Daxos is not the primary game plan but I think he works best. I feel that Daxos has an easier time producing tokens for Razaketh, and he had synergy with the Win Cons. Bomberman Combo creates infinite mana, Daxos allows us to turn that mana into a win. I don't think a mana sink in the Command Zone should be underestimated. I really believe that for this deck, Daxos is best, but Teysa can lead different decks much better.
Tymna the Weaver is also an option, and she sometimes features in the 99, but if I wanted to build Tymna I would probably combo her with Thrasios, Triton Hero because that deck plays out similar to this one, just with more colors.
Alms Collector is an option and fits with the theme really well. If you can find a spot, put it in for sure. I haven't done any of the necessary testing but I can definitely try if you think I should. There are a few flex spots in the deck that I'm constantly swapping cards in and out of.
April 11, 2019 7:43 p.m.
CyborgAeon says... #3
I appreciate that he's a reasonable mana sink; but one has to resolve bomberman, wait for an entire turn pass, then it can win. For this reason I believe that he's ineffective.
Whereas Teysa, Orzhov Scion features an interaction package, replaces herself, and feeds razaketh like a proper champ, turning most bodies into 2 bodies. You can even just tutor for Darkest Hour off of the first raza' activation and then you have unbounded raza' fodder.
Personally (though it only sees fringe-play) I like Sanctum Prelate as a hatebear. If you know a card that is likely to stop you from winning, it's very easy to name it's mana cost and have it remain as a continuous hatebear.
Your lands could use some work too; cutting Vault of the Archangel (if you have 5 mana to spare then I feel like something's going wrong) for a card like Lake of the Dead , Strip Mine , Wasteland . Depending on how low your hand gets, some lands which draw are viable too like Sea Gate Wreckage .
Given that you're likely to find all the lands you need thanks to cards like Land Tax , I'd consider running Winter Orb , especially if you can tutor for Serra's Sanctum as it puts you miles ahead.
You currently have 7 cards that win from LRW (not including coinsmith). That seems like a lot for a deck with access to the best tutors; I'd recommend stripping some of the worse ones down like Altar of the Brood and Altar of Dementia and replacing them with more hate. I'd recommend Bitter Ordeal as an alternate win condition, because it's not shut out by null rod, or any single counterspell (except flusterstorm, but screw that card).
Authority of the Consuls is neat, depending on your meta. It stops godo and some other decks, but I'd be hesitant to run it alongside Blind Obedience . Is there a particular reason for this? If it's just a hateful card, I'd recommend trying out Victimize or Reanimate as I'm sure your hateful cards could use another go.
April 12, 2019 5:24 a.m.
Overall, the Commander choice can be swapped to any Legendary. I don't particularly like Teysa, Orzhov Scion as you need Teysa + Razaketh, the Foulblooded + a creature. Teysa's ability doesn't work on herself and Razaketh can't sacrifice himself. Daxos is the same CMC as Teysa, so they work the same, except Daxos is Pay 2 Life: Search your Library for a card and put that card into your hand. Teysa needs another creature on board, and in order to get a second tutor, the creature that dies needs to be . You could run Darkest Hour but you need to ensure it is on board before you sacrifice. If Darkest Hour is your first tutor, the you still have the issue of needing to sacrifice a creature for the Teysa token to enter.
Daxos + Razaketh + = Tutor.
Teysa + Razaketh + Creature = Tutor.
In both scenarios the Commander can be sacrificed for a second Tutor, but Teysa doesn't provide any value being sacrificed. Teysa doesn't see added value if the first creature sacrificed isn't Black, and won't see value over Daxos with the additional tutor line until the third Tutor. If need be, Daxos can be your second sacrifice, but with Teysa you will want to keep her on board to get any value from her.
Sanctum Prelate is an interesting card. My only concern is what number would we call? 2 seems most likely, to stop Counter magic, but that stops us from casting 2/3 of our Reanimate Auras. You could call 1 in order to stop the single mana Counters and then you only stop your own Altar of the Brood .
Vault of the Archangel is there for no good reason. It is perfectly reasonable to remove it. Strip Mine is the most likely replacement.
Winter Orb is a great idea, I will definitely look into adding it with other stuff like Defense Grid . You should not overvalue Serra's Sanctum though. I have it included in the deck because I own it, but it is rarely game breaking. It is a good land, but most games end before it really starts to show value. I find myself tutoring for Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth more often.
There are 8 cards to win from the LRW combo. A few of these pieces can be removed. Altar of the Brood is not one that should be removed though. It provides a win from LRW or the Bomberman combo. Grim Guardian works with both combos, (as long as you're running Daxos as the Commander), and Underworld Coinsmith is primarily for Bomberman. If you're looking to cut one or more of them, Falkenrath Noble is the most expensive to cast. If you want the universal effect then Cruel Celebrant or Zulaport Cutthroat are likely cuts. Altar of Dementia provides a Mill win if you don't have access to Altar of the Brood. This is a useful piece to keep as it helps you win around Solitary Confinement / Phyrexian Unlife effects.
No, there isn't a particular reason for running Authority of the Consuls alongside Blind Obedience other than redundancy. Bitter Ordeal and Victimize are good cards. Reanimate is already in the deck.
April 12, 2019 1:49 p.m.
CyborgAeon says... #5
My bad on reanimate; fair enough with prelate - personally I'd view cutting off all 1/3 drops just the best course of action for stopping all removal.
Thinking about it logically, daxos also does "win" with infinite mana. I'm personally biased against combos utilizing mill as a strategy, as I frequently play Gitrog. If an opponent has Altar of the Brood / Altar of Dementia I'm all over the place with happiness, as the card advantage is like running Compost in a heavy black meta. Conversely it's fun to see tears roll down their face at the unplayable card outside of the combo.
I understand that authority is redundant blind obedience- my interest is in its effectiveness. I like your use of other cards though, and tbf using cards like Aegis of the Gods is surprisingly relevant.
After some thought I see Daxos's value. With infinite mana he does a lot - so well argued. I suppose it's just my own prejudice of playing Serra's Sanctum that makes me feel it's great - though beneath a Winter Orb effect the card puts in work.
Have you considered Grasp of Fate ? Despite this not being zur, it's still one of the best removal spells in the format.
Lastly I feel that your build contains a lot of condensed, easily built combos with redundancy. If you were to jazz up the manabase, would you consider Demonic Consultation / Tainted Pact in order to facilitate faster wins? I've mostly seen it used in bomberman lists such as breya/labman, but you'll easily be able to slip daxos & tokens over once you've landed any win condition.
April 12, 2019 7 p.m.
casual_competitive says... #6
coolest deck on here so far, im to lazy to look for any improvments not only that it would be hard to for how good the deck is already. so im just gunna say, good job gamer.
CyborgAeon says... #1
I had concerns, but I really like this. Is there any reason you'd use daxos over any other orzhov commander though? From the look of it he's tertiary to the gameplan. Have you considered teysa - as she's great removal and fuels razaketh like a champ? Also, if it must be orzhov you have enough dudes to just play tymna alone? Card advantage in the cz is something that would streamline this, I feel.
Lastly, no interest in alms collector?
April 11, 2019 7:03 a.m.