What is Dead May Never Die

Commander / EDH Afterlife Aristocrats Sacrifice Tokens WB (Orzhov)

aekrusty

Creature (30)

• 1x Archon of Justice
• 1x Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Cruel Celebrant
• 1x Doomed Dissenter
• 1x Doomed Traveler
• 1x Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x God-Eternal Oketra
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Hallowed Spiritkeeper
• 1x Hunted Witness
• 1x Imperious Oligarch
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Ministrant of Obligation
• 1x Orzhov Enforcer
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Requiem Angel
• 1x Seraph of the Scales
• 1x Sifter of Skulls
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Syr Konrad, the Grim
• 1x Tithe Taker
• 1x Vindictive Vampire
• 1x Woe Strider
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Fumigate
• 1x Kaya's Wrath
• 1x Revival / Revenge
• 1x Shatter the Sky
• 1x Victimize

Land (36)

• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Forsaken Sanctuary
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1x High Market
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 8x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 1x Shineshadow Snarl
• 1x Sunlit Marsh
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Vault of Champions

Instant (7)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Despark
• 1x Faith's Reward
• 1x Fracture
• 1x Kaya's Guile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Village Rites

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1x Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath

Commander (1)

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Angelic Renewal
• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Bastion of Remembrance
• 1x Debtors' Knell
• 1x Divine Visitation
• 1x Dreadhorde Invasion
• 1x Hidden Stockpile
• 1x Martyr's Bond
• 1x Open the Graves
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Smothering Tithe

Artifact (6)

• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy

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Teysa Karlov

Main theme: Aristocrats

Sub theme: Lifegain

Playing cards with death triggers aren't going to do us much good if creatures aren't dying. Creatures are going to die naturally over the course of any game, but in a aristocrat deck like this, we're going to need ways to kill our own creatures on demand when we need to.

The best sac outlets are always going to be ones that don't cost mana, are repeatable, can be used at instant speed, and have some worthwhile payoff. That's why most Sacrifice decks end up running sac outlets like Phyrexian Altar.

Since we are in Orzhov we are running the best MTG removals and a Lifegain subtheme.

Tokens

Teysa Karlov gives all our tokens lifelink and vigilance. The best token generators are going to fit one or more of the following criteria:

1. good, mana-efficient cards even without Teysa Karlov on the battlefield;

2. the token generation happens due to a death trigger so Teysa can double it;

3. the card itself has the Creature type, since Orzhov has so much Creature recursion;

4. if the tokens are small (1/1, 2/2) then they should have evasion so we can still attack with them.

Notable Sinergies

Smothering Tithe + Revel in Riches or Pitiless Plunderer + Teysa Karlov: Revel in Riches will create 2 treasure tokens per death, while Smothering Tihthe will either slow your opponents or accelerate you. If not responded, you win.

Zulaport Cutthroat + Sac Outlet + Teysa Karlov: Our main wincon. Zulaport Cutthroat and friends can deal tons of damage over the course of a game while we just play our deck normally.

Infinite Combos

These combos sacrifice a creature an infinite number of times, so we get infinite ETB and death triggers. Then you need to combine the triggers to a card that turns it into a win, like Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant, Falkenrath Noble, Syr Konrad, the Grim, or Bastion of Remembrance.

Combos centered in Phyrexian Altar

If you have Teysa Karlov on the battlefield, all these combos will also generate infinite mana.

Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog or Pitiless Plunderer + Reassembling Skeleton + Phyrexian Altar: Sacrifice Reassembling Skeleton to Phyrexian Altar, generate one Eldrazi / Treasure token and one black mana. Sacrifice the Eldrazi / Treasure token for one mana, and then spend the two mana to return Reassembling Skeleton from your graveyard to play. Repeat.

Requiem Angel + Reassembling Skeleton + Phyrexian Altar: Sacrifice Reassembling Skeleton to Phyrexian Altar to generate one black mana. As it dies Requiem Angel will trigger and get you a spirit token. Sacrifice it to Phyrexian Altar to get another black mana, and then spend the two black mana to return Reassembling Skeleton from your graveyard to play. Repeat.

Combos centered in Requiem Angel

They work with any free sac outlet. If the free Sac Outlet is Phyrexian Altar you also get infinite mana.

Divine Visitation + Requiem Angel + Phyrexian Altar or Viscera Seer or Woe Strider: Sacrifice any creature and Requiem Angel will create a spirit that will become an angel with Divine Visitation. Sacrifice the angel token and Requiem Angel will create a spirit that will become an angel with Divine Visitation. Repeat.

Other combos

Angelic Renewal + Sun Titan + Sac outlet: Sacrifice Sun Titan. Sacrifice Angelic Renewal to revive Sun Titan. When Sun Titan ETB target Angelic Renewal. Repeat.

Animate Dead + Leonin Relic-Warder: Reanimate the leonin and target the aura when he ETB, causing him to die again. Repeat.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	6 hours
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 28 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.45
Jetons	Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Demon 5/5 B, Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath, Goat 0/1 W, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Morph 2/2 C, Servo 1/1 C, Soldier 1/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Spirit 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 WB, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Army 0/0 B, Zombie Warrior 4/4 B
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