Orzhov midrange with a lifegain sub-theme. Laugh in the face of your enemy as you drop huge threats each turn while gaining gobs of life back.
The Curve
While light in the way of 1-drops, Bloodsoaked Champion is a great opener who just keeps coming back for more. Putting pressure on your opponents early can gives us the time we need to build our resources without simply dropping lands.
While the Champ swings in on turn two, we can put up the mother of all walls in standard- Nyx-Fleece Ram. Know what this bundle of fluff stops? Siege Rhino. Fleecemane Lion. T3/T4 Savage Knuckleblade. Oh, and you gain life back every turn he's out (sorry I'm not sorry burn decks). This consistent lifegain also synergizes well with our other 2-Drop, Ajani's Pridemate. With the amount of additional lifegain in this deck, an early Pridemate only gets more deadly the longer he sticks around.
This is where the deck really starts to kick off. We have a number of options at this point depending on the board-state and your hand. Usually Brimaz, King of Oreskos is hitting the table, but
Herald of Torment
is also respectable. By Turn 4 we can start dropping our planeswalkers, Ajani Steadfast and Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Both their +1s give lifelink, potentially pumping Pridemate further, and Ajani's second ability lets you permanently pump your team while giving Sorin the opportunity to Ultimate the second turn he's in play.
Lastly, we can't forget our divine ferryman, Athreos, God of Passage. While only a 2-of in the deck, once out he can guide our dearly departed back to our hand or Lightning Bolt our opponents face. Turning him on is not very difficult either, with no lack of 2 devotion permanents.
By now our boardstate should be poised to finish the game on its own, but why stop there? Whether you need that extra something to force through damage or you're just a sadist you finds nourishment in the tears of your enemy, Wingmate Roc and Elspeth, Sun's Champion will give you the edge needed to close the game. Both incredible threats in their own right, paired with the rest of our creature-base they become a nightmare to deal with.
Remaining Spellbase
You'll find the standard compliment of removal here: Hero's Downfall and Utter End deal with almost any threat you'll come across while Read the Bones lets us refill our hand in a tight spot.
~Sideboard~
Agent of Erebos: Comes in against delve and whip decks who like to interact with their graveyards.
Bile Blight
+
End Hostilities
: Package deal for token and aggro decks.
Erase: Supplements utter end in dealing with Ascendancy and useful against Whip/Constellation as well.
Erebos, God of the Dead
: For any decks that rely on lifegain too much. Also a useful companion with read the bones in control matchups so we can reload our hand.
Soldier of the Pantheon: Replaces two Champs for multi-color heavy decks.
Soul of Innistrad
: Good for hate and control decks to give us a way to get back creatures in our yard.
Thoughtseize: We're running black, of course thoughtseize is here.
Thank you for the look, +1s, and comments. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
