Orzhov Control - Finishers & Draw
Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 4, 2015, 3:43 p.m. by JohnnyBaggins
Hey everyone,
I'm fooling around with an old casual Orzhov Control deck of mine. Casual in this case doesn't mean "no ban list", but mainly "a more casual kind of gaming and no $800 decks". I can't really explain it properly. We are, however, talking within a modern environment. Now, the deck has been performing well, and I really like playing it in the given surrounding.
It's a twist towards more midrange, but I think it feels like control. My main topic at the moment are two things: 1. Once I've stabilized the table and have a hand full of answers, how do I close out the game? My current package is: 1x Blood Baron of Vizkopa, 1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, 2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion, 1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad along one Debt to the Deathless where Sorin is more of a midgame stabilizer. How would you structure a finisher package for an Orzhov Control deck? Do the cards here seem reasonable?
2. How do I keep my hand stacked? I currently run 3x Sign in Blood and 1x Read the Bones. Now I've been thinking about maybe running some number of Underworld Connections or Ambition's Cost. Any opinions there?
Feel free to comment here or on the deck direcly: Church of Decay
If you should, of course, find anything that strikes you as odd about the deck, just tell me. Please keep in mind that it's casual//budget and I don't really want to invest 5 or even 10 or even 30 bucks into a card. (Those 5-or-up cards are trades for pulls or pulls from limited, I mainly play Limited)
Thank you!
JohnnyBaggins says... #3
Thanks man. My package of draw now consists of 2 Read the Bones, 2 Sign in Blood and 2 Underworld Connections. Feels pretty stable that way.
I added two Grave Titan as they seem very, very good. I removed the Debt to the Deathless/Crypt Ghast setup. As much as I love Ghast, it's not worth the effort. Dedicating 4 slots in a deck to one possible finisher that still needs at least 9 lands to actually go off, greatly anti-synergizes with three board wipes and doesn't do anything if I draw the wrong lands really isn't all that great. If I get my hands on an Angel of Despair, I'll certainly let that one get in there. It looks really solid, even though I'm not sure about running two seven-drops. We'll see!
tulse says... #2
There's not a lot of historical inspiration to draw from when it comes to strict BW control, as pretty much every competitive control deck needs blue for the card draw - a problem you've already identified.
I think Night's Whisper is a bit better than Sign in Blood as it's easier to cast on turn 2. However, Read the Bones is a GREAT new addition for black and I would test out running 2-4 of them and cut back on the other options to see how it works out. I think Phyrexian Arena is better than Underworld Connections, and I think you want maybe 2 of either of those. I haven't played enough with Ambition's Cost to really comment on it but it seems fine.
In terms of a finisher package, Elspeth is my favourite of those listed. Gideon Jura is my other favourite white planeswalker as he's great during every stage of the game. Angel of Despair (Ashen Rider's mother) was long played in the Solar Flare archetype and provides a good effect. I also like Grave Titan a lot. These are cards that pay off even if your opponent draws an answer for them, and Grave Titan in particular finishes the game fast. Teysa is a bit defensive and Blood Baron is good, but a bit more situational than perhaps you'd like. The cards I've suggested are definitely more control oriented than midrange, but I think that's where you want to be with your deck, as you're only running 3 Vampire Nighthawk as it is.
August 4, 2015 4:47 p.m.