Life and Death... and Life

Standard Aggro Counters Lifegain Reanimator WB (Orzhov)

sujrondc

Creature (23)

• 4x Ajani's Pridemate
• 3x Athreos, God of Passage
• 3x Nyx-Fleece Ram
• 3x Pain Seer
• 4x Seeker of the Way
• 4x Soldier of the Pantheon
• 2x Underworld Coinsmith

Land (21)

• 4x Caves of Koilos
• 10x Plains
• 4x Scoured Barrens
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Enchantment (2)

• 2x Banishing Light

Artifact (4)

• 2x Spear of Heliod
• 2x Whip of Erebos

Instant (8)

• 3x Ajani's Presence
• 3x Defiant Strike
• 2x Hero's Downfall

Sorcery (2)

• 2x Return to the Ranks

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Sideboard

Creature (4)

• 4x Spirit of the Labyrinth

Artifact (2)

• 2x Tormod's Crypt

Instant (6)

• 3x Dark Betrayal
• 3x Gods Willing

Sorcery (3)

• 3x Stain the Mind

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Forget Mana-screw.

This deck spits creatures out for 2 mana a piece, gains a pile of life, growing Ajani's Pridemate in the process. Your opponent has removal? Doesn't matter with Athreos, God of Passage and Return to the Ranks. Here's the breakdown:

Creatures:

• Ajani's Pridemate is our go-to guy. With all the life we'll gain, he gets big very quickly.

• Nyx-Fleece Ram gains us life, blocks aggro, and boosts Ajani's Pridemate.

• Soldier of the Pantheon breaks wedges, enough said.

• Seeker of the Way is aggro with a side of lifegain.

• Pain Seer. Since we're swinging anyways, why not get some card advantage? With a low curve, the life loss is a non-issue.

• Athreos, God of Passage makes life very difficult for the opponents. Either removal is reduced to bouncing, or it costs them some life.

• Underworld Coinsmith can ping their life away with any extra mana. Surprisingly effective in the later stages where I just need to push through a couple extra damage points. The constellation is a nice little bonus too.

Spells:

• Banishing Light and Hero's Downfall help us to clear the field and get rid of big threats.

• Ajani's Presence is cheap protection from removal, or to break through blockers.

• Defiant Strike activates prowess for Seeker of the Way , and replaces itself.

• Return to the Ranks is amazing. Bring back anyone who got removed before Athreos came out, or make them feel really bad about spending the life to keep them away.

• Whip of Erebos provides us with massive lifelink to grow Ajani's Pridemate and to help us win the grindier matches.

• Spear of Heliod grows our creatures to push through blockers, and can act as sneaky removal in a pinch.
  
  Sideboard:

The SB is currently geared for dealing with control, but could definitely use some improvement.

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Well there you have it! Please playtest, and don't forget to +1 if you like it. This build can definitely still be improved upon, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Also, feel free to check out my other decks here:

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Digging for Krakens

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SCORE: 41 | 55 COMMENTS | 5616 VIEWS | IN 23 FOLDERS

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Empty the Everything

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SCORE: 62 | 57 COMMENTS | 7836 VIEWS | IN 37 FOLDERS

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Grow It And Blow It Up

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SCORE: 12 | 7 COMMENTS | 1466 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS

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Thanks for reading!

Top Ranked	Achieved #67 position overall 10 years ago
Date added	10 years
Last updated	10 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 18 - 7 Rares 13 - 8 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.08
Folders	standard, Interest, Switch Pile, Budget Standards, orzhov, Decks I need, Ideas, Stuff for Fernando Make Good, Other ideas, Standard Khans