North of Exile is a marker in time. The boys and I will continue to play Magic, maybe not as much and maybe I will be going to my local LGS alone a bit more, maybe we will pick up other games. One thing is certain: We will always have our memories of our trips to North of Exile.

I hope that there will be chances to reconnect with Jason in the future! And there may even be a day when we will have a chance to resume our trips to North of Exile (when Jason strikes the motherload and decides that running a game store is the best way to enjoy his success)!

In the meantime, I wish Jason and Janis the very best with their future endeavours. I suspect one of those will be Genesis: Battle of Champions. I’ll be rooting for them!

Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal in Murders at Karlov Manor

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Welcome to the latest installment in our Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal adventure. A new set means the potential for new Cleric cards for my deck and changes to our deck. Or not. The new set is not as generous with Clerics as Lost Caverns of Ixalan was. No luck finding 10 new clerics; there are only five clerics to be found in Murders at Karlov Manor. Two of them are reprints: Twilight Prophet and Vizier of Many Faces.

Without further ado, here are the Clerics of Murder at Karlov Manor:

Taking a closer look at which might be a good fit for our Orzhov deck, we can immediately eliminate Vizier of Many Faces, a Blue Cleric.

Agency Coroner is an expensive card more suited for Sacrifice decks than ours. A 3/6 with no other upside is not worth it. Pass.

Sanguine Savior, a Common that costs Black pip has more potential. Disguise gives us a bit of flexibility with what is essentially a simple 2/1 with flying and lifelink. If the game gives us a bit of time, we can have it enter as a Mysterious Creature and reveal it later, potentially giving us another lifelinker for a turn. It is susceptible to removal unfortunately. It’s still worth giving it a try.

Twilight Prophet is a card that first appeared in Rivals of Ixalan. With the city’s blessing, it fits nicely into our lifelink engine and can also ping our opponent. All before it swoops in for hopefully a bit more damage. Unfortunately, it is also very susceptible to removal.

Unyielding Gatekeeper is another Cleric capable of Disguise. Revealing its true identity allows you to exile a creature. If it’s one of yours, you get to blink it. Otherwise, your opponent gets a 2/2 white and blue Detective creature token in exchange for their exiled card. This might be worth trying if we take out a removal spell but the slower speed suggests it would not be a good move.

For now, I’m going to slot in a couple of Sanguine Saviors, replacing two Liliana of the Veil. Here is the updated deck.

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 2 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Sanguine Savior (MKM) 230
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20
  • 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97