Vizkopa Guildmage Burst Drain

Pauper EDH Lifegain WB (Orzhov)

Scarecrow1779

Creature (23)

• 1x Alloy Myr
• 1x Augur il-Vec
• 1x Basilica Guards
• 1x Basilica Screecher
• 1x Blinding Souleater
• 1x Bottle Gnomes
• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Daggerdrome Imp
• 1x Epicure of Blood
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Guardian Automaton
• 1x Healer's Hawk
• 1x Kingpin's Pet
• 1x Mourning Thrull
• 1x Pious Warrior
• 1x Pride Guardian
• 1x Seraph of Dawn
• 1x Servant of Tymaret
• 1x Student of Ojutai
• 1x Tithe Drinker
• 1x Vault Skirge
• 1x Wall of Hope

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Blood Tithe
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Sever Soul
• 1x Solemn Offering
• 1x Survival Cache
• 1x Syphon Mind
• 1x Syphon Soul
• 1x Terashi's Grasp

Instant (16)

• 1x Awe Strike
• 1x Butcher's Glee
• 1x Congregate
• 1x Dazzling Reflection
• 1x Exile *list*
• 1x Grotesque Mutation
• 1x Meditation Puzzle
• 1x Moment of Craving
• 1x Renewed Faith
• 1x Revitalize
• 1x Riot Control
• 1x Ritual of Rejuvenation
• 1x Rush of Vitality
• 1x Soul's Grace
• 1x War Report
• 1x Whitesun's Passage

Artifact (11)

• 1x Implement of Improvement
• 1x Luxa River Shrine
• 1x Orazca Relic
• 1x Orzhov Locket
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Pristine Talisman
• 1x Sisay's Ring
• 1x Slagwurm Armor
• 1x Sunbeam Spellbomb
• 1x Sylvok Lifestaff
• 1x Ur-Golem's Eye

Commander (1)

Land (37)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Forsaken Sanctuary
• 1x Kabira Crossroads
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 12x Plains
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 1x Seraph Sanctuary
• 12x Swamp

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Cartouche of Ambition
• 1x Recumbent Bliss
• 1x Soul Link
• 1x Sunspring Expedition

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This life drain deck is made to burst down your opponents quickly, killing the table in one to three turns. It will often feel like a combo deck in that its success depends on whether others prioritize killing you before turn 6 or 7. This deck usually can gain enough life to outpace half-hearted attempts to pressure or keep life totals under control, but commander damage and big green tramplers can add up to a loss pretty quickly if you're the only target.

One of the themes I stuck to pretty hard was making a lot of my life gain cheap and instant speed, so I could use it on my opponents' turns. For example, Wall of Hope may not seem very impactful until I block your 5/5 with it while also activating my guildmage and playing Riot Control. Suddenly the table just lost 15 life. Throw in a few other cheap/free effects like a using a creature equipped with Sylvok Lifestaff as a chump blocker and activating Luxa River Shrine, and you can really pile on the drain during their turns, making it harder to attack you. These low/no cost ways to gain life also give you the opportunity to double activate the guildmage so your opponents lose two life for each point of life you gain.

Once you have 6 to 8 mana available, you can usually end the game in one shot by activating the guildmage and playing things like Sever Soul and Congregate.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Pauper EDH legal.
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.75
Tokens	City's Blessing
Folders	Pauper EDH, Pauper EDH