Council of Life and Taxes by ForgeandSwing

Format: Commander

Commander: Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 43

Deck overview

This deck is an Orzhov Lifegain Drain strategy helmed by Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel. It leverages low-cost lifegain enablers like Soul Warden and Authority of the Consuls alongside drain engines such as Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Marauding Blight-Priest, and Liesa, Shroud of Dusk to steadily bleed the table while padding its life total. The deck accelerates through two-mana rocks and Medallions into mid-game powerhouses like Archangel of Thune, creating wide, lethal aerial boards. Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel serves as a massive draw engine in the command zone, converting lifegain into raw card advantage to dig for win conditions. Complementing the primary drain plan is an instant-speed infinite damage combo in Heliod, Sun-Crowned and Walking Ballista. With robust reanimation tools like Reanimate and Animate Dead, the deck maintains resilient board presence and recovers quickly from wipes, grinding down opponents through cumulative taxes, lifegain triggers, and evasive combat.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ajani Resolute
  • 1 Akroma's Will
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archangel of Thune
  • 1 Archfiend of Despair
  • 1 Auriok Champion
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Horror
  • 1 Blind Obedience
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Cleric Class
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Concealed Courtyard
  • 1 Cosmos Elixir
  • 1 Crypt Ghast
  • 1 Dawn's Truce
  • 1 Eclipsed Steppe
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Enlightened Confidant
  • 1 Exemplar of Light
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Fracture
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Giada, Font of Hope
  • 1 Gleaming Splendor
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Heliod, Sun-Crowned
  • 1 Indulging Patrician
  • 1 Insatiable Avarice
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  • 1 Karlov of the Ghost Council
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
  • 1 Liliana the Faultless
  • 1 Lively Dirge
  • 1 Lyra Dawnbringer
  • 1 Lyra, Archangel of Dawn
  • 1 Marauding Blight-Priest
  • 1 Mother of Runes
  • 1 Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel
  • 1 Ob Nixilis, the Ascended
  • 1 Orzhov Basilica
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Pearl Medallion
  • 12 Plains
  • 1 Psychosis Crawler
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Rhox Faithmender
  • 1 Riot Control
  • 1 Rodolf Duskbringer
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
  • 1 Shineshadow Snarl
  • 1 Silverquill Charm
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 1 Starscape Cleric
  • 1 Starving Revenant
  • 12 Swamp
  • 1 The Wind Crystal
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Turbulent Moor
  • 1 Venser's Journal
  • 1 Vindicate
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed
  • 1 Walking Ballista