Rise of the People by Steveo

Format: Commander

Commander: Denethor, Ruling Steward

Bracket: 3

Deck overview

This Orzhov aristocrats deck, helmed by Denethor, Ruling Steward, blends token generation, sacrifice, and lifegain into a grinding value engine. The primary plan is to flood the board with 1/1 Human Soldier tokens - from Denethor's end-step trigger, Cathar's Call, Castle Ardenvale, Dawn of Hope, and Griffin Aerie - then convert them into incremental drain via Denethor's activated ability, Mirkwood Bats, South Wind Avatar, and Grima Wormtongue. Lifegain payoffs like The Wind Crystal, Dawn of Hope, and Sigarda's Splendor keep the engine fed. The deck closes games through a wide, keyworded combat step powered by Odric, Lunarch Marshal and Flowering of the White Tree, backed by a robust recursion suite (Liesa, Forgotten Archangel, Ratadrabik of Urborg, Conjurer's Closet). A Ring-tempts subtheme (Nazgul, Gollum, Patient Plotter, Faramir, Field Commander) adds incidental value. It is a patient, midrange value deck that wins through attrition rather than a fast combo.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Bark of Doran
• 1 Beloved Princess
• 1 Blind Obedience
• 1 Bog Witch
• 1 Boromir, Warden of the Tower
• 1 Butcher's Cleaver
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 1 Cathar's Call
• 1 Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death
• 1 Conjurer's Closet
• 1 Crossroads Village
• 1 Crusader of Odric
• 1 Crystal Grotto
• 1 Dark Tutelage
• 1 Dawn of Hope
• 1 Deafening Silence
• 1 Denethor, Ruling Steward
• 1 Desperate Farmer // Depraved Harvester
• 1 Eden, Seat of the Sanctum
• 1 Edgewall Inn
• 1 Eerie Interference
• 1 Emptiness
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Falkenrath Torturer
• 1 Faramir, Field Commander
• 1 Fell Horseman // Deathly Ride
• 1 Flare of Faith
• 1 Fleshtaker
• 1 Flowering of the White Tree
• 1 Foot Headquarters
• 1 Gollum, Patient Plotter
• 1 Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant
• 1 Griffin Aerie
• 1 Gríma Wormtongue
• 1 Hedgewitch's Mask
• 1 Idyllic Grange
• 1 Inherited Envelope
• 1 Killing Wave
• 1 Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
• 1 Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
• 1 Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom
• 1 Mirkwood Bats
• 1 Moment of Valor
• 1 Morbid Opportunist
• 1 Murderous Compulsion
• 1 Murderous Rider // Swift End
• 2 Nazgûl
• 1 Odric's Outrider
• 1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1 Outflank
• 15 Plains
• 1 Ratadrabik of Urborg
• 1 Regal Bunnicorn
• 1 Reprieve
• 1 Revenge of Ravens
• 1 Rosie Cotton of South Lane
• 1 Samwise the Stouthearted
• 1 Scoured Barrens
• 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 1 Shire Terrace
• 1 Sigarda's Splendor
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 South Wind Avatar
• 1 Stab Wound
• 13 Swamp
• 1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
• 1 The Wind Crystal
• 1 Trouble in Pairs
• 1 Unhallowed Phalanx
• 1 Valorous Stance
• 1 Vampiric Rites
• 1 Vanquish the Horde
• 1 Wild-Field Scarecrow