What's a Life Total?

Commander / EDH Combo Control Infinite Combo Lifegain Suicide Black WB (Orzhov)

DougCrab

Land (32)

• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Leechridden Swamp
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Piranha Marsh
• 7x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Sunscorched Desert
• 7x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field

Ramp (12)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Blood Pet
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Thought Vessel

Pinger (6)

• 1x Foreboding Fruit
• 1x Leechridden Swamp
• 1x Pestilence
• 1x Piranha Marsh
• 1x Sign in Blood
• 1x Sunscorched Desert

AdNausCombo (4)

• 1x Ad Nauseam
• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Phyrexian Unlife
• 1x Soul Echo

Control (4)

• 1x Imp's Mischief
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Mana Tithe
• 1x Silence

CardAdvantage (14)

• 1x Ad Nauseam
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Dark Tutelage
• 1x Foreboding Fruit
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Mindblade Render
• 1x Necrologia
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Peer into the Abyss
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sign in Blood

Protection (12)

• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Glacial Chasm
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Intervention Pact
• 1x Peacekeeper
• 1x Phyrexian Unlife
• 1x Rebuff the Wicked
• 1x Soul Echo
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Wall of Blood

LifeNuke (9)

• 1x Ad Nauseam
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Hex Parasite
• 1x Necrologia
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Peer into the Abyss
• 1x Plunge into Darkness
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Wall of Blood

LifeGain (5)

• 1x Axis of Mortality
• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Oketra's Last Mercy
• 1x Tainted Sigil

BloodBond (4)

• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage

Utility (2)

• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Reliquary Tower

Commanders (2)

Removal (11)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Hex Parasite
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Pestilence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Utter End
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Wrath of God

BigHand (6)

• 1x Ad Nauseam
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Peer into the Abyss
• 1x Repay in Kind
• 1x Sickening Dreams
• 1x Skirge Familiar

Tutor (5)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Plunge into Darkness
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Wishclaw Talisman

BolasCombo (2)

• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top

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Maybeboard

Other (7)

• 1x Demonic Consultation
• 1x K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• 1x Lurrus of the Dream-Den
• 1x Open the Vaults
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Reverse the Sands
• 1x Slaughter Pact

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The goal of this deck is to put into practice to the most extreme extent the concept of using life as a resource. Somewhat budgeted at the moment. Commander used to be Selenia, Dark Angel but I pretty much never cast her. Ravos, Soultender is Tymna's partner only for the marginal utility he offers as of now. I'm hoping that one of the new mono black or white partners will replace him when commander legends drops.

Trying to keep this deck at high tier (7-8ish range). But could go higher or lower depending on how you want to take it.

Combo/Syngergy Lineups

There are several separate win lineups this deck uses. Most of these are extremely high risk/high reward so there's a severe risk of crashing and burning but the payoff is usually that you win so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Lifeswap

This used to be the main strat of this deck but I've since turned it more into a suicide deck. Axis of Mortality + a LifeNuke piece + a pinger = player removal.

Not super common to pull this off but it is a good way to gain life and remove a problem player hiding behind stax or something.

Other lifeswap cards are absent here simply because they are too slow and unreliable, and axis is barely in the cut anyhow.

Blood Bond

Ol' Reliable

Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond/Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose/Vizkopa Guildmage

Gain life or use a pinger on an opponent to set off the infinite loop, win the game.

Big Hand

First Accumulate a critical mass of cards in your hand.

1: Peer into the Abyss

2: Phyrexian Unlife/Soul Echo/Angel's Grace + Ad Nauseam

3: Bolas's Citadel + Sensei's Divining Top (often times this combo will result in drawing into a combo by itself)

Next, utilize one of the several wincons that you draw into.

1: Sickening Dreams + Soul Echo/Glacial Chasm/Angel's Grace/Intervention Pact (Note that Phyrexian Unlife will cause you to take lethal infect so be wary).

2: Skirge Familiar + Exsanguinate

3: 0 or less life + Repay in Kind (This can be done without a huge hand but it is most efficiently setup with ad naus and Skirge Familiar)

4: Skirge Familiar + Pestilence + Angel's Grace/Soul Echo/Glacial Chasm (I don't really see this combo ever being used realistically but it's something you can technically do so I thought it'd be worth mentioning)

5: Skirge Familiar + really any other combo if you want. You practically have infinite mana anyhow.

Life Syphon

Vizkopa Guildmage/Sanguine Bond/Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + LifeNuke piece + LifeGain piece

Result is one or more opponents dead. Guildmage is the best for this setup typically.

Extra syngergy I'd like to mention here is Wall of Blood + Swords to Plowshares with one of the above.

Tips

The most consistent combo I've managed to get out thus far is Bolas's Citadel with Sensei's Divining Top and I would focus on getting this out over any other combo. This is basically just a better Yawgmoth's Bargain without the downside of, you know, being banned. My reccomendation for when you have this in play is to only cast ramp, lifegain pieces, and cards like Silence or Angel's Grace and MAYBE a tutor or two if you can cast whatever you're getting. Scheming Symmetry is gonna get cut for Enlightened Tutor soon but both can be cast to get a free spell on the top so they're worth considering casting. Needless to say, be careful anytime you're hanging around zero or sub-zero life because you're just one Nature's Claim or even a Lightning Bolt (yes, it's happened before) away from death. I think this list is fairly malleable and the commanders I'm using aren't super necessary either. If partners aren't your speed, you could easily swap them out with Selenia, Dark Angel, Kunoros, Hound of Athreos, or Obzedat, Ghost Council no problem.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Exclude colors	URG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 42 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.82
Tokens	Elephant 3-3 G, Food, Treasure
Folders	Cool Shit