Licia Gain n' Drain

Commander / EDH Aggro Lifegain Lifelink RBW (Mardu)

ApexKittens

Land (35)

• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 6x Plains
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 9x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Tainted Peak
• 1x Vault of Champions

Sorcery (11)

• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Sign in Blood
• 1x Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Dirge of Dread
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Ambition's Cost
• 1x Chandra's Ignition
• 1x Ruinous Ultimatum
• 1x Revival / Revenge

Creature (21)

• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Creeping Bloodsucker
• 1x Glory-Bound Initiate
• 1x Nullpriest of Oblivion
• 1x Priest of Fell Rites
• 1x Tavern Swindler
• 1x Tithe Drinker
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Indulging Patrician
• 1x Nighthawk Scavenger
• 1x Verrak, Warped Sengir
• 1x Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Rhox Faithmender
• 1x Twilight Prophet
• 1x Divinity of Pride
• 1x Vona, Butcher of Magan
• 1x Nykthos Paragon
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Font of Agonies
• 1x Gonti's Machinations
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Sunspring Expedition
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Favor of the Mighty
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Greed
• 1x Sanguine Bond

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Haunted Cloak
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams
• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Bolas's Citadel

Instant (8)

• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Despark
• 1x Heliod's Intervention
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Stinging Study

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The Start of Licia, Sanguine Tribune

Building a lifegain deck had been a side project of mine for a couple of months as I tested and smoothed out the wrinkles in my other commander decks. When I came across Licia, Sanguine Tribune a few notable characteristics popped out to me that separated her from the rest of the lifegain commanders:

1. Licia is in Mardu colors whereas most lifegain commanders are in Orzhov or Golgari colors. The addition of {R} in lifegain can aid in fun deckbuilding ideas and make the overall deck more aggressive.
2. Licia's converted mana value is a whopping 8, however she can be played for as little as 3 mana ({W}{B}{R}). She can dodge the commander tax rule allowing for easy replay-ability throughout a game.

As the incomplete shell of a Licia deck sat in my collection for a number of months Commander 2021 dropped with the inclusion of a new card, Stinging Study. This one card fueled my excitement to complete the deck as it synergizes so well with what Licia wants to do.

How The Deck Plays

The main focus of the deck is to increase our life total and gain value by either gaining or paying life. Licia's cost reduction is powered by gaining life. Cards like Gonti's Machinations and Sunspring Expedition act as ritual effects for casting Licia. Combining card draw effects like Well of Lost Dreams and Stinging Study with the deck's fairly low mana curve creates explosive turns.

Notable Finishers and Inclusions

From playing the deck I've noticed that it wins most of the time through combat or some life gaining/draining synergies.

Play the "Revenge" side of Revival / Revenge paired with Vizkopa Guildmage, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, and/or Sanguine Bond -Can easily one shot opponents.

Bolas's Citadel -Can turn a normal turn into an explosive one, just be careful not to overextend.

Dirge of Dread and Shizo, Death's Storehouse -Enables evasion for Licia to get through with commander damage.

Verrak, Warped Sengir -Allows us to double up on Licia's ability as well as a few others in the deck.

Imperial Recruiter -A good tutor effect to find a wide array of powerful creatures like Serra Ascendant or Rhox Faithmender, just to name a few.

Vampiric Tutor -One of the strongest tutors in Magic, allows us to put anything from our library on top.

I excluded Aetherflux Reservoir as I feel like it is a pretty un-fun card to play against and Exquisite Blood as I didn't want to have infinite combos in the deck.

My Other Decks

Arixmethes, God Blessed Kraken {U}{G}

Lazav Mill n' Kill {U}{B}

Uril Auras and Enchantress {W}{R}{G}

Glissa Artifacts and Recursion {B}{G}

Kaza Enters the Infinite {U}{R}

Ranar Foretells the Future {W}{U}

Lynde Curses the Weak {U}{B}{R}

Kiki-Jiki, Double Trouble {R}

Date added	2 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 47 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.00
Tokens	City's Blessing, Energy Reserve, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
Folders	Ideas, Retired