Lore:
Planeswalkers Notes: Ixalan
A plane covered in uncharted jungles, dangerous dinosaurs, magnifcent ruins, and lost treasures waiting to be discovered, Ixalan is a very classic styled plane. Upon this plane of existence, there was one major artifact of note, the Immortal Sun, which allowed planewalkers to enter Ixalan... but they could not leave once there. Was being the operative word - the Immortal Sun was recently stolen and removed by an agent of Nicol Bolas, a godlike dragonoid Planeswalker from the times of old. What exactly he wants with this artifact can not be obtained at this present time of writing, but no matter what Bolas plans to do with the artifact, one thing is for sure: the multiverse is not safe.
Planeswalker's Notes: Vona of Iedo
Vona, also known as the Butcher of Magan, is an infamous vampire from the plane of Ixalan. By herself, she breached and slaughtered an entire village and killing dozens of enemy officers without breaking a sweat. She was one of the vampires searching for the Immortal Sun until it was revealed Tezzeret stole the Sun offplane without anyone being the wiser. Rumours of her demise have been circling around her, as she never returned to Torrezon but tried to claim Orazca for her own. While some say she died in the death of a dinosaur, it seems to this researcher that her demise may have been a ruse to go into hiding for reasons unknown...
Why play Vona?:
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Because you enjoy watching people squirm and suffer as they try to kill you... but only help your plans
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Because the idea of immortality is the most interesting to you.
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Because Orzhov have very few good commanders, and Vona stuck out in your mind for doing things with.
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Because you like having many points where you can win the game.
Our ideal hands:
Ideally, our opening hand is:
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3-4 lands - unlike most decks I run, Lich has a very high top end with not many ways to reduce the amount of mana needing to be spent on these wincons, and you desperately need to get as many lands out as you can. Cards like Land Tax, Boreas Charger, and the like are instantly helpful and should never be mulled away.
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Both colours ASAP. I'm not kidding. We need access to White and Black as early as humanly possible. It's not above you to burn a tutor to get a land drop. Trust me on this fact. I have lost games because I had no White mana to bluff a timely Angel's Grace or Teferi's Protection and won games where I had neither because I showed them theoretical plans I could pull.
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Removal - Despite the deck running over 30 pieces of removal, you need to keep the board as clean as you can from trying to kill you. There are times you'll reconsider, but keep in mind - you are super light on creatures as it is, and you desperately need to keep alive. Do not be afraid to make friends or temporary truces. You'll be glad you did.
Ideal match ups and how to play:
Vona in this style is honestly, a very interesting idea. Your main win conditions are Felidar Sovereign, (with all your lifelink and life gain), Triskaidekaphobia (by changing life totals on upkeeps when you're at 13!) or winning at less than 0 life by exchanging your less-than-0 life total for a very positive number.
Other things to note - most times, you are going to be appearing as if you're doing nothing. This is what's known as the "Grand Deception" this deck puts on. It's a very offputting way to pilot a deck but unless you're threatened in some way, you try to keep all your removal for dealing with whoever is the king of the castle at the time. If it happens to be you somehow, don't fret... that's not normal and your opponents will bounce back faster. This is why we have the tokens - so we can chump block, and specifically Soldier tokens to use with Knight-Captain of Eos. Expect to win games out of nowhere, and always, always keep your rituals. They will make the difference between a game win and loss in a heartbeat.
