Ghost Council vs Blood Baron?
Modern forum
Posted on Nov. 16, 2015, 6:20 p.m. by Zicca21
Without any sort of context as to the decktype, would Obzedat, Ghost Council or Blood Baron of Vizkopa be a better 5 drop in the modern format? They're both obviously B/W and can gain life but which is a more significant drop and why?
GlistenerAgent says... #3
I prefer Blood Baron. He has relevant protection, and is less taxing on your mana. Obzedat is generally better against blue decks, however.
November 16, 2015 6:29 p.m.
I've seen the Ghost Council show up in a few decks and I'm honestly surprised the Blood Baron hasn't seen much modern play. He costs 5 but is very resilient to most removal, but he won't dodge sorcery speed board wipes like Obzedat can.
November 16, 2015 6:36 p.m.
its really a meta call, if there are more control decks then run baron, if there are mid range decks with 4/5s like tasigur, tarmogoyf and rhino then run ghost council.
November 16, 2015 6:52 p.m.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa gets my vote. Having protection from B/W is incredibly relevant in the format and a 4/4 body means he also dodges bolt.
November 16, 2015 6:59 p.m.
Obzedat is pretty damn good. Against decks with less removal, I'd take Obzedat, but against a control or midrange type list, Baron dodges a lot of removal and could be a huge problem.
November 16, 2015 7:19 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #9
I like Obzedat, Ghost Council because it immediately impacts the board. It does a good Siege Rhino impression, but the fact that it repeats itself over and over is great. Plus that fifth point of power can be very relevant.
November 16, 2015 7:30 p.m.
SoggyGecko says... #10
I would say Obzedat, Ghost Council is better as a card(also one of my favorite cards of all time), but Blood Baron of Vizkopa is pretty good when it lands. Both are kinda of hard to get rid of considering what the usual removal is. Also a meta call, and your mana base also would make a difference.
November 16, 2015 7:39 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #11
I feel like the Baron is stronger because he's potentially less painful to cast, dodges quite a lot of removal spells, blocks very well, and can help race against aggressive midrange decks with his life gain.
Obzedat has his role, too, but I think he's less useful in general.
November 16, 2015 8:25 p.m.
I personally like Blood Baron more, but Obzedat is just as good. Here is my Esper list I'm testing right now. Dark Baron: Esper's Ghost
November 16, 2015 8:49 p.m.
Well you guys didn't give me an easy, unanimous answer... but thanks for the input! The deck I have been working on is Abzan with Lifegain and some flicker with Restoration Angel so the ghost council may be the better plan. Maybe a sideboard Baron for removal heavy games anyways.
November 17, 2015 9:28 a.m.
Nimbleturtle says... #14
In standard, the best players knew obzedat was the more powerful card. With th exception of selesnya aggro and moi black devotion, obzedat was more powerful in every other match-up.
They are both perhaps a bit slow for modern but with the right builds, obzedat shines. It makes an inmediate impact onboard and outraces thundermaw hellkite in terms of overall life pt difference. The key is you need to put him in a control shell or a midrange build that can provide blockers while you sap away. Baron is better as a stall card otherwise.
bigguy99 says... #2
Probably Baron. Dodges a loooooot of removal, but Obzedat does run over a lot of 4/5's (not that Blood Baron would die to them save Goyf because of protection, but still).
November 16, 2015 6:26 p.m.