I might sideboard one or two angels. The issue is that they are much more susceptible to removal. There are many more things that kill the angel but not Obzedat, such as Doom Blade , Ultimate Price , Mizzium Mortars , Dreadbore , Supreme Verdict , Banisher Priest , and any other sorcery, enchantment, or creature speed removal. Also, Obzedat doesn't even have to attack. As long as he's there, he gives you a net life advantage of four every turn. They both have pros and cons, I want both of my five drops to be durable, which they are right now. I am considering the angel though, thanks for the suggestion.

No problem. I really enjoy this list. its different and it works. I''m definitely going to build this soon. It is a bit on the expensive side but i think its worth it. I have 2 questions for you now. How would you sideboard this deck with different matchups? What would you side in for what you're siding out. Also with Theros just around the corner, do you see any potential cards that might be going in the mainboard?

To answer your first question, I will first tell you that I am in the process of changing up my sideboard a bit, but I will explain it as it is now. Since the format appears to be slowing down drastically, I expect to see more control, and for that reason, a large portion of my sideboard is dedicated to control. Legion's Initiative is great for against control. It gives most of my creatures a slight boost and can avoid board wipes for two mana. Sire Of Insanity ruins control if it hits the board and they do not have an instant speed removal in their hand. the best way to kill a control deck is to leave them topdecking. Pithing Needle also puts a big hurt on control, taking out both AEtherling and any planeswalker they choose to use. Orzhov Charm is instant speed removal that can kill anything, and if the price needs to be paid, then so be it. Everything else is just extra copies of spells, sided in as needed.

Now to answer your second question. I definitely do see tons of potential new cards that could easily find a home in my deck. Number one would be Thoughtseize because it gives you a peek at their hand and is pretty much a Duress on steroids. Number two is a couple copies of the dual lands. I don't want all of them in because they are just as slow as guild gates, but with the added advantage of controlling your card draw. Number three is possibly Stormbreath Dragon . I see a Thundermaw replacement in him, and if Thundermaw was in standard, he'd be in my deck. And lastly, there's a good chance that Chained to the Rocks will find a home in my deck. Of course, it goes without saying that all of these cards will need to be playtested first, but these four have a high possibility of entering my mainboard, and if not, then very likely, the sideboard.

I definitely saw Thoughtseize as a great addition to this deck. I look forward to the updated version of this deck with the release of theros. I can't wait to get my hands on this deck. The only cards I am missing are the dual lands and a few sideboard cards.

I was thinking maybe removing Legion's Initiative from the sideboard since now its only a 1 of and you are running 2 Boros Charm and 2 in the SB for control matchups. It would open up a spot in your SB.

Foil Woodland Cemetery ehh? I knew that you would pull something good because I got an Avacyn, Angel of Hope in one of the packs last time. By the way Danny, I pulled a Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip . Don't you need that for your Vampire deck or something?

So why the singleton Blood Baron of Vizkopa ? I think you'd benefit from removing the 2 Obzedats and adding 2 Blood Barons. Here's why:

1. Baron has an easier casting cost. This deck demands a lot of its mana red and on turn 5 you want to be able to drop the game-changer rather than be waiting for that single white or black source you're lacking for the Ghost Council.

2. Blood Baron has protection from black and white - as you know, black removal is incredibly strong at the moment and will get better with Theros, and blood baron can't be Dreadbore d, hit with Hero's Downfall, or Dark Betrayal and nor can he be exiled with Angel of Serenity , rival Banisher Priest s or Chained to the Rocks.

3. He can block rival black or white creatures, or anything really, whereas Obzedat likes to be exiled each turn. Blood Baron of Vizkopa gives defense and supplies 4 life a turn rather than 2.

That's just what I'm thinking atm.

@Degonvey I would say that the pro black and white and Obzedat's exiling ability puts them on about equal level for evasion. So after that, we can consider the life gain effects. It is true that Obzedat only gains you two, but he also takes two away from the opponent, netting four each turn. Blood Baron only gains four if he attacks or blocks, which puts him at risk to get killed, and if they have a creature more powerful or a couple of 2/2's, Blood Baron won't be gaining me any life. Then we can consider power and toughness. Obzedat does have a slight leg up here, seeing as he's a 5/5 compared to a 4/4. Then there is the matter of mana cost, which with the new rare lands, though slow, is less significant now. Most of these differences seem minute and many would say they level out and become equal. So, the beauty of Obzedat that makes him shine to me is that he doesn't have to do anything. He is an evasive leech that nets four life every turn just by being there. And board wipes... I can just laugh when they play Supreme Verdict , but Blood Baron would fall to that. Mizzium Mortars will kill Blood Baron, and if they have even a couple small creatures to trade off with Blood Baron, he's done, but that's why Obzedat is so great; he doesn't have to attack.

@iAtlasXIX I think that I will take out the Legion's Initiative and make room for another copy of one of my sideboard items.

@iRidetheTvan This site is not for communicating about personal matters van. If you wish to speak with me, give me a call.

Well I wouldn't need to if I could just walk to your room!

How has Banisher Priest do for you? Why him and not just more removal? Isn't he kind of a bad draw against control? The same questions go for High Priest of Penance

Does running 3 Rakdos's Return feel like too much? It's a little slow against Aggro but is good for control/midrange.

I think Elspeth, Sun's Champion could be better than both Assemble the Legion (there will be a lot of enchantment hate) and Ajani, Caller of the Pride (he is bad without other creatures, he doesn't protect himself).

other than that how has play testing gone? I have a Dega list I plan on taking past rotation and will update it for that once all of the spoilers are out: Dega Midrange

Every card has a weakness against a particular type of deck. Against control, I would definitely side out Banisher Priest and maybe High Priest of Penance . Banisher Priest is essentially an Oblivion Ring and offers a board presence, attacking when able.

Rakdos's Return will destroy any non aggro deck. If I drop a High Priest, they become afraid to attack. Turn three and four I play a couple kill spells and then turn five Rakdos's Return leaves them topdecking. This deck usually beats out most midrange, which I expect to see a lot of. And needless to say, if I get off a Rakdos's Return against control I essentially win.

Assemble the Legion is not actually in my deck and I might consider Elspeth, but Aurelia is currently taking up that slot, and she is not debatable. She will be in the deck no matter what-probably one of the best bombs in standard. She can turn a game around and win out of nowhere. Ajani works surprisingly well during playtests and I decided to leave him in as a one of.

Playtesting has gone very well; this deck probably wins 90% of the time. the only deck that gives me really hard competition is mono red extreme aggro. But that's why Blind Obedience and High Priest are in there. Blind Obedience is also just annoying against anyone, delaying their ability to block and extort has won me countless games. Overall though, I am very pleased and expect this deck to perform highly come September 27th.

I feel as though the Banisher Priest should just be removal of some sort, he turns on opponent removal that hits x/2 which, while still a 1-for-1, allows your opponent a choice. This deck plays out grindy with an explosive finish, and so attacking with a 2/2 is less relevant than playing say Magma Jet which is removal for Aggro which this card is for, but also provides damage to the dome and card filtering for the Midrange/Control matchup. Just as a thought.

High Priest of Penance is also good in destroying any permanent, you can screw someone a color, but can just be a dead draw later game and against Control/slower midrange.

Rakdos's Return while it kills Midrange and control, it's just a wee bit slow and I would cut maybe one for another source of CA, maybe Underworld Connections , but I feel with there being some enchantment hate around it may make that choice bad, even Erebros could be considered here, denying Revelation saves and still giving cards for 1 more mana on both activation and cast it could be worse, but it is indestructible and could possibly be a creature.

This deck can play multiple 6 drops so long as they win the game mostly on their own, which Elspeth, Sun's Champion can.

What exactly are you play testing against? I'm not even sure what the next standard will look like.

You are correct about some of the cards weaknesses against particular types of decks, but that is when I will sideboard. I am considering Anger of the Gods in my sideboard against aggro. I'll probably add that soon. I am playtesting against tons of different post rotation decks on tapped out. Sure I won;t know exactly what standard will look like after the rotation, but I can get a pretty good idea by testing against 20-30 post roto decks. I will take some of your suggestions into account, but honestly, this deck is working extremely well as is, especially with the addition of Thoughtseize .

Hey dentalflosstycoon i really like your deck. do you play against some selesnya aggro and selesnya life gain?

also, do you test Underworld Cerberus ?

I have tested against both types of those selesnya and naya and my deck wins the majority of the time.

And I have playtested Underworld Cerberus and he is not as good as my current five drops.

i really want to build a deck like this but way too expensive man money in cards is getting crazy now but im running a USA deck with supreme verdict i would like to build some thing with verdict in like a Esper deck but i feel like im too slow is there anyone that has a better solution because im having a hard time. Thanks for reading and reply if you think you can help thanks OrzhovExtort

I would be happy to give you advice, but I don't see an esper or American deck on your profile. If you check off "appear on profile" I should be able to see it.

OrzhovExtort I can help with Esper, it seems pretty strong, but I don't think this is the place to discuss it.

friend me and we can talk somewhere else im a new player and would like a friend for advice thanks

I feel like Deathrite Shaman would be better than rackdos cackler. I know that he is good for you but there are problems. If you play him as an attacker early then he cant chump block later, if you play him as a blocker then he is an unimpressive 1/1. The shaman has a slightly larger body that can block small tokens profitably and his black ability is great. All you removal can hurt them 2 and your opponents will probably have to use a removal on it instead of your late game reckoner or blood baron or whatever. (yes I know deathrite shaman is golgari colored but he works fine as a black card)

I actually replaced the cacklers with Thoughtseize , which is a beautiful card against pretty much any deck.