Licia, Sanguine Tribune

Legendary Creature — Vampire Soldier

Licia, Sanguine Tribute costs 1 less to cast for each life you gained this turn.

First Strike, Lifelink

Pay 5 life: Put 3 +1/+1 counters on Licia. Activate this ability only during your turn, and only once each turn.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (50)

legendofa on BBEG Deck Ideas

6 months ago

For my breakdown here, I'm focusing on characters who are villains in their story arc and characters who don't have much specific backstory. Pretty much any legendary creature can be flavored as a villain in front of the right deck. I'm also not focusing on the Forgotten Realms sets, I'm broadening the net.

What's available:

{C}: Eldrazi or artifacts. Most of the artifacts are either hero-aligned or not an independent threat, like Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut. If you want a challenge, Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate, but I wouldn't, just for lack of depth.

{W}: Villains are oddly centered on Old Kamigawa. Konda, Lord of Eiganjo is a near-immortal emperor and master duelist. Hokori, Dust Drinker is destroying resources and the land. And, of course, there's the apocalyptic, unrelenting evil that is Hazduhr the Abbot.

{U}: Heidar, Rimewind Master is an elementalist fanatic. The manipulations of Orvar, the All-Form or Kami of the Crescent Moon could cause problems, as could a big sea creature like Tromokratis or Charix, the Raging Isle.

{B}: Pretty much everyone. It's easier to count the people who aren't outright villains.

{R}: Relatively few actual villains, but a bunch of manipulators, dragons, and angry people that could fill the role.

{G}: A bunch of wild animals and nature types. No scheming villains, but a good selection of rampaging monsters. Meng Huo, Barbarian King would be a unique choice (if you're willing to.proxy or drop $150+).

{G}{W}: Polukranos Reborn  ^Flip is the most (only?) villainous character in these colors.

{U}{B}: Lots of options, from the behind-the-scenes manipulation of Lazav, Dimir Mastermind to the illithid Captain N'ghathrod, Gisa and Geralf's necromancer army, whatever Umbris, Fear Manifest is, and a lot more.

{G}{U}: A few options, but lots of depth in them. Insane biologist Momir Vig, Simic Visionary and his magnum opus Experiment Kraj, nature's avenger Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, or maybe Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait is flooding the area.

{B}{R}: A very deep and wide pool for villains. Vampires, demons, dragons, demon dragons, warlords, torturers...

{B}{G}: Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager joins the ranks of the big scary monsters. A more calculating BBEG would probably be one of the death lords like Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. Vhati il-Dal or Old Rutstein or probably more storyline villains than BBEG material.

{G}{W}{U}: A very shallow pool. Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl, Rubinia Soulsinger, and maybe Falco Spara, Pactweaver or Katilda and Lier (mostly because of Lier) are the best options for an Archenemy villain. I'd throw Kros, Defense Contractor in, but goading is kind of limited when you're the Archenemy.

{W}{U}{B}: This color set will probably be either a cold, distant, merciless villain or a manipulative puppet master. Raffine, Scheming Seer and Oloro, Ageless Ascetic fall into the first category, and Sen Triplets and The Ever-Changing 'Dane in the second. Varina, Lich Queen is another option for a zombie army.

{B}{R}{G}: Big, angry, and violent, with some good dragons. Xira, the Golden Sting and Vazi, Keen Negotiator break out of this mold, but they strike me as more lieutenant-types, not arc villains by themselves.

{R}{G}{W}: Not much; these tend to be either heroic or big smashy monsters. Uril, the Miststalker could work.

{R}{W}{B}: Queen Marchesa is a classic, as you mentioned, and Edgar Markov is right there, too. Actually, this color set has some good depth and variety for an Archenemy. Some are more overtly villainous, and some are just very martial. My top picks would be Edgar, Licia, Sanguine Tribune, or Tariel, Reckoner of Souls.

{G}{U}{R}: Mostly either weird esotericism or "nature's avenger" types. I don't think any of these are outright villainous in-story, but most of them have loose or vague stories. With the right deck, this could be a unique and interesting villain. Riku of Two Reflections is my top pick.

Four-color sets in general: Any of them would work, except for a couple of the {R}{G}{W}{U}.

{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}: Use this color set if you want a truly apocalyptic feel. saluma mentioned Tiamat, which is a very good choice, and finding a way to get through Progenitus or O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami is a story of epic scale.

NV_1980 on Cause Dihada Bad Day

1 year ago

SacredAtsira There might be ways to increase the speed of your deck a bit. Right now, 58% of your spells are CMC4 or more. The deck also has relatively few options to gain card-advantage. You have some tutors in here, but hardly any options for direct-draw. So my advice would be to get rid of expensive stuff that's not adding all that much (cards like Piru, the Volatile, Licia, Sanguine Tribune come to mind) and replacing these with some cheaper-to-cast stuff; preferably something that generates card draw.

Archegos on Tempus Necandi - Saskia EDH (Lingua Latina)

1 year ago

@IncendoRuina Lepidum nōmen! I like the Sigarda's Vanguard recommendation. It's a lot easier to cast (and at only 5 mana) and doesn't get telegraphed the same way. I'll pick her up and try her out. I'll think about a creature tutor package like the one you suggest. I happen to have a Survival of the Fittest that I can run if I decide to double down on utility over aggression.

@legendofa Gratias pro tua annotatione! Translatio de Google multo melior facta est! I definitely recommend learning Latin. Gaudium est, et mihi perplacet. I'll have to think of good ideas for another Latin commander - Licia, Sanguine Tribune comes to mind. Any others?

@CommanderNeyo Thank you! I just added Adeline, Resplendent Cathar myself, and I'm very happy with her. Fiery Emancipation is a fun idea. A six mana non-creature with 3 red pips has me wary, but it's true that the card is absolutely busted by itself and broken in half with Saskia in play. Reading these comments, I think I will definitely add more creature tutors, and I totally agree about Pathbreaker Ibex. Ibex is already Ibex in Latin!

Phoenometroid on Licia, First Sword of the Mardu {Primer}

2 years ago

I've been working to push Licia, Sanguine Tribune for quite a while, especially more into that Mardu Philosophy I came to love. I found out VERY quickly I get a mass amount of hate from my Edgar Markov with my playgroup for how aggressive he is for sure. I do very much love playing themed or tribal based decks. I discovered that I play too many Mardu decks which thins out my card availability for keeping all the decks solid until I amass extra copies of stables. Seeing this framework and the stratagems you provide for Licia is just WOW!

Sadly I don't have many of those expensive cards to piece in now, Wheel of Fortune, Necropotence, Scrubland, Dark Confidant, Enlightened Tutor, Sensei's Divining Top or Tithe but I'm sure I can found some counterparts to use instead.

What do you think of replacing Glory-Bound Initiate with Lone Rider  ^Flip? Also if you have any deck builds or ideas for Kelsien, the Plague I'd love to know your feedback on that, he's another Mardu favorite of mine.

TreezNutz on Big S U C C

2 years ago

Thank you, Vessiliana! For your second comment, I hadn't seen Malakir Bloodwitch, but it seems like a great inclusion! As far as Licia, Sanguine Tribune goes, I've found her to be a very good commander. Using cards like Chaplain's Blessing allows you to get her out as early as turn three, as you reduce her cost to just . In addition, some of the red cards are very fun to use, with cards like Stromkirk Captain, Rakish Heir, and Stensia Masquerade boosting all your other vamps.

Vessiliana on Big S U C C

2 years ago

I've not often seen anyone take on Licia, Sanguine Tribune. Do you find she works well enough to justify the inclusion of red rather than going with the more straightforward bleeding of something like Elenda, the Dusk Rose?

MULRAH on Angels & Demons

2 years ago

I did a little playtesting with Kaalia, Zenith Seeker at the helm. In the first game, I started with Kaalia of the Vast in my hand and was able to win with the Worldgorger Dragon combo on turn 7, which is pretty good for our casual setting. Even without the combo, I'd already done enough damage by this time to take out one opponent. In the second test, I tried to use Doom Whisperer to dig for this combo on turn five, but it did not work out. By turn seven, I was back up to 33 life, and this time digging was successful but unnecessary since I could win with combat damage on the next turn. My third and final test was a mix of the first two, just a little slower. I got some insane lifegain going and was able to use Peer into the Abyss to draw into the Worldgorger Dragon combo on turn eight, enabling a win on turn nine. A win with combat damage would have been possible a turn later. All in all, it's nice to see these combos working, albeit at a slower pace than they would in a competitive deck. I also like havng the lifegain/angels theme, as I can lean on that instead if opponents are getting sick of the combos.

I then tested the deck with Licia, Sanguine Tribune as the commander. This round got off to a rocky start, as I did not see any black mana till several turns in and had a hand full of expensive cards with no way to get them into play. I was eventually able to goldfish a win on turn ten via combat damage to one player and commander damage to the other. The second game was also pretty slow, as I drew removal and utility spells that are less useful when goldfishing. I eventually got Licia onto the board, which led to a swift win off commander damage to one player on turn eight and then having 40+ life and Felidar Sovereign in play on turn nine. The third playtest at last hit Kaalia's pace, getting the Worldgorger Dragon combo into play on turn seven, producing infinite mana, with which I cast Words of Worship and Well of Lost Dreams. Then I cast Stinging Study, using it to gain 40 life (via Words of Worship) instead of drawing eight cards, but then I could just draw 40 cards with Well of Lost Dreams. Among the many creatures I could put onto the battlefield was Felidar Sovereign, so I presumably could win with it on my next turn. Demanding Dragon was also among the 40 cards drawn, so I guess if I was able to do all of this while Worldgorger Dragon was going off, then I could have cast that immediately for a win on the current turn.

I wrapped things up with a round of playtests using Tariel, Reckoner of Souls . This commander felt kind of useless in the first game, getting cast for +7 life off Angelic Chorus and that's about it. I goldfished with combat damage on turn nine. The second game went more smoothly, but Tariel was still useless; I won without her via combat damage on turn eight and could have won with Felidar Sovereign on turn nine. The final game started with a double mulligan, so I figured I was in for a long game. However, much to my surprise, I drew Dance of the Dead and was able to grab Buried Alive with Varragoth, enabling me to go off with Worldgorger Dragon on turn five. I was able to draw "only" 38 cards, of which Peer into the Abyss was one, leading to a draw of 24 more. With Angelic Chorus, I was able to gain tons of life by emptying my hand and winning with Felidar Sovereign on my next turn. Despite Tariel doing absolutely nothing again, this was the quickest win of all the playtests!

As a result of these tests, I'm realizing I want more targets for Buried Alive, ones that are useful on the other end of a Worldgorger Dragon loop.

JustcallmeSoul on Licia, the Sanguine Storm

2 years ago

So, I know this deck hasn't seen a ton of attention as of late, but I see that you're still updating it which is awesome! Have you looked at any of the new Strixhaven cards? some of them are insane, and most notably: Professor Onyx . Liliana of the Yale is an absolute BOMB in this deck. She does 2 damage any time you cast or copy and instant or sorcery to EVERYONE at the table, as well as gaining you two life. She makes Licia, Sanguine Tribune easier to cast, she dodges most of our board wipes, she protects herself with her -3 forcing opponents to sac their strongest creature, and her ultimate is at worst 3 damage and opponents empty handed, and at best 21 damage. And as an added bonus, she's also part of a 2 card infinite combo with a card we could easily be playing, Chain of Smog . Target ourselves with chain of smog and just keep copying the spell infinitely before letting it resolve.