4) Gateway to Oblivion - Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Commander / EDH Gate Giant Spirits WUB (Esper)

Ripgardian

Creature (32)

• 1x Abuelo, Ancestral Echo
• 1x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• 1x Ao, the Dawn Sky
• 1x Council of Echoes
• 1x Crystalline Giant
• 1x Deadeye Navigator
• 1x Doomwake Giant
• 1x Dorothea, Vengeful Victim  ^Flip
• 1x Drogskol Captain
• 1x Drogskol Reaver
• 1x Dust Animus
• 1x Eternal Dragon
• 1x Ethereal Investigator
• 1x Ethereal Valkyrie
• 1x Gate Colossus
• 1x Gatekeeper Gargoyle
• 1x Kairi, the Swirling Sky
• 1x Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr  ^Flip
• 1x Keiga, the Tide Star
• 1x Millicent, Restless Revenant
• 1x Mirrorhall Mimic  ^Flip
• 1x Oathsworn Giant
• 1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
• 1x Ranar the Ever-Watchful
• 1x Sage of the Beyond
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Soulherder
• 1x Spirit of the Hearth
• 1x Supreme Phantom
• 1x Thryx, the Sudden Storm
• 1x Voice of the Blessed
• 1x Wall of Reverence

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Feudkiller's Verdict
• 1x Haunting Voyage

Land (35)

• 1x Arcane Sanctum
• 1x Azorius Chancery
• 1x Azorius Guildgate
• 1x Baldur's Gate
• 1x Basilisk Gate
• 1x Black Dragon Gate
• 1x Citadel Gate
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Dimir Guildgate
• 1x Dromar's Cavern
• 1x Gateway Plaza
• 1x Gond Gate
• 1x Hall of Storm Giants
• 1x Heap Gate
• 3x Island
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nesting Grounds
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 3x Plains
• 1x Plaza of Harmony
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sea Gate
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Tolaria West

Artifact (6)

• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Giant's Amulet
• 1x Mana Geode
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Spectral Searchlight
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams

Commander (1)

Enchantment (15)

• 1x Behold the Unspeakable  ^Flip
• 1x Cleric Class
• 1x Giant's Grasp
• 1x Guild Summit
• 1x Hallowed Haunting
• 1x Hold the Gates
• 1x Muster the Departed
• 1x Oath of the Grey Host
• 1x Proper Burial
• 1x Rally the Ranks
• 1x Retreat to Coralhelm
• 1x Spirit Loop
• 1x Spirit Mantle
• 1x Spirit-Sister's Call
• 1x Wizard Class

Instant (7)

• 1x AEtherize
• 1x Eerie Interference
• 1x Ethereal Haze
• 1x Fate Transfer
• 1x Fracture
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Void Rend

Battle (1)

• 1x Invasion of Tolvada  ^Flip

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Sideboard

Artifact (2)

• 1x Cosmos Elixir
• 1x Glaive of the Guildpact

Land (1)

• 1x The Black Gate

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Disclaimer: I'm a casual player so lean away from cards that might appear on any salty card or commander list. I also tend to be self restrictive as I attempt to create a story theme for my decks and hold staying true to the theme more important than maintaining competitive potential. While Sanguine Bond provides an awesome synergy for Oloro, and possible infinite loop with Exquisite Blood - neither are fun for anyone so I don't use them.

To match my theme I also decided that Oloro doesn't like vampires - he acknowledges that they've found a path to immortality, but does not consider that living (and both cards mentioned in the disclaimer definitely have a Vampire vibe)! It's also why I had to include Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr   in the deck (protection from Vampires)!

DECK 4 - ESPER (Black, Blue, White) for the 32 Deck Challenge

THEME: The lore for Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is pretty cool in that noone knows where he comes from, and he tolerates ver few individuals while holding the ability to manipulate life and death due to the knowledge he gained over his seemingly immortal existance. I decided to conceptualize his home world (or what remains of it) as just himself and a few GIANTS close to him - along with the SPIRITS of those who he has known (and outlived) over the ages. The only remnants of previous civilizations are the GATES that allow mobility throughout the world.

Notes of Interest about the deck:

• I had fun with non-basic lands for this deck. Gates add a powerful dynamic. Since this deck is not green it lacks gate tutor cards like Circuitous Route, but I found Tolaria West (which you can play early and bounce land back to transmute later) fits that bill, I most commonly using it to tutor for the Gond Gate or the Basilisk Gate. Some wonderful Gate synergy cards include Plaza of Harmony, Guild Summit and Hold the Gates. The only 2 non-Giant/Spirit creatures are perfect ties for the gates as well - the Gate Colossus and the Gatekeeper Gargoyle.

• This is not a fast deck, but the guarunteed lifegain, while it makes you an early target of choice, also gives you a bit more time to ramp up. With that in mind, this deck has a higher average converted mana cost than any other deck I own - but once it arrives it arrives strong. Well of Lost Dreams is a good pairing for getting to what you need. My usual game flow has the cheaper spirits arriving early (most of which are flying) with the higher cost Giants arriving later to make a statement.

• Including Oloro I only have 6 Giants, but more can arrive if you kick the Giant's Amulet, cast Feudkiller's Verdict wisely, or use the Hall of Storm Giants. Thryx, the Sudden Storm is a favorite especially for his passive that 5+ mana cost spells are both 1 cheaper and can not be countered! Gotta love that! Many of my plays never had Oloro leaving the Command Zone. The Ethereal Valkyrie also pairs very well with Sage of the Beyond for sneaking out high Mana Cost spells cheaply.

• I devoted a small bit into Exile Bouncing for the first time in this deck. Soulherder loves them all. Obzedat, Ghost Council has a unique way of sneaking in loss of life (vs. damage), Abuelo, Ancestral Echo provides a great classic bounce, and Deadeye Navigator is extra strong as it can bounce multiple times a turn if you have the mana. While quite a few cards can trigger with the bounce the Doomwake Giant is great for small token clearance, Council of Echoes for graveyard recovery - and sometimes it's nice to change the face of the Mirrorhall Mimic  .

That's it for this deck analysis!

As always, hope this gives you some fun ideas - feedback also welcome!

• Ripgardian

Date added	8 months
Last updated	19 hours
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 32 - 2 Rares 36 - 1 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.92
Tokens	Clue, Copy Clone, Food, Foretell, Giant Warrior 5/5 W, Giant Wizard, Plot, Spirit 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 WB, Spirit 4/4 W, Spirit Cleric */* W, Treasure