Intro:
A long long time ago, in a galaxy far away, some losers formed The Knights of the Old Republic. Much more recently, and in this galaxy, a better group was formed; The Knights of the Undead Commune! They are way cooler cause they have Nazgul.
Strategy:
The main strategy/idea behind this deck is very similar to my Muldrotha, the Gravetide deck, with the added theme of knights to attack with, rather than just combos and stalling. Both these things will be addressed in the Knights & Combos categories, but the main idea is sending combo knights to the GY to be pulled out later using Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir, and attacking with non-combo knights, to draw using Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir's ability.
Mana:
This is a classic deck build as far as mana is concerned. 33 lands, 6 mana rocks, and the enchantment Smothering Tithe to round it out.
Draw:
The main draw mechanic in this deck revolves around your commander Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir. Sidar's first ability allows for a draw/discard any time 1+ knight(s) attack. This is special ability because this ability works while Sidar is in the command zone or on the field. Thus, one of the main draw mechanics of this deck is to simply swing with knights. Other than you commander ability, you have 6 other draw focused cards in this deck like Rhystic Study, Brainstorm, & Esper Sentinal, to name a few. Special mention to The One Ring which allows you to draw for each burden counter on it. This combos well with the Nazgul, which will be mentioned more in the Knights section.
Control:
As far as board control goes, you have 3 main types of cards; protection & countering. You have 2 specific protection cards (Vanishing & Silence), the main use of which is to protect your commander or a combo piece that is out. Special mention to Guardian of Faith & Knight Exemplar which both work as a protection card but I have listed in the Knights section. You have 6 counter spells, which are obviously used to counter your opponents spells. Duh. The last type of card is a destroy card, Westfold Rider, which is listed in the knights section but can easily be used to destroy your opponents cards repeatedly if it's brought back using Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir or Haakon, Stromgald Scourge.
Haste:
You have 2 cards that grant haste (Swiftfoot Boots & Lightning Greaves). They are used to grant any new knight haste so that you can attack and activate Sidar's draw/discard ability.
Tuters:
This deck contains 5 "classic" tutors, as well as the knight Ayara's Oathsworn, who works as a tutor after it has exactly 4 +1/+1 counters on it. Also included in this section are 4 cards which act as tutors that send specific cards from the deck to the GY such as Entomb. Special shoutout to Doomsday which allows for you to essentially pick out your combo and set it up quickly. The GY tutors are helpful because Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir & Haakon, Stromgald Scourge have the ability to play knights from the GY. Special mention to Haakon, who can only be played from the GY, so it is a good idea to use a GY tutor to get him there.
Knights:
The Knights section of this deck is fairly straightforward. It contains knights that have fun abilities and whom, in tandem with Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir will help you with your first draw mechanic (mentioned earlier). Some of these knights will be better for certain combos, which I will go into in the combo section below, but they are basically just fun cards to swing with. The Nazgul would technically fall into this section as well but I will go into them in more depth below.
Nazgul:
There are three cards that are worth mentioning in regards to the Nazgul; Nazgul, The One Ring, & Remembrance. As stated on the Nazgul card and in line with LOTR lore, you can have 9 Nazgul in a deck, and so you do. Having either of the other cards mentioned out at the same time as your Nazgul will be very helpful but is by no means the main goal of this deck. The One Ring, will help power up your Nazgul as well as give you draws, while Remembrance will help you keep a Nazgul out or in hand if your one on the field should die! "Come not between a Nazgul & his prey!" - J.R.R Tolkien
Combos:
There are 2 main combos in this deck and a secret 3rd combo that I will go into depth about below. These are the pieces you will want to use your tutors on or hope to draw, and which will win you the game! Try not to lose any of the enchantment or artifact combo pieces because they wont be coming back, but the creatures can be sent to the GY and it's no big deal.
Combo 1:
The first combo involves Intruder Alarm & Xerex Strobe-Knight. Both must be on the field, untapped, without summoning sickness, and you must have played at least 2 spells on the turn you wish to activate the combo. If all those conditions are met then you will be able to produce infinite 2/2 white and blue Knight tokens.
Combo 2:
The second combo involves Basri's Lieutenant, Cathars' Crusade, any other knight with a +1/+1 counter on it, & either Altar of Dementia or Phyrexian Altar. You must have all the permanents mentioned on the battlefield. This combo can produce inf. +1/+1 tokens, inf. EBT/LBT, inf. mana, or inf. milling depending on which altar is used. Essentially you must use your altar to destroy your any knight with a +1/+1 counter, which will trigger Basri's Lieutenant to create a knight token, which will trigger Cathars' Crusade to give all creatures +1/+1. Then you use your altar on the knight token with +1/+1 counters on it, rinse and repeat. If you use Altar of Dementia then you will be inf. milling your opponent, if you use Phyrexian Altar you will be producing inf. mana. This combo is a clear game winner but is slightly harder to pull off than combo 1 or 3.
Secret Combo 3:
This combo is not listed in the deck list (i.e. secret combo) because it involves 2 specific cards and then a number of non specific cards which are interchangeable. It involves Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Phyrexian Altar, and EBT/LBT trigger effect knight, & a 1 mana cost knight. Your EBT/LBT trigger effect knights include; Basri's Lieutenant, Corpse Knight, & Syr Konrad, the Grim. Your 1 mana cost knights include Changeling Outcast, Forsworn Paladin, Foulmire Knight, Knight of the Ebon Legion, & Universal Automaton. This combo can result in a number of things depending on which EBT/LBT trigger effect knight you have out. For this combo to work, you need all 4 pieces on the field. Essentially, all you do is use your altar to sac your 1 mana cost knight and bring it back using the mana you get for sacking it, because Haakon allows your it. You can do this inf. times and it will trigger your EBT/LBT trigger effect knight inf. times as well.
